The MAGA movement is celebrating J.D. Vance’s surge to victory in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary, deeming it a “big moment for the Republican Party.”
The Trump-backed candidate surged to victory on Tuesday night, besting Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel by over eight percentage points — 32.2 percent to 23.9 percent:
Trump critic Matt Dolan fell to a close third with 23.3 percent of the vote, but on Tuesday night, he pledged to unite the party and support Vance moving forward:
Mandel also said he looked forward to voting for Vance and “doing what I can to help him beat Tim Ryan,” Vance’s Democrat challenger for the Senate seat.
“Now the party that we need to unify to fight Tim Ryan, it’s our Republican Party, ladies and gentlemen. It is the party of working people all across the state of Ohio, and it needs to fight, and it needs to win it,” Vance said.
Vance’s win is significant as it points directly to the power of the Trump endorsement. After Trump endorsed Vance mere weeks ago, the Hillbilly Elegy author saw a boost in the polls.
“Trump, if anything, is a rejection of the idea that we should give more money to the establishment to fight in stupid wars. And I just think on the substantive agenda, I’m more with Trump than anybody else, and that’s ultimately why he endorsed me,” Vance told Breitbart News Saturday last month, adding that “Trump sees me as a guy who actually carries on his agenda.”
“MAGA is alive and well and the GOP best take notice and finally understand where the people are,” Donald Trump Jr. said of the win:
“Not tired of winning,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) remarked, congratulating Vance as others expressed similar sentiments:
In the general election, he will face off against Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan, who won Ohio’s Democrat Senate primary.