CNN
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J.D. Vance, the Trump-backed candidate in Ohio’s contentious GOP Senate primary, has won the nomination, CNN projected Tuesday.
Even as most candidates in the race ran toward former President Donald Trump, the primary was the first Senate contest of the year to test the power of his endorsement.
In the other marquee race of the night, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has won the GOP gubernatorial primary, CNN projected, beating back challengers from his right flank as he seeks a second term.
While Trump did not endorse in the gubernatorial primary, he played a big role in the contest to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. He upended the race in mid-April when he backed Vance, the venture capitalist and “Hillbilly Elegy” author who was an unabashed critic of Trump in 2016 but now says his initial judgment of him was wrong.
Trump called Vance to congratulate him on his win Tuesday night, according to a source familiar with the call. CNN’s Gabby Orr reported that the former President monitored the election results with friends and aides at Mar-a-Lago, one of whom said he was “relieved” by Vance’s come-from-behind win.
Trump’s endorsement of Vance had created a jolt of momentum for the author, helping him roughly double his support between a Fox poll in March and another one in April.
Vance thanked Trump in his victory speech Tuesday night, saying the 45th President had shown America an example “of what could be in this country,” pointing to an upward trend in wages when Trump was president.
After a bruising primary race filled with negative ads in the closing weeks, Vance devoted part of his speech to calling for unity in the GOP, taking time to compliment several of his top rivals. When Vance mentioned former state treasurer Josh Mandel – leading some in the crowd to boo – the author held up his hand and said, “No,” signaling for them to stop. He called Mandel “a dedicated public servant from the Marine Corps to the state treasurer’s office” and told Mandel supporters that he hoped to earn their support.
“We need to unify to fight Tim Ryan,” Vance said, referring to the Ohio congressman who won the Senate Democratic primary, CNN projected Tuesday night. Ryan defeated Morgan Harper, an attorney and former senior adviser at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “It’s our Republican Party, ladies and gentlemen. It’s the party of working people all across the state of Ohio, and it needs to fight and it needs to win,” Vance said.
In a preview of the general election battle to come in a state that Trump won by 8 points in 2020, Vance tried to tie Ryan to President Joe Biden.
In his own election night speech, Ryan made a broader call to voters of all political persuasions – a nod to the reality that he’ll need Republican support to win in November.
“Look, I’m not here to get in a fight. I’m not going to win on Election Day and try to punish 50% of the people that are living in this state or in this country,” Ryan said. “We are here to heal, we are here to become Americans, we are here to come together.”
“It’s not about finding our differences; it’s not about hate. We have to love each other, we have to care about each other, we have to see the best in each other,” Ryan added. “We have to forgive each other, we have to show some grace.”
Most of the other top GOP candidates vying for Ohio’s Senate seat – including Mandel, businessman Mike Gibbons and former state party chair Jane Timken, who all sought Trump’s endorsement – had hammered Vance for his past statements about Trump, arguing that they raised questions…
Read More: Trump-backed J.D. Vance will win Ohio GOP Senate primary, CNN projects