Pahrump delegate: Trump-Vance ticket a ‘good blend’
MILWAUKEE — Weeks of anticipation came to an end Monday when former President Donald Trump used his personal social media platform to announce his running mate — Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — just as the Republican National Convention was getting underway in this Midwest city.
“J.D. has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, during the campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond…” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our troops and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump continued.
The Ohio senator arrived to great fanfare at the RNC Monday with his wife but did not speak or make any statements.
He is expected to speak on Wednesday, when he formally accepts the party’s nomination.
Vance served in the Marine Corps and graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He is well-known for his best-selling book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Vance worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and was elected to the Senate in 2022, winning 53.1 percent of the votes.
At 39 years old, Vance is expected to help energize the GOP base and bring a millennial perspective to the campaign.
Vance ran a staunch anti-abortion campaign in 2022, saying in a debate he would support a national abortion ban at 15 weeks. Vance has more recently aligned himself with Trump, praising the former president’s belief that states should make their own abortion laws.
The Cincinnati resident was a “never Trump” Republican in 2016. He called Trump “dangerous” and “unfit” for office. Vance, whose wife, lawyer Usha Chilukuri Vance, is Indian-American and the mother of their three children, also criticized Trump’s rhetoric, saying he could be “America’s Hitler.”
But by the time Vance met Trump in 2021, he had reversed his opinion, citing Trump’s accomplishments as president. Both men downplayed Vance’s past scathing criticism.
Once elected, Vance became a fierce Trump ally on Capitol Hill, unceasingly defending Trump’s policies and behavior.
Nevada delegates enthusiastic
Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald said Vance’s energy and focus will be good for the campaign. Vance can bring the youth vote as well as independent voters, McDonald said.
“He delivers a really one-two punch for the future of the Republican Party,” McDonald said.
Joe Burdzinski, a delegate from Pahrump, listed Vance’s accomplishments.
“I think they’ll be a good blend and do a real good job for the party and the country. I think they’ll work well together. Based on what I know about J.D. and then what I know about Donald Trump and their personalities, I think they’ll blend together. Their ideology is the same.”
Nevada’s RNC Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid said Vance brings balance to the ticket and has an “awesome story of American success,” pulling himself up from poverty.
Sigal Chattah, Nevada’s RNC committeewoman, said he has strong conservative values. She said Vance is also very pro-Israel.
Trump reportedly was deciding between Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in June that he has an obligation to pick a vice president who can capably serve as president if something happened to him.
Following Saturday’s attempted assassination, Trump’s pick carries even more weight.
“I think it’s very important that if something should happen where the vice president has to kick into gear, we want to make sure we have a great one,” Trump told the Review-Journal.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign, said in a statement that Vance will do what then-Vice President Mike Pence would not do on Jan. 6, 2021, “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda.”
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
