Donald Trump Endorses J.D. Vance In Messy Ohio Senate Primary

“It is time for the entire MAGA movement, the greatest in the history of our Country, to unite behind J.D.’s campaign," the former president said in a statement.
Senate Republican candidate J.D. Vance answers a question during Ohio's U.S. Senate Republican Primary debate, March 28, at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Senate Republican candidate J.D. Vance answers a question during Ohio's U.S. Senate Republican Primary debate, March 28, at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
via Associated Press

Donald Trump endorsed author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance in Ohio’s chaotic GOP Senate primary on Friday, ending months of speculation about which candidate would finally earn the former president’s support.

“It is time for the entire MAGA movement, the greatest in the history of our Country, to unite behind J.D.’s campaign because, unlike so many other pretenders and wannabes, he will put America First,” Trump said in a statement. “In other words, J.D. Vance has my Complete and Total Endorsement. He will not let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The “Hillbilly Elegy” memoirist and rivals Josh Mandel and Jane Timken were each jockeying for Trump’s backing the May 3 primary. The endorsement is expected to give a major boost to Vance, whose candidacy has struggled to surge less than a month from Election Day. Recent polls show him roughly tied with Mandel and Mike Gibbons.

Vance, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., has needed to walk back early criticisms of Trump to be viable to the MAGA base. He has called Trump “noxious” and an “idiot,” and admitted to not voting for him in 2016. However, since entering the race to replace GOP Sen. Rob Portman, Vance has said the former president “proved me wrong.”

Trump’s decision is a blow especially to Timken, his hand-picked choice to the lead the Ohio Republican Party, and Mandel, the former state treasurer who has aggressively adopted Trump’s political posture.

The Ohio endorsement comes days after Trump also weighed in on Pennsylvania’s Senate race, endorsing celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, best known as “Dr. Oz” from his daytime TV show.

Despite his frequent Fox News hits, Vance isn’t especially well known in Ohio’s grassroots political circles. His major claim to fame statewide is his memoir about growing up surrounded by addiction and poverty in Middletown, Ohio.

The winner of the GOP primary is all but guaranteed to face Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the general election.

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