Hillbily Elegy author JD Vance has secured Donald Trump’s endorsement in the contentious Ohio Republican Senate primary, but still faces questions about comments he made as recently as 2016 about the celebrity-businessman-turned-president.
Mr Vance is running for the US Senate seat held by Sen Rob Portman, a Republican, in a crowded GOP primary field in which he trails frontrunners including Josh Mandel. Mr Trump’s endorsement, however, be the jolt Mr Vance’s campaign needs to propel itself back into relevance.
He faces continued skepticism from conservatives in the state, though, resulting from his past staunch opposition to Mr Trump which manifested itself in vitriolic criticism of the GOP president.
That criticism even included him referring to Mr Trump as having the potential to be “America’s Hitler”, according to a 2016 message shared on Twitter this week by a Georgia state lawmaker.
The Vance campaign has dismissed efforts to question the candidate on his sharp reversal regarding his thoughts on Mr Trump as efforts to divide Republicans. And Mr Trump has apparently accepted that excuse, and endorsed Mr Vance over Mr Mandel who had been openly courting the former president since the beginning of his campaign.
Ohio’s Senate race is one of the most closely watched contests heading in to November, when Republicans are hoping to retake control of the Senate and potentially the House as well. A victory by a Democrat (such as contender Tim Ryan, a congressman) in the race for the seat would be a major blow to GOP efforts to oust the Democratic majority.
Former President Trump has attempted to establish himself as a sort of GOP kingmaker since failing in his attempts to overturn the rightful results of the 2020 election and remain in office for a second term; in that position he has made a number of endorsements in Republican primaries around the country. The results haven’t always been pretty, as was the case in the Alabama GOP Senate primary where Rep Mo Brooks won and then later lost the endorsement of Mr Trump, as well as the Pennsylvania Senate primary where Sean Parnell was endorsed by Trump for the seat held by retiring Sen Pat Toomey before domestic abuse allegations forced him out of the race.
In Ohio, the Vance campaign’s efforts to overcome frontrunners in the GOP primary could serve as a test that may determine what strength Mr Trump’s endorsement still has among the Republican voter base.
Mr Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, is set to appear alongside Mr Vance on the campaign trail in the coming days and the candidate has poured $500,000 into an ad campaign promoting the endorsement.
