J.D. Vance won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio on Tuesday, emerging from a crowded field with the help of a late endorsement from former President Trump.
Six other candidates split the rest of the vote, with state Sen. Matt Dolan — who broke with Trump and repudiated his lies about the 2020 election being illegitimate jockeying for second place. And former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, an erstwhile moderate who took a sharp turn to the right in an effort to win over Trump voters, was likewise projected to finish behind Vance.
Vance, the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” and a former venture capitalist, surged to the lead in the GOP primary over the last two weeks, fueled by a Trump endorsement in mid-April. Vance had been stuck in third place prior to receiving Trump’s backing.
The result is a boost for Trump’s political fortunes ahead of several primaries in other states where the former president’s preferred candidate faces long odds.
A big question for Trump is how much credit he gets for Vance’s victory in the eyes of Republican politicians, donors and activists.
But Vance benefited just as much from someone else: Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel jump-started Vance’s candidacy and kept it afloat with $13.5 million in funding through a super-PAC.
ance will face Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the fall election on Nov. 8. Ryan easily won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, but will face an uphill battle in Republican-leaning Ohio.
Mandel and Dolan were the closest competitors to Vance, but for different reasons. Mandel has run for statewide office in Ohio three times, and has lost twice and dropped out once.
But he had broad name recognition, a preexisting relationship with conservative grassroots voters and nearly $5 million in campaign funds left over from 2018, when he suspended his last Senate campaign citing family issues.
Political | Process 
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