Updated 20:29 p.m. | President Donald Trump dove headfirst into a House special election Saturday evening, aiming to give Ohio Republican Troy Balderson a final push three days before Election Day.

The race in the suddenly competitive 12th District between the state lawmaker and Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor, polls say, is now essentially tied. Trump and Republican leaders are eager to keep the seat in GOP hands after the retirement of former Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi earlier this year.

That the president interrupted his 11-day working vacation at his New Jersey golf resort to take take his unique bully pulpit to the district shows just how alarmed top Republicans are about the erosion of Balderson’s once-healthy lead. Voters in the district head to the polls Tuesday, and Trump urged rally attendees to help drive up Republican turnout.

The special election’s outcome, in a reliably GOP district in a state Trump won in 2016, is an early test of his influence with voters — and whether there is significant concern about his performance and policies.

[Ohio’s 12th District Race Tightens in Final Stretch of Special Election]