DAVID MARCUS: Why JD Vance's reshoring message is a perfect fit for struggling small towns like St. Cloud

Three weeks ago in Dallas, at the midterm convention, Republicans chose to put Vice President JD Vance in the spotlight, to lead the troops to November.His speech, about the future of the nation, could have been addressed directly to the town of St.

Cloud, Minnesota, and its environs.In those remarks, referring to the future of his own kids, Vance said, "I want, whether they work in tech or manufacturing, American businesses to hire American workers, to rely on American people and to ensure that we build the next generation of great American products with American hands."You can almost hear those words echoing around the historic downtown of 19th century red brick, and it is a bit of a puzzle, because usually it is fairly obvious whether a city of this size — about 80,000 souls — is ascending or descending.But St.

Cloud seems, well, stuck in the middle.Chad O'Brien, a store owner in St.Cloud, Minnesota.

(David Marcus)Metz & Co Vintage, a shop in St.Cloud, Minnesota.

(David Marcus)THE ONE LINE FROM JD VANCE’S GOP KEYNOTE THAT REVEALS HIS VISION FOR AMERICAOn the positive side of the civic ledger is the fact that the businesses that are open seem to be thriving.It's not in every minor metro downtown that you see packed restaurants for lunch on a Tuesday.

There were also volunteers out painting the planters that line the sidewalk, another very positive sign of civic engagement.On the downside, almost half of the available commercial space is empty — like a handsome hockey player with some missing teeth — and foot traffic, at least for now, is not heavy enough to support many more retailers.Rob, now in his 40s, went to college at the nearby university in the early 2000s and told Fox News Digital, "Back then downtown was packed every night, you could barely move, I don’t think it's ever getting back to that."When I asked how he thought the town was doing, he said, "Better these days, better since COVID, but it's kind of plateaued," and he was not...