With less than two months to go before the May 3 primary, Sen. Portman will be re-elected as the state’s next senator. Rob Portman: Some of the top candidates have admitted that the ex-president’s endorsement might not come despite all their efforts.
“I have made my pitch to President. I will continue to pitch the president. J.D. said that we must also pitch voters. “I think there’s an opportunity he stays out.” Vance is one of the candidates who are eagerly courting Trump.
The Ohioan is perhaps the best example of the changes in the Republican Party in six years. Ohio voted twice for President Barack Obama, and elected a long list of moderate Republicans from the past governor. John Kasich and the establishment-minded Portman have swept decisively to their right. The top candidates have been out-Trumping one another in an effort to win his support and that of his voters.
Vance mentions that Trump speaks to him regularly at his town hall events. The slogan of former state Treasurer Josh Mandel is running. Jane Timken, ex-chair of the Ohio GOP, opens her website with an ad called “Incredible Leader”. It features footage showing Trump giving praises to her at rallies and via tweets. Her campaign hired a plane for the last event in Ohio. It displayed a banner reading “Ohio Is Trump Country” and distributed flyers calling her “The Only True Trump, America First Candidate” during the race.
Trump’s past criticisms have been a dominant theme in the negative advertising that has flooded state airwaves with millions of dollars.
Trump, however, has not settled on a candidate, despite the efforts of many former and current aides, including a long list who are working for rival candidates, to push him his way. Allies believe that Trump could choose to withdraw from the race if there is no clear front-runner, or may endorse multiple candidates, or wait until the very last moment to weigh in, when many voters have already decided. The uncertainty is heightened by the fact that the election could be delayed after the Ohio Supreme Court rejected the proposed legislative maps.
“Ohio’s race is critical. Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, said that President Trump is closely monitoring the situation and will make a decision at the right moment.
The candidates have tried other strategies.
“You know, in the campaign, everybody’s claiming they’re all Trumpiest candidates,” Mike Gibbons said last week at a campaign event. “I don’t need to prove my Trump credentials. It’s not about Trump. It’s all about America First, the ideas, and the accomplishments he made.”
The “pro-Trump businessman” is a wealthy investment banker. He told his Stark Country GOP audience that he was Trump’s state finance chair in 2016 and launched a Trump-aligned Super PAC. He also served as a pro Trump commentator on Norwegian TV.
According to two people familiar, Gibbons met with Trump Tuesday after he told The Associated Press last Wednesday that he never sought Trump’s endorsement.
Gibbons stated to the AP, “You know that I have never had.” “It’s true that Trump knows who I am. That’s it. He doesn’t know much about me. He probably knows that I have never criticized him, or been an anti-Trumper.”
He said that he understood Trump’s hesitation: “He doesn’t want to be embarrassed, and pick the wrong person.”
Mandel, the far-right candidate who has been using Trump’s playbook of attention-by-controversy, had no qualms about acknowledging his efforts.
“I fully respect the president’s decision on the endorsement. I will do everything possible to win his support. He said that he is confident he will earn his support. He also noted that he was the first Ohio statewide official to vote for Trump in 2016. “There is no candidate in this race who embodies Trump America First as much as I do.
Mandi Merritt (Timken spokesperson) said that Timken would be “of course honored” to have Trump’s support.
She said, “But every single day Jane is focused on earning endorsement and support from the voters of Ohio.”
State Sen. Matt Dolan (the last major GOP candidate in this race), whose family owns Cleveland Guardians, has not aligned with Trump and is seeking an alternative route.
The race is still fluid for now. According to a Fox News poll, nearly 25% of Republican primary voters are still undecided. Even Vance, Mandel, and Gibbons supporters expressed concern that they might change their minds.
Interviews with voters indicated that Trump’s endorsement may not be important.
Dorine Garbash (57), a lifelong Republican, lives in Uniontown and said that she was turned off by candidates who talk up their ties with Trump, whom she has voted twice.
“I don’t like people riding on the coattails of other people.” She said that she felt there were a lot of them riding on her coattails.
Star Clark, 75-year-old Elyria resident, plans to vote for Mandel. She said that she doesn’t care if Trump endorses her — so long as the person asking her vote supports him.
She said, “If they turn against Donald Trump it’s to the detriment of their health.” They must stay with him if they are to continue to do something. Donald Trump is my hero.
Although the endorsement of the former president is highly sought after by candidates across the country it is not clear how valuable it will prove in the current races.
Trump declared last week that all 33 Trump-endorsed candidates had won the Texas midterm elections. But, many of those he endorsed were uncontested or faced little opposition. Trump’s strong ally, Attorney General Ken Paxton was forced to run against George P. Bush, Texas Land Commissioner.
In Alabama, Trump’s Senate Candidate, Rep. Mo Brooks has been so struggling that Trump said to the Washington Examiner this week he might withdraw his endorsement. Ted Budd, his surprise choice in North Carolina’s Senate race is locked in a fierce primary. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has badly outraised former Senator David Perdue in Georgia’s governor race. Perdue was Trump’s choice. Brian Kemp.
Trump has not yet to endorse in many other high-profile Senate races, including Ohio. Trump has not endorsed in any of the other high-profile Senate races, including in Arizona and Missouri.
Rep. Tim Ryan is the leading Democrat in Ohio’s Senate race and sees an opportunity for the Republicans to be the Trumpiest.
He told the AP that he believes a lot of Republicans fear what the Republican primary’s turning into. It’s one those “I didn’t leave the them, they left us” kind of things.
