He’s an Ohio senator, and their party’s vice presidential nominee, but Ohio GOP candidates want nothing to do with him.
Vance is “conspicuously absent” from billboards that “prominently feature” Trump, Bernie Moreno, and Derek Merrin, according to Politico (read story here). He’s not participating in GOP broadcast advertising, either, despite “a plethora of outside spending.”
Moreno is running for Senate, Merrin for a House seat, both in uphill races against Democratic incumbents.
Why is Vance being shunned? Because he’s unpopular. Politico says in interviews conducted the day after the vice presidential debate, “local voters, politicians and union representatives were either apathetic or outright negative about him.”
Vance is relatively new to politics, having never held office before being elected to the Senate two years ago. But all of America now knows who he is. One Ohio voter who was interviewed said, “I don’t think [he] has very good character,” and “a lot of the things he was saying … were outrageous and inflammatory.”
If this is a widespread sentiment in his home state, that could suggest that if the Trump-Vance ticket is defeated in November 2024, Vance may not have much future in politics.
Photo below: When Vance encountered Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Merrin’s opponent, at a Chrysler plant in 2023, she said, “First time at a picket line?” or words to that effect. Kaptur is likely to be re-elected in 2024.
