President Donald Trump will travel to Chillicothe, Ohio, for a midterm rally on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, marking his third trip to the state this month as Republicans work to defend key congressional and gubernatorial seats six days before the November 3 election.
Midterm Rally Details and Traffic Preparations in Chillicothe
President Donald Trump is scheduled to headline a midterm campaign rally at the Ohio University Chillicothe campus at the Shoemaker Center on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., with the main program beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the president’s remarks starting at 7 p.m. Free tickets require advance online registration through the official event page, with sign-ups limited to four per person and mandatory text confirmation before tickets become valid.
The visit has prompted extensive municipal preparations in Ross County. Parking is prohibited on High Street between Main Street and Kopp Street during those hours. Meanwhile, the Ross County Board of Elections confirmed its office will remain open for early voting from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. despite surrounding traffic disruptions.
High-Stakes Senate and Gubernatorial Races Drawing National Attention
The Chillicothe stop is part of a broader Republican push to protect crucial majorities in Ohio, where state voters face a special U.S. Senate election and a tightly contested gubernatorial race. In the Senate contest, Republican Sen. Jon Husted is locked in a toss-up battle against former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Concurrently, Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy is running against Democratic opponent Amy Acton. The gubernatorial contest has generated national controversy over a viral attack ad released by Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring Acton’s estranged mother. Court records show Acton’s stepfather was charged with raping her when she was 12 years old, after which the family fled, leaving Acton estranged from her mother. While Trump and Ramaswamy have defended the advertisement, several prominent state Republicans—including Husted, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber—have distanced themselves from it while continuing to campaign alongside Ramaswamy.
Diverging Campaign Strategies Across Ohio
Trump’s visit to Chillicothe follows earlier October stops in Vandalia and Youngstown, as well as a rally on the Kentucky border in Highland Heights. Vice President JD Vance has also maintained a heavy presence in his home state, holding recent events in Sharonville, Cincinnati, and Lima. Republican strategists emphasize that ground-level enthusiasm is vital. They see that the Senate race, reelecting Senator Husted, is absolutely necessary to maintain our majority.
At the same time, Democrats are staging their own closing push across the Buckeye State. Dr. Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown scheduled a joint campaign stop in Cincinnati, following a weekend event in Cleveland that featured former President Barack Obama. On the health care front, groups such as Protect Our Care have criticized the Republican record, pointing to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act rollbacks passed last year.
Trump must think the people of Ohio are complete idiots if he believes one campaign rally can erase the damage his administration and MAGA cultists in Congress have done to their health care.
Brad Woodhouse, Protect Our Care President
With early voting underway and Election Day arriving on November 3, both parties are making their final appeals to voters across a state that Trump carried by 11 percentage points in 2024.