Vance Casts Ballot in Ohio, Feels ‘Good’ About Race

The Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential candidate said that he would try to heal ’the rift in the country’ if he’s elected.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) cast his ballot at a polling site in Cincinnati on Tuesday, telling reporters that he has a good feeling about the election.

As he cast his vote, Vance told reporters that he felt “good about this race” and noted that he also “felt good” about his winning senate bid in the 2022 midterms.

Referencing how he would govern if elected vice president, Vance said that his attitude would focus on healing “the rift in the country” and “to try to govern the country as well as we can, create as much prosperity as we can for the American people and remind our fellow Americans that we are all fundamentally on the same team, no matter how you voted.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, had already cast his vote on Oct. 23.

Vance then told reporters that he will travel to Palm Beach, Florida, later on Tuesday, urging Americans to go to the polls to vote in favor of former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, a Republican.

In a break with 2020, Republicans including Vance and Trump have urged their supporters to vote early.

Data provided by the University of Florida show that significantly more people voted early in person during the 2024 election than in the 2020 contest, which saw significant mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions.

On Monday night and early Tuesday morning, Trump wrapped up a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and he now plans to spend the day in Florida, his home state and where he is expected to vote in person.

He’s scheduled to hold a campaign watch party in Palm Beach on Tuesday night.

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to attend an election night party at Howard University in Washington, a historically black university where she graduated with a degree in economics and political science in 1986 and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Aside from Howard, she has no public schedule announced for Election Day. Harris said Sunday that she had “just filled out” her mail-in ballot and it was “on its way to California.”

Harris wrapped her day in Philadelphia, where Lady Gaga sang “God Bless America” and Oprah Winfrey appeared on stage with first-time voters. Ricky Martin, who is from Puerto Rico, was also there to draw out Puerto Rican voters in the state.

“Our people-powered movement reflects a simple and undeniable truth: that we are all in this together,” Harris said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.