It was a sea of neon. Orange, yellow, and red hardhats everywhere you looked. On July 28, 2025, Vice President JD Vance stepped onto the floor of the Metallus Inc. steel plant in Canton, Ohio. He wasn't there for a tour. He was there to sell a massive piece of legislation the GOP had dubbed "One Big, Beautiful Bill."
Canton is a tough town. It's the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, sure, but it’s also a place that knows the grind of the rolling mill. For Vance, a guy who built his entire political identity on his Rust Belt roots, this should have been a standard "homecoming" win.
But it got messy. Fast.
The Speech That Set Canton Off
Vance stood in that rolling mill and talked about paychecks. He told the workers they’d keep more of their overtime pay. He hyped up "Trump Accounts," a new children's savings program. He basically framed the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" as the savior of Northeast Ohio manufacturing.
"When people grow up in Northeast Ohio, they ought to have the opportunity to stay in Northeast Ohio," Vance told the crowd of about 100 workers.
Then came the comment that local leaders are still steaming about.
During his remarks, Vance suggested that cities like Canton and Akron were becoming "lawless." He didn't mince words. He linked the economic struggles of these communities to a lack of order, a move that felt like a punch in the gut to the people actually living there.
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Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, who represents the district, didn't take it sitting down. She released a blistering statement calling the Vice President's remarks "bitterly disappointing." She basically told him that just because Canton’s heart beats differently than Silicon Valley or D.C., it doesn’t make it any less than.
Honestly, it was a weird look for a guy who literally wrote the book on being from "forgotten" Ohio.
Why Metallus? The Steel Stakes
You might wonder why he chose a steel plant in Perry Township. It wasn't random.
The Trump-Vance administration had just slapped a 50% tariff on imported steel. They were trying to wall off the U.S. market from "subsidized steel from communist China." To the guys in the hardhats, that’s not just a policy—it’s job security.
- The 2025 Tax Overhaul: The bill Vance was promoting is a hodgepodge. It kept tax rates from expiring, but it also slashed Medicaid and food stamps to pay for it.
- The "One Big, Beautiful Bill": This is the administration's flagship 2025 policy. It’s got everything from border funding to tax breaks for tipped income.
- The Protest Factor: While Vance was inside talking about "building things," protesters were outside with signs calling the bill "Big Ugly Lies."
The Disconnect Between Middletown and Canton
There’s a bit of a misconception that because Vance is from Ohio, he’s a "local" everywhere in the state. He’s not. He grew up in Middletown, which is down near Cincinnati—nearly 200 miles away.
Canton is Northeast Ohio. It's a different vibe.
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In Middletown, they’re still arguing about whether to put up signs celebrating him as a "hometown hero." His mom, Beverly Aikins, even showed up at a city council meeting to beg them to acknowledge him. But in Canton? He's often viewed more as a visiting politician than a native son.
Local bookstore owner Lorraine Wilbern, who protested the visit, told reporters the bill felt like it was for the 1%, not the people in the rolling mills.
What This Means for Your Wallet
If you’re living in or around Canton, the JD Vance visit actually signaled some concrete changes you'll see in 2026 and beyond.
The Republican tax plan he pushed focuses heavily on industrial incentives. If you work in manufacturing, those steel tariffs are designed to keep the lights on at places like Metallus. However, the nonpartisan experts are split. Some project the "Rate Hike" provisions in the bill could actually spike energy bills for Ohio families by nearly $190 a year.
It’s a trade-off.
The administration is betting that the "no tax on overtime" and the "no tax on tips" will be enough to win over the working class before the midterms. Critics, meanwhile, are pointing at the 34,000 jobs Ohio is projected to lose due to energy cost spikes.
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Fact-Checking the "Lawless" Narrative
Was he right about the "lawlessness"?
Data from the Canton Police Department and the FBI generally doesn't support the idea that the city is a "lawless" wasteland. Like any post-industrial city, it has its challenges with crime and the opioid epidemic—things Vance himself detailed in Hillbilly Elegy. But the local backlash suggests residents feel the city is on an upward trajectory, not a downward spiral.
The "lawless" comment was likely a rhetorical tool to justify the bill’s heavy focus on border security and policing grants. But in politics, words matter. And in Canton, those words stung.
How to Track the Impact locally
If you want to see if the Vance-backed policies are actually working in Stark County, keep an eye on these three things:
- Overtime Deductions: Check your paystubs starting in early 2026. If the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" provisions are fully active, you should see a shift in how your OT is taxed.
- Steel Production Levels: Local industrial reports for Metallus and other Northeast Ohio mills will show if the 50% tariffs are actually boosting domestic orders or just raising prices for everyone else.
- Medicaid Eligibility: Since the bill includes cuts to the safety net, local clinics in Canton will be the first to see if people are losing coverage.
Vance’s visit to Canton wasn't just a photo op. It was a high-stakes play to hold onto a swing district that doesn't quite trust him yet. Whether the "Big Beautiful Bill" delivers on its promises or leaves Canton families with higher utility bills is the question that will likely decide the next election in the 13th District.