In the Portage County Republican Headquarters, there aren’t any signs with Sen. J.D. Vance’s name on it yet. But voters there cannot hide their enthusiasm for Ohio’s junior senator joining former President Donald Trump’s 2024 ticket.
“My immediate reaction was a sense of pride, because he’s an Ohioan,” said Jim Tasker, an Aurora resident.
A party volunteer who serves on the Portage County Republican Central Committee, Tasker said he got to meet Vance (R-Cincinnati) several times during his 2022 campaign for U.S. Senate and grew to like him. His wife reading Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” also influenced his opinion.
Vance detailed his upbringing in Middletown in his 2016 bestseller. In the book, he writes about a family history of poverty and his mother’s failed relationships and addiction to drugs, all set against the backdrop of a town losing its industry.
“My personal opinion is that Trump chose him because their views are very similar,” Tasker said. “The backgrounds are quite different, and that’s also significant.”
This, Tasker said, resonates with voters more than a candidate chosen because of their geographical origin.
Brianna Soltis, who came to the office with her father to pick up campaign signs, agreed.
“I feel like people can relate to him, because a lot of people go through what he goes through,” Soltis said. “A lot of kids grow up not having the parents that they should, and they don’t have nothing in their life. They get addicted to drugs like their parents.”
Ravenna, where the party office is located, has the highest rate of overdose in Portage County, according to a report from the Portage County Combined General Health District.
Still, in the early days of Vance’s 2022 race, Soltis said she was hesitant about him due to his past comments about Trump. In a 2016 essay for The Atlantic, Vance compared Trump to an “opioid of the masses.”
However, when the former president put his backing behind Vance weeks before the Republican primary, Soltis said she decided to give him a chance.
“It’s always like, you wonder why he changed [his opinion],” she said. “You don’t want to know, like, did he just change it because everybody else likes Trump?”
With just over 100 days from the election, Tasker said he hopes to persuade people to put their faith in Vance.
He has spent his summer canvassing doors as part of a voter outreach effort. He makes it personable, and leaves handwritten notes at homes that miss him. The goal, he said, is to get through to a voting population where 80% are registered as independent.
“I think it will help him with average Americans because of his background,” Tasker said.
Alton Northup is editor-in-chief. Contact him at [email protected].
