Vice President JD Vance visits Rocky Mount as Republicans try to flip NC seat
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- Vice President Vance will deliver remarks in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
- Visit to Rocky Mount in NC’s 1st District follows Trump endorsing Buckhout.
- Trip occurs amid reported U.S.-Iran strikes, rising gas prices and a DHS shutdown.
Vice President JD Vance used a speech in Rocky Mount Friday to bolster the campaigns of two Republicans running in the 2026 elections.
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is running for U.S. Senate, and Laurie Buckhout, a former adviser to President Donald Trump who is running to represent northeastern North Carolina in Congress, both received praise from the vice president.
Vance arrived around 2 p.m. at The Power House, a local events venue in Rocky Mount, to address a crowd of around 200 people.
“A lot of you know that this state has a very special place in my heart, because I grew up in a poor family,” Vance said.
He added that he spent the first four years of his adult life not far away as a young Marine. Vance was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Stars and Stripes reported.
“I stand here proud to say that after the first year of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ leadership, we are rebuilding the American dream, and we are taking back this country now,” Vance said.
He polled the crowd on what was most important to them: tax cuts on Social Security, tax cuts for people making under $100,000, or “the war on violent crime.”
The latter drew the loudest applause.
And Vance counted all three among the accomplishments of the Trump administration.
He criticized the Democrats in those hotly contested races, Senate candidate and former Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Don Davis, for not taking part in those solutions.
“We need Michael Whatley in the Senate,” Vance said. “The simple fact is that Roy Cooper doesn’t stand for you. He doesn’t fight for you and he will never fight for you. But Michael is lovely. He’s a good man.”
1st District visit
Vance’s attacks on Cooper and Davis were particularly notable since his speech was given in the area that Davis represents and where Cooper was raised.
Rocky Mount is located in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which until recently has been the state’s only true swing district where voters could choose a Democrat or Republican as their next member of Congress.
It’s a district Republicans hope to flip after redrawing North Carolina’s congressional map. And just hours before Vance’s trip was announced by the White House, Trump endorsed Buckhout’s campaign. Buckhout, 65, of Edenton, served as Trump’s national cyber director for policy until October. In December, she announced her campaign.
“Colonel Laurie Buckhout has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN,” Trump posted on social media, while contrasting her to Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill.
North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Jason Simmons told the crowd they can expect to see both Trump and Vance visiting North Carolina often throughout the campaign.
Vance last visited North Carolina in September. Trump was in the state last month.
“President Trump and JD Vance fight for each and every one of us,” Simmons said. “They fight for our veterans, they fight for our military, they fight for small business owners, they fight for our families, and they fight for our American dream.”
War in Iran
Vance’s visit comes amid the U.S. attack on Iran.
And while some wondered if he would speak on the war, signs around the venue instead promised, “Lower prices, bigger paychecks.”
It wasn’t until the end of Vance’s speech he addressed the attack, asking for prayers and acknowledging the impact it could have on North Carolina’s soldiers.
On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel began targeted airstrikes in Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Trump and his administration have provided various and oftentimes contradictory reasons for the attack.
The attack has driven up gas prices throughout North Carolina and the rest of the United States.
Simultaneously, the Department of Homeland Security has been under a government shutdown since Feb. 1, as Congress wrestles with reining in the agency’s immigration enforcement arms after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota.
Republicans and Democrats have not yet reached a consensus about reforms, leaving the agency shuttered and employees like Transportation Security Administration agents at airports working without pay.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Vice President JD Vance visits Rocky Mount as Republicans try to flip NC seat."
