Trump endorses Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance in Ohio Senate primary
Former President Donald Trump announced Friday he was endorsing Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance in the Ohio Republican Senate primary, Axios reported.
In a statement, Trump called Vance "the candidate most qualified and ready to win in November." Trump added that Vance "may have said some not-so-great things about me in the past, but he gets it now."
Axios reports that "Vance was a strong critic against Trump in 2016" but has become a staunch supporter of the former president since entering politics in 2020. Writing for The Week, W. James Antle III noted that Friday's announcement is "Trump's first major endorsement of a Republican committed to the policy-focused Trumpism of the MAGA smart set."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A Trafalgar Group poll conducted before the endorsement was announced had Vance trailing former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel — who is also aggressively courting Trump's base — by five points.
"I continue to be a proud supporter of President Trump and the America First agenda. I look forward to earning his endorsement in the general election and working with him to defeat Tim Ryan in November," Mandel wrote on Twitter after the endorsement was announced.
The poll surveyed 1,078 likely primary voters on Wednesday and Thursday and has an error margin of 2.99 percent.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Crossword: December 30, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
What have Trump’s Mar-a-Lago summits achieved?Today’s big question Zelenskyy and Netanyahu meet the president in his Palm Beach ‘Winter White House’
-
The most anticipated movies of 2026The Week Recommends If the trailers are anything to go by, film buffs are in for a treat
-
What have Trump’s Mar-a-Lago summits achieved?Today’s big question Zelenskyy and Netanyahu meet the president in his Palm Beach ‘Winter White House’
-
Biggest political break-ups and make-ups of 2025The Explainer From Trump and Musk to the UK and the EU, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a round-up of the year’s relationship drama
-
Donald Trump’s squeeze on VenezuelaIn Depth The US president is relying on a ‘drip-drip pressure campaign’ to oust Maduro, tightening measures on oil, drugs and migration
-
Trump appears numerous times in new Epstein batchSpeed Read
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
Danes ‘outraged’ at revived Trump Greenland pushSpeed Read
-
‘Tension has been building inside Heritage for a long time’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The MAGA civil war takes center stage at the Turning Point USA conferenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT ‘Americafest 2025’ was a who’s who of right-wing heavyweights eager to settle scores and lay claim to the future of MAGA
