The Republican former president played kingmaker in the GOP primary in Ohio, with a host of candidates he endorsed or who associated themselves with him defeating their rivals.
Some of those who won include JD Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the hit book “Hillbilly Elegy,” who has modeled his campaign, including his rhetorical style, on Trump’s, and is seeking to defeat Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan. JR Majewski, a believer in the Qanon conspiracy theory and attendee at the Capitol Insurrection, also won, and will try and unseat Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in November.
For Vance, Trump’s endorsement was decisive, lifting him from single-digit popularity in March to a narrow victory on Tuesday. His campaign also received a timely injection of $3.5 million from billionaire Peter Thiel, the PayPal founder who also helped bankroll Trump’s 2016 campaign. Thiel has thrown his money around in Trump’s defense in recent races, supporting candidates running against sitting Republicans who opposed Trump’s bid to retain power in the wake of the 2020 election.
Republican Senate candidate JD Vance, left, is hugs his wife Usha Vance, as he prepares to speak to supporters during an election night watch party, Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Cincinnati.
© AP Photo / Aaron Doster
Thiel had already given the then-new Super PAC backing Vance $10 million in 2021, before Vance had even officially declared his candidacy.
Others who won were Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a former Miss Ohio champion who beat six other Republicans thanks to a Trump endorsement; and Max Miller, who is running for Rep. Bob Gibbs’ seat as the six-term lawmaker retires. Miller, a former Trump aide with his endorsement, faced no opposition after the two other GOP candidates withdrew from the race.
However, there was one major victor who triumphed without a Trump endorsement: Governor Mike DeWine. While Trump hailed DeWine in the 2018 race, the Ohio governor’s early recognition of Biden’s victory in the November 2020 election earned him the lasting enmity of Trump, who rejected Biden’s victory as fraudulent and pushed Republican governors to ensure ballot recounts made him the winner.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine talks with reporters outside of his polling place after voting in Cedarville, Ohio, Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
© AP Photo / Paul Vernon
On the Democratic side, Biden-backed candidates triumphed as well, despite his lagging popularity. Rep. Shontel Brown successfully defeated a challenge by Nina Turner, a former state senator endorsed by several figures from the Democratic Party’s left wing, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Turner co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid, which he lost in the primary to Biden.
Turner, who also lost to Brown in a special election for the congressional seat last year, declared on Wednesday, “They can’t contain this Black girl magic,” and suggested she was considering a presidential run in 2024, when Biden will be up for re-election and Trump is sure to challenge him.