Vance Claims Somali Immigrants Plan to Influence Ohio Election

At a rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in Swanton on November 2, Vice President JD Vance claimed that undocumented Somali immigrants were coordinating to “flood the polls” and drown out Ohioans’ votes. He urged attendees to support Ramaswamy, saying elections should belong to American citizens. The rally took place on the eve of the midterm elections.

No evidence supported Vance’s allegation, and the basis for it remained unclear. Vance also said he was tired of politicians dividing Americans by race and suggesting that people’s advantages or disadvantages depended on their skin color.

The remarks prompted charges of double standards from opponents, who cited Vance’s past promotion of false assertions that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating pets. He later acknowledged having no evidence for those claims and said he was willing to create stories to draw attention to people’s suffering.

Critics also recalled Vance’s comments about Somali immigrants and argued that his own rhetoric targets minority groups. Some directed their criticism at President Donald Trump, Vance’s political ally. The comments and backlash came just hours before Election Day; no response from Vance to the criticism was included.

Vance Revives Baseless Immigrant Election Claim Before Ohio Vote

Vice President JD Vance used a Swanton rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on November 2 to claim that undocumented Somali immigrants were coordinating to drown out Ohio voters. He offered no evidence for the allegation, and the basis for it was unclear. He urged the crowd to vote for Ramaswamy, invoking the idea that elections should belong to American citizens.

At the same rally, Vance complained about politicians dividing people by race and assigning advantage or disadvantage according to skin color. Critics said the contrast was striking: Vance has previously promoted false assertions that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating pets, later acknowledging he had no evidence for those claims.

The latest allegation again directs suspicion at an immigrant community, this time Somalis, just before Election Day. Critics said Vance’s rhetoric contradicts his appeal against division, and some also pointed to President Donald Trump. With the election hours away, the episode puts an unsupported claim about voters at the center of a campaign rally rather than evidence about an actual effort to affect the vote.

Vance Defends Citizen Elections as Critics Attack His Rhetoric

At a rally in Swanton for Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy on November 2, Vice President JD Vance argued that American elections should belong to American citizens. He claimed undocumented Somali immigrants were coordinating to influence Ohio’s vote and urged the crowd to back Ramaswamy ahead of the midterms.

Vance also said he was tired of politicians dividing Americans by race and judging people’s advantages or disadvantages by skin color. Critics seized on those remarks to accuse him of hypocrisy, citing his earlier promotion of false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield eating pets. Vance later said he had no evidence for those claims.

The criticism came just hours before Election Day and focused heavily on Vance’s past rhetoric, as well as his relationship with President Donald Trump. Vance offered no evidence for the allegation about Somali immigrants, and the basis for it was unclear. The dispute thus turned on competing messages at the rally: Vance’s appeal to citizen control of elections and his critics’ charge that his own language fuels division.