After Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance was nominated to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate Monday, members of the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican National Convention said they were excited to see a Midwesterner on the ticket.
“He has a good feel for Midwestern politics, which will help us here in Wisconsin, because it’s always close,” said Brian Schimming, chair of the Wisconsin GOP.
After months of speculation, Trump announced his vice presidential nod earlier in the day on social media.
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“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Hours later, Vance appeared on the floor of the convention to accept the nomination. Thousands of Republicans in attendance cheered as the junior Ohio senator’s face appeared on large screens in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, which is hosting the event through Thursday.
Barbara Finger, a delegate from Oconto, told WPR she trusted Trump’s judgment.
“I’m pretty excited. He’s a young guy. And I think he’s eminently qualified to take over should something happen — we hope it doesn’t,” she said. “After President Trump’s four years in office, then he would be an excellent nominee for president for the next four years.”
Vance has long been seen as a rising star of the right, with household name recognition because of his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which details his journey from a childhood in rural Appalachia to graduating from an Ivy League law school and launching a lucrative career in venture capital.
Once a Trump critic, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 with an endorsement from Trump after a career in venture capital.
Trump had teased his vice presidential pick for weeks, with speculation circling around Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, among others.
Wisconsin delegate Terrence Wall of Middleton said Vance could be a unifying figure in a party that has firmly coalesced around Trump, echoing a theme expected to pervade the convention just days after Trump was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally.
“So it’s really exciting to see somebody who’s going to be a strong VP,” Wall said. “They’re not just gonna sit back in the wings. Because that person could be our next president four years from now,” he said.
Left-wing critics of Vance point to his support for the Jan. 6 rioters and votes against aid to Ukraine as evidence that he would be a threat to democracy.
Within moments of Trump’s announcement, Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, put out a statement condemning the selection.
“The stakes of this election just got impossibly higher,” Wikler’s statement read. “We know Trump’s true test for a Vice President: a willingness to betray an oath and violate our Constitution in order to keep Trump in power. Should Donald Trump win another term in the White House, there’s no question that J.D. Vance would put loyalty to Trump and the GOP’s extreme agenda over the country.”
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