J.D. Vance, Trump's Pick In Ohio, Wins GOP Senate Primary

J.D. Vance, the author and first-time candidate who nabbed former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, won Ohio’s GOP Senate primary on Tuesday, settling a tumultuous race for the Republican nomination.

Vance’s campaign had stagnated until last month, when Trump made his pick in Ohio’s crowded contest. The move bumped the “Hillbilly Elegy” author out ahead of his opponents, including Josh Mandel, a former state treasurer and the far-right evangelical candidate, and state Sen. Matt Dolan, a moderate who refused to kiss Trump’s ring.

Ohio’s GOP Senate primary was the first major test of Trump’s endorsement mettle — and the outcome seems to bode well for him in upcoming races. Trump is backing Republican primary candidates in more than two dozen states, but not every one is as well positioned as Vance. Trump’s other picks aren’t surging with his support, or they carry baggage that could hurt them in a general election.

“I absolutely have to thank the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump,” Vance said at his victory bash in Cincinnati.

Besides Dolan and Mandel, Vance beat financier Mike Gibbons and former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken. He will likely face Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in November, in a state Trump won twice.