Dozens of Republican leaders in Ohio are mounting a last-minute effort to urge former President Donald Trump not to endorse JD Vance in the crowded upcoming primary for an open Senate seat.
A draft letter circulating among Republicans and obtained by The Associated Press calls on Trump to remain neutral in the race. It was written following an NBC News report that Trump was going to endorse Vance, a step the former president has not yet taken.
But the letter is a sign of anxiety among some Republicans about which candidate Trump may pick in advance of the state’s May 3 primary.
The letter, signed by GOP party leaders, including a slew of county chairs, tells the former president that “an endorsement that cuts against your support and legacy in Ohio will only serve to confuse or upset voters” and may even suppress Republican turnout in the fall.
David Johnson, chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, who helped to draft and circulate the letter, said the effort came together in a series of phone calls between party chairs Thursday.
Johnson, who has endorsed former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken for Senate, said the letter has now been signed by between 40 and 50 people, including supporters of Timken, former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, Cleveland investment banker Mike Gibbons and state Sen. Matt Dolan. Two other candidates round out a seven-way primary to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.
“All of us think it’s just not a smart thing to do for winning that seat. That’s the objective,” Johnson said.
The Mandel campaign referred Trump to an internal poll showing Vance losing the primary even with Trump’s endorsement, NBC News reported.
Vance supporters, meanwhile, urged Trump to stick with him.
“President Trump would be making a fantastic choice by endorsing JD Vance,” said Marshall Pitchford, the chairman of Ohio Right to Life. “JD is 100% pro-life without exceptions. He will continue President Trump’s pro-life victories in the US Senate.”
Trump angered some Republicans earlier this week by endorsing Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate race. Some pro-life conservatives took issue with Oz’s mixed statements about abortion.
Similarly, critics have argued that Vance has flip-flopped in his opinion of the former President.
Following his blockbuster memoir Hillbilly Elegy, Vance tweeted in October 2016, “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.”
“In 4 years, I hope people remember that it was those of us who empathized with Trump’s voters who fought him the most aggressively,” he added in March 2017.
Vance has since apologized for these tweets.
“Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016,” Vance said on Fox News in July. “And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy.”
Speaking about Trump, Vance added, “He made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak… I think that’s the most important thing, is not what you said five years ago, but whether you’re willing to stand up and take the heat and take the hits for actually defending the interests of the American people.”
Vance later deleted all these tweets, but old screenshots have surfaced on Twitter.
Take a look —
Vance also deleted a tweet saying he found Trump reprehensible from October 2016. pic.twitter.com/sTYhOpMnPG
— Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) July 1, 2021
Here's another deleted one pic.twitter.com/PqCm4GNpR1
— Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) July 2, 2021
The new latter reminds Trump of Vance’s past comments, including references to potentially supporting Hillary Clinton and comparing the former president to “another opioid.”
“We know there are many qualified candidates in this race who have stood up for the America First agenda over the years and have carried the Trump mantle over the years, again with the notable exception of JD Vance,” the letter says. “While we were working hard in Ohio to support you and Make America Great Again, JD Vance was actively working against your candidacy.”
The Horn editorial team and The Associated Press contributed to this article.