Mixed reactions from Michigan Republicans to Trump’s nomination of Vance
Milwaukee — Donald Trump’s selection of U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate underscores the importance of the Midwest in the upcoming election and reaffirms the former president’s political philosophy, Republicans in the state of Michigan said Monday.
Some within Michigan’s Republican Party admitted they had hoped for a more moderate vice presidential candidate who could win over voters who had supported former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the primary.
Trump announced his choice of Vance, a first-term senator and author of the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” as delegates from across the country gathered in Milwaukee to formally nominate Trump to run against Democratic President Joe Biden in November.
State Sen. Jim Runestad, a Michigan delegate to the convention, said the reaction to Vance at the convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee was enthusiastic. Meanwhile, Runestad noted that the convention audience booed longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky when he spoke on Monday.
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According to Runestad, Vance rose from poverty in rural southern Ohio.
“I think that background will have a lot of respect in America,” Runestad added. “He’s a military veteran. They’ll have a lot of respect for that.”
Runestad pointed out that Vance shares many of Trump’s “conservative views,” including a desire to stop illegal immigration and limit the country’s involvement in foreign wars.
Matt DePerno, a former candidate for Attorney General and delegate to the Republican convention from Kalamazoo, also expressed the view that Republicans were united behind the election platform of Trump and Vance.
“JD Vance is an American patriot,” DePerno said. “The Michigan delegation just unanimously and proudly voted for JD Vance as their vice presidential nominee.”
John Sellek, a Republican and CEO of Michigan-based consulting firm Harbor Strategic Public Affairs, said Vance was the “intellectual touchstone” of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and a “powerful communicator.”
Vance will be able to raise money and act as a firebrand in the election campaign this fall, Sellek said.
“For those eyeing a post-Trump Republican presidential nomination, this is probably a bad day,” Sellek said.
Vance is 39 years old.
However, Jeff Litten of Oakland County, who won a seat as a substitute delegate for Haley at the convention, said Monday that he was leaning toward voting for Trump but was undecided again after Vance’s announcement.
“This election does the opposite of trying to get Haley voters to vote for him,” said Litten, who did not attend the convention.
More: Nikki Haley’s Republican delegates in Michigan are divided over supporting Trump
In recent days, some moderate Republicans in Michigan have expressed support for Haley or North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as Trump’s vice presidential running mate. Haley received 297,124 votes in Michigan’s Feb. 27 primary.
Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, spoke positively about Burgum to reporters Monday morning. Hoekstra said he had not met Vance before.
Following the announcement, Hoekstra tweeted: “Vice President JD Vance! A son of the Midwest, he will do great for Michigan and help win Michigan for Trump Vance in November!”
Other Michigan Republicans also pointed to the proximity of Ohio, Vance’s home state, to the swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. Trump himself addressed this fact in his announcement.
“JD has had a very successful business career in technology and finance and will now focus heavily on the people he fought so brilliantly for during the campaign, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond,” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
More: Republicans in Michigan show growing confidence in victory and create “red wave” at party convention
Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman from Brighton who is running for Michigan’s vacant U.S. Senate seat this fall, welcomed Vance’s decision to join Trump on the ballot.
“Vance is a true voice of the people and will be a great partner to President Trump as he works to secure our border, build a stronger economy for every American family, and reduce crime and drug addiction, which are scourges of our society,” Rogers said in a statement.
Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, mentioned in her own statement Monday that Vance is from Ohio. The state’s largest university, Ohio State University, is the University of Michigan’s biggest rival.
“Trump has always surrounded himself with extremists who share his far-right agenda, and JD Vance is certainly no different,” Barnes added.
As for the Ohio-Michigan connection, Runestad said with a laugh that it was a fun rivalry, but “politically, nobody cares about it.”
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