Trump has 4 months to boost VP pick’s profile
Vance relative unknown in party, swing states
MILWAUKEE • J.D. Vance is supposed to help Donald Trump win the Midwest this fall.
But almost immediately after the Ohio senator was announced as Trump’s vice-presidential pick on Monday, one thing became clear: Vance, a 39-year-old Republican with less than two years in Congress, is not well-known among many in his party, even in the swing states Trump hopes he’ll deliver.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra offered a blunt response when asked about Trump’s pick minutes after it was announced: “We don’t know him.”
“If he’s from Ohio, he understands our state and the other northern battlegrounds,” Hoekstra said at the Republican National Convention. “But we haven’t had a chance to take his measure yet.”
Trump’s team now has less than four months to strengthen Vance’s profile in the states that matter most this fall in his 2020 rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden.
Already, a collection of political foes is working to fill the void by seizing on Vance’s inexperience in government, his nationalist views and his critical comments about Trump himself.
“He’s not that well-known even in Ohio,” said veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. “This isn’t a campaign pick. It’s a policy pick, a governing pick.”
Vance, who quickly developed a reputation as a MAGA firebrand in his short time on Capitol Hill, earned modest applause when he entered the packed convention hall for the first time Monday as Trump’s running mate. Recent polling confirms the notion that most voters don’t know Vance.
Trump’s vice-presidential pick is arguably the most important decision of his 2024 campaign, and Trump’s critics in both parties quickly went after him.
But Trump made up his own mind based on his own criteria.
He especially liked Vance’s performance on television, where he has become a fixture on conservative media.
He also likes Vance’s looks, saying he reminded him of “a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Vance is an Ivy League-educated author, former Marine and businessman.
Biden’s campaign hosted a conference call Monday denouncing the pick, focusing especially on his limited record on abortion and his support for Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
One of Biden’s greatest assets in his campaign against Vance might be what Vance previously said about Trump. During the early stages of Trump’s political career, Vance cast Trump as “a total fraud,” “a moral disaster” and “America’s Hitler.”