COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance won the Ohio primary election, beating out a crowded field to face Democrat Tim Ryan in November for Rob Portman's open seat.
A Middletown native, Vance is a Marine Corps veteran and came to prominence to a wider audience after he released his book, Hillbilly Elegy, which Netflix turned into a movie in 2020.
Vance has billed himself as a "conservative outsider," and nabbed former President Donald Trump's endorsement less than three weeks before the primary. Trump's endorsement came after GOP leaders in Ohio mounted a last-minute effort to urge the former president to remain neutral in the race.
In his endorsement, Trump noted that Vance had criticized him in the past, but said "he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades." Over the weekend, though, Trump said during a rally he endorsed "J.D. Mandel," mashing up the names of Vance and competitor Josh Mandel.
After his win, Vance thanked Trump and said the win is further proof his "America First" agenda is not dead. He called the primary a referendum for what the Republican Party will look like moving forward, calling on the GOP to unify.
"The question presented in this primary is do we want to have a border that protects American citizens? Or do we want to ship our jobs, or keep them right here in America for our American workers for the American people? Do we want a Republican Party that stands for the donors who write checks ... or do we want a Republican Party for the people right here in Ohio? Ladies and gentlemen, we just answered the question," Vance said.
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Vance ran on a platform that promised to restore America's manufacturing base, raise taxes on companies that send jobs overseas, break up big tech monopolies and address inflation.
Ryan, his general election opponent, secured the Democratic ticket less than 30 minutes after polls closed in Ohio. The former representative of Ohio's 13th district ran on a platform that included a focus on curbing dependence on foreign oil, raising the minimum wage and increasing access to opioid addiction treatment.
To check out election results in Ohio and Indiana, click here.
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