“I should keep the seat, but don’t take it for granted.” Michael (Mike) Rulli is the Republican Congressman representing Ohio’s 6th District, a stretch of land running from Youngstown in the northeast all the way to the West Virginia border, an area that is both post-industrial and rural.

He is of Italian descent, in a territory where between 15% and 17% of the population has Italian ancestry. Many of them are part of the electoral base of this Congressman, who describes himself as a representative of a party for working people.

“The populist movement is the one that traces its roots to Ross Perot—the billionaire who ran for the White House in 1992 against Clinton and George H.W. Bush, ed.—the Tea Party and Donald Trump,” he explains in an interview with La Stampa Usa.

Ohio has voted for Trump three consecutive times, and there is an old saying in American politics: “As Ohio goes, so goes the Nation.” This means that the state, situated above West Virginia and Kentucky and bordering Canada and Michigan, has always represented a microcosm of America, combining African American communities, progressive cities, and conservative suburban and rural areas.

No Republican in modern times has ever reached the White House without winning Ohio.

Now it is time for the midterm elections, and Rep. Rulli displays a degree of optimism that goes well beyond his state or district.

“I believe we will win. I’m talking about the Senate — in Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Alaska and Maine. Elsewhere, we have some problems.”

If things went that way on Tuesday, November 3, Republicans would retain control of the Senate.

The Congressman points to the wars as the starting point of the Republicans’ troubles. “If it weren’t for the war in Iran, there wouldn’t be a race,” he stresses, citing the rise in the cost of living as its most serious consequence.

Yet Rulli is not opposed to intervention on principle: “War is very unpopular. We have to deal with this situation, but the Persian leadership is monstrous, not the people. Leadership could cause an apocalypse if they had a nuclear weapon; they would use it against America, Europe and Italy.”

He sees no problem with tariffs, "zero", he underlined even if inflation runs higher than last year. Rulli is more concerned about protecting Social Security and programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. “I would like to see more money for these programs.”

In the last quarter, Ohio recorded a net loss of nearly 11,500 jobs, but according to Rulli this is a “false alarm.” The unemployment rate is 4.2%, and northeastern Ohio, the Republican congressman says, has 50,000 jobs available.

“The problem is cultural. Many young people don’t want certain kinds of jobs; we need a shift in that. I know at least 20 business owners who are short of workers.”

It is impossible not to turn to Italy and relations between Italy and the United States when speaking with Rep. Rulli.

He considers the storm between Trump and Meloni to be a thing of the past. “Even Musk and Trump fought and now they’re best friends again.”

Political and economic relations are strong, he says, and the work of the Administration and Congress is solid. Rulli himself has been to Italy at least three times this year to discuss business and facilitate ties between companies and productive sectors.

During his first two years in Congress, “we brought here a company that makes workbenches; they now sell them at Home Depot—an Italian company that manufactures in America.”

The plan is to go further, and Rulli mentions the F-35s and the Italian facilities that are part of the consortium.

“I want the Italian Parliament to know how happy we are that Italy is our partner.”

Then there is his work on behalf of the Italian American community in the United States.

The Congressman travels around the country raising funds and seeking to get as many Americans of Italian descent as possible elected to public office.

“I would like us to be able to influence races and have an even greater impact.”

For now, November 3 remains circled on the calendar. The first major turning point.