JD Vance did nothing as Trump cuts costs his Ohio home town millions. Will it reshape the city council?

Two progressives are running for seats on Middletown's non-partisan, yet Republican-leaning, council in next month's election

When the Middletown high school marching band performed at the presidential inauguration in Washington DC in January, they did so having called on parents, relatives and friends to empty their pockets to help pay for the trip.

Despite his apparent nous and wealth, built from a former career in venture capital, Middletown native JD Vance declined to help the students and their supporters get to the capital on the day that honored and marked him as one of the most powerful people in the country.