J.D. Vance has taken a huge lead in Ohio’s Senate race after receiving the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, a Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll revealed Thursday.
Vance’s lead in the competitive primary race has reached seven percentage points. Vance polled 25 percent support among 800 Republican primary voters. Before Trump’s endorsement in March, Vance held 18 percent.
Josh Mandel, who was in a three-way tie with Vance, was marked at 18 percent. According to the survey, his polling number has not changed since March:
JD Vance’s Super PAC finished its first #OhSen poll since Trump endorsed him last Friday.
It shows him pulling ahead, after its last one showed him in a three-way tie for first.
Vance – 25 (18 in March)
Mandel – 18 (18)
Gibbons – 13 (18)
Timken – 11 (9)
Dolan – 9 (9) pic.twitter.com/hpRKog2aQ4— Andrew Tobias (@AndrewJTobias) April 21, 2022
The poll suggests Trump has a high influence on midterm races. After respondents were informed that Vance won Trump’s endorsement, his vote share increased to 37 percent. Josh Mandel earned 14 percent, a 27-point difference.
The poll also revealed that Vance became a more well-known candidate after Trump’s endorsement. Only 11 percent of respondents said they had not heard of Vance, down 6 points from 17 percent. In contrast, however, Mandel’s numbers decreased three percentage points (7-4 percent).
“The endorsement clearly played a role in this improvement, as Vance leads by 19-points among those aware he was endorsed by Donald Trump” the pollers analyzed. “However, this only accounts for 53% of RPV. Nearly half (47%) do not yet know of Trump’s endorsement of Vance.”
Trump endorsed Vance last week in a lengthy press release. “I’ve studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent — dangerous because they will have so much money to spend,” Trump said.
“However, J.D. will destroy him in the debates and will fight for the MAGA Movement in the Senate,” Trump continued. “He’s strong on the Border, tough on Crime, understands how to use Taxes and Tariffs to hold China accountable, will fight to break up Big Tech, and has been a warrior on the Rigged and Stolen Presidential Election.”
Before Trump made the official endorsement, the huge news leaked from “a number of establishment Ohio Republican Party executives – closely linked to Ohio GOP Senate candidate Jane Timken,” who attempted to block Trump’s endorsement of Vance, Breitbart News reported. Trump, however, was not deterred. He endorsed Vance after Donald Trump Jr. publicly defended Vance’s record weeks earlier.
The Ohio Republican Senate primary election is May 3.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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