COLUMBUS, Ohio — Allies of Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel are calling for a boycott of a rally to be held by former President Donald Trump in the state after he endorsed Mandel’s primary rival, J.D. Vance.
A large field of Republican candidates had sought Trump’s endorsement before he ultimately gave it to Vance, a venture capitalist and author of Hillbilly Elegy, last week. Vance and several Republican House candidates also endorsed by Trump are scheduled to appear at a rally with the former president in Delaware County on Saturday.
Some Republicans in the state asked Trump to reconsider his endorsement, arguing in a letter that Vance is a “political chameleon” who called Trump and his supporters “racist” in 2016. In his Senate campaign, Vance has cast himself as a close ally to Trump.
In his endorsement of Vance, Trump acknowledged his previous criticism, saying it was not an “easy” decision for him to make.
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“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.”
But some Ohio Republicans argued Trump made the wrong call, marking one of his most contentious endorsements of the election cycle among his own party.
The group Ohio Value Voters, which endorsed Mandel, recently argued in a message to supporters that Republicans should boycott Trump’s rally in protest of the endorsement.
The message calls the endorsement of Vance a “terrible decision” and blames unnamed people around the former president for it.
“However, if you decide to attend, when President Trump introduces JD Vance, make your voices heard by letting Trump know, JD Vance is Wrong for Ohio,” the message says. “Booing is entirely appropriate!”
Vance this week unveiled a new TV ad campaign touting Trump’s endorsement.
“Trump fought back, and so have I,” Vance says in the ad. “Now I’ll take our fight to the U.S. Senate.”
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In a statement, Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son who is also supporting Vance, said, “The MAGA Movement is strongly united behind my father’s endorsement of JD Vance, which you can see by the surge he’s seen in the polls since the endorsement.”
“It’s unfortunate that career politician Josh Mandel is pushing his supporters, some of whom are on the dole, to boycott a Trump Rally. Very not MAGA of him!” he added.
