DES MOINES, Iowa — Vice President JD Vance took repeated shots at Democrats here Tuesday in a midterm-year effort to boost a vulnerable Republican congressman.

“This is not a normal election,” Vance told a crowd of several hundred on the warehouse floor of a company that makes grilles for truck guards.

“This is not a normal political environment,” he continued. “This is a contest between a party that wants to take all of your money and give it to illegal aliens and a contest between gentlemen like Zach Nunn who fight every single day for you.”

Vance’s event was billed as a White House message to American workers, as well as an effort to promote Nunn, who is locked in a tough re-election fight in the 3rd District. Nunn’s seat is one of three that Democrats have hopes of flipping this fall in a state that also is expected to have competitive open races for governor and the Senate.

But Vance’s trip — his first to the state as vice president — came with added political weight. Iowa traditionally holds the first presidential caucuses, and Vance is widely seen as a White House contender in 2028. Throughout the room, there was an expectation that the visit would be the first of many for him.

“Let me say this, Mr. Vice President, you are absolutely invited to every single part of Iowa,” the state’s Republican attorney general, Brenna Bird, said in her remarks to open the event. “We’d all like to see you.”

Nunn referred to Vance in his introduction as his “wing man” and praised him as a father. When Vance took the stage, he carefully recognized each of the high-ranking Republicans in the room, including Gov. Kim Reynolds and state party chair Jeff Kaufmann. And his speech was loaded with personal touches, including biographical details familiar to those who read his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

“It’s heartbreaking for a kid who came from a union Democrat family to realize that Democrats, these days, they seem to care more about gender transition than they do about you keeping more of your hard-earned money,” Vance said. “And I really do believe this, that there are Democrats like my Mamaw and Papaw all over the great state of Iowa. But I hate to say it, and I hate to break it to you, but there are none left in Washington, D.C.”

Vance became emotional when he talked about the Iran war and how he and his 6-year-old son, who traveled with him Tuesday, met briefly with two Gold Star families from Iowa upon landing in Des Moines.

“So I get in the car with my little 6-year-old, you know, and I look into those big eyes — his eyes remind me of his mother’s eyes — and I think to myself, what an amazing blessing it is to be able to be a father in the freest and most prosperous country anywhere in the history of the world,” said Vance, a Marine Corps veteran.

He continued: “And I thought to myself, what would I say? What would I say if this beautiful 6-year-old boy got older and decided, like his dad ... and like so many of you here, decided to put on the uniform of his country, and I thought to myself, on the one hand, I’d be so proud of him. But on the other hand, I’d be so terrified that what happened to those two families would happen to this boy.”

Most of Vance’s remarks, though, traced back to the midterm elections and, specifically, Nunn’s race.

National Republican Congressional Campaign spokesperson Emily Tuttle said: “For years, Democrats forgot about Iowa and left rural communities behind. But President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Zach Nunn have worked together to deliver commonsense wins for working families, from lower taxes and safer communities to stronger support for farmers and American manufacturing.”

Vance took several shots at state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, Nunn’s Democratic challenger.

“A lot of people are going to tell you that this is a bellwether here, that Iowa’s 3rd is the most vulnerable in the country,” Nunn told the audience before Vance took the stage. “But I know this much is true. ... We’re pragmatists. We’re hard workers. But we want results. And each of you in this room are going to help us deliver a resounding win this November.”

In a statement, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Katie Smith said: “JD Vance’s visit to Iowa’s Third District today is a reminder that Zach Nunn has become just another D.C. politician who prioritizes rolling out the red carpet for his fellow D.C. politicians over working for Iowa families.”

Several Republicans in the crowd who spoke to NBC News said they were excited about the possibility of a Vance 2028 bid.

“I would absolutely support JD Vance,” said April Melton, chair of the Black Hawk County GOP. “He’s young. He has a young family to bring to the White House.”

Asked about two other potential Republican presidential contenders, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Melton replied: “I think that they do a fabulous job where they’re at.”

Brad Boustead, a Republican from Urbandale, a Des Moines suburb, called Vance a “great guy” and said Vance is “definitely” someone he could see himself caucusing for in 2028.

“Rubio is great,” Boustead added. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he continued, “made a good showing in Iowa. I was a Trump person, and the Trump supporters were too strong, but DeSantis did everything right.”