Biden visit to Intel semiconductor plant to test his appeal in heavily Republican Ohio

By Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden is making an election-year visit to an overwhelmingly Republican part of Ohio Friday for the groundbreaking of a semiconductor plant that he will promote as evidence his economic policies are working.

Biden travels to Licking County near Columbus, Ohio, to speak at the site of Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC)'s new $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility.

The trip is part of a White House pre-midterms push to tout new funding for manufacturing and infrastructure Biden's Democratic Party pushed through Congress, while decrying opposition Republicans backed by former President Donald Trump as dangerous extremists.

Previous trips to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have landed the president in areas where Democrats already have strong support, but Licking County voted Republican 63% to 35% in the 2020 presidential election.

OHIO IN PLAY?

Democrats have lost Ohio in the past two presidential contests, but Republican Senator Rob Portman's retirement may give Democrats a chance to pick up a Senate seat.

Some recent forecasts show Democrats favored to maintain control of the Senate, after a series of wins in Congress. But not all candidates welcome Biden's campaigning support.

Representative Tim Ryan is running against Republican J.D. Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the book, "Hillbilly Elegy," who has Trump's backing.

Asked Thursday if Biden should seek a second term, Ryan told Youngstown, Ohio, network WFMJ, "My hunch is that we need new leadership across the board - Democrats, Republicans, I think it’s time for a generational move."

Ryan has not asked Biden to campaign with him in the state, and has broken with the president on some issues.

Trump’s political organization announced on Monday that Trump will appear at a rally for Vance in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sept. 17.

CHIPS ACT PROJECTS

Intel backed the Ohio project in anticipation of the passage of the Chips and Science Act, a funding law that Biden signed last month after some Republicans joined Democrats to support it, the White House says.

The Chips act is aimed at jumpstarting the domestic production of semiconductors in response to supply-chain disruptions that have slowed the production of automobiles.

A string of other companies have announced new semiconductor plants resulting from passage of the Chips act, which authorized about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research, and an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion.

During Biden's visit, Intel will announce it has distributed $17.7 million to Ohio colleges and universities to develop semiconductor-focused education and workforce programs, part of a $50 million education and research investment in the state.

The Intel facility will contain at least two fabricating plants that the White House said will be built by union labor, creating more than 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 full-time jobs producing cutting-edge chips.