Trump endorses JD Vance in Ohio GOP Senate primary

Former President Donald Trump Friday endorsed Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance in that state’s crowded and competitive GOP primary in a move that will likely shake the balance of the race.

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“In the great state of Ohio, the candidate most qualified and ready to win is J.D. Vance. We cannot play games. It is all about winning!” Trump said in a Friday statement.

“This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the race – they’ve said some great things about “Trump” and, like me, they love Ohio and they love our Country,” Trump added. “I’ve studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent – because they will have so much money to spend.”

The endorsement comes after an all-hands effort from the other Republican candidates and many Ohio GOP officials to stop it. That effort culminated in a letter Thursday, first reported by Fox News, which urged Trump not to endorse any candidate in the race.

The letter, which Fox News obtained from a source affiliated with one of the GOP Senate campaigns, takes aim at Vance’s opposition to Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election. “We do not support JD Vance for the aforementioned reasons and would urge you not to endorse anyone in this race,” the letter to Trump states.

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Vance, the author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy,” has polled in the middle of the pack in the combustible primary to replace Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who is retiring. NBC News first reported Trump was expected to endorse Vance on Thursday.

Jane Timken, a former Ohio GOP chair who is also running in the GOP Senate primary, Friday said she is still the person to win in the general election despite Trump’s endorsement.

“This race is about who can defeat Tim Ryan and retake the Republican Senate majority in November. I am that candidate and I look forward to having President Trump’s endorsement in the General Election,” she said. “While today’s announcement is disappointing, it does not change the fact that I had President Trump’s endorsement to serve as chair of the Ohio Republican Party, where I’m incredibly proud to have dismantled the Never-Trump Kasich establishment and turned Ohio into a pro-Trump, conservative stronghold.”

Most of the GOP primary has been candidates trying to convince voters they are the most closely-aligned with Trump. An official endorsement from the former president could allow Vance to move to the front of the primary pack and compete with front runners Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons.

A GOP source with knowledge of the discussions told Fox News Digital Thursday that Trump called around to donors and advisers in recent days asking their opinions about endorsing Vance. The campaigns of rivals Timken and Josh Mandel pushed back hard against that, causing Trump to temporarily hold off on an endorsement.

But the official endorsement came Friday.

Trump’s endorsement Friday also addresses past comments Vance made that were highly critical of him, which Vance’s opponents sought to leverage to prevent the former president from backing Vance.

“Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades,” Trump said. “He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.”

The endorsement also comes just over a week before a scheduled April 23 Trump rally in Ohio. That event now could be a boon for the Vance campaign as he seeks to vault himself into the upper echelon of the race.

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Vance, as well Timken, Mandel and Gibbons, had long been working hard to land Trump’s endorsement. And top allies of the former president, and former Trump White House and campaign figures are supporting or working for the various campaigns.

A super PAC backing Vance was infused with a massive $10 million contribution last year by PayPal co-founder and billionaire venture capitalist, and Trump ally, Peter Thiel, Vance’s old boss. Trump 2016 and 2020 pollster Tony Fabrizio is doing surveys for Vance’s Senate bid and Trump campaign veteran Andy Surabian is a senior adviser on Vance’s team. And Trump ally and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is backing Vance.

Bill Stepien, who served as Trump’s campaign manager during the summer and autumn of 2020, Justin Clark, who served as deputy campaign manager under Stepien, and Mike Biundo, a top adviser on Trump’s 2016 campaign, are all senior advisers for Gibbons.

Kellyanne Conway, who steered Trump’s 2016 general election campaign and served as a senior counselor in the Trump White House, Corey Lewandowski, who managed Trump’s 2016 campaign during the primaries and who was a key adviser on the 2020 reelection, and Trump campaign veteran and ally David Bossie, are all senior advisers for Timken’s campaign.

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Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who served as Trump’s first national security adviser, is backing Mandel, as is David Friedman, who served as ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration.

Sniping among the candidates over their loyalty to Trump dates back to February of last year, when Mandel and Timken — the first two major contenders to enter the race — started trying to outdo one another in spotlighting their Trump credentials.

A month later, Trump quizzed Mandel, Timken, Gibbons and Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant Bernie Moreno (who suspended his campaign earlier this year) about their support in a private meeting with the four candidates ahead of a fundraiser at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.

The GOP primary is May 3. The winner of the primary will likely face Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, in the general election.