We’re inching closer to knowing whether or not Ohio Senator (and Middletown native) J.D. Vance will win former President Donald Trump’s veepstakes.
Vance, who won his first Senate race against Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in 2022, is rumored to be Trump’s VP frontrunner to take on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this November, but others are still in the running. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is considered a close contender and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is also being considered.
All three VP hopefuls are gathering in Atlanta for Thursday’s Biden-Trump debate, hosted by CNN, but you aren’t likely to see them during the broadcast. The first in-person debate of the 2024 election will be held without a studio audience, an environment where Trump usually thrives. Interruptions will be further limited by muted microphones when the other candidate is speaking, according to CNN.
Vance, Burgum and Rubio have all been campaigning for Trump in recent months, with Vance and Burgum standing out as the most active of the three, and that matters.
Republican sources tell Axios that fundraising ability will be a key factor in Trump's VP choice. An understandable requisite considering Trump’s financial woes following his numerous civil and criminal trials. Trump has spent more than $100 million on legal costs, according to the New York Times. Though his campaign has seen a surge in donations after he was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, allowing him to catch up to Biden's previous fundraising advantage.
Vance has already raised millions for Trump’s campaign across two fundraisers hosted in Ohio alone: a June 20 fundraiser in Cleveland that reportedly brought in $5.5 million, and a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser in Cincinnati on May 15.
Vance has also been courting some of the biggest names (and deepest pockets) in Silicon Valley to back Trump, including tech investor David Sacks, who hosted a June 6 fundraiser for Trump that Vance reportedly helped set up. But Sacks didn’t always have love for Trump – he financially backed Ron DeSantis early in the campaign, soured on his lackluster success, then went on to throw fundraisers for Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Even tech mogul Peter Thiel, who’s flip-flopped in his support of Trump, has reportedly returned with his pocketbook.
Vance’s 2022 Senate victory was fueled by $15 million in campaign funds from Thiel, a point Ryan repeatedly called out.
“He can’t be trusted.”
The push and pull between Vance’s venture capital background and his rust-belt roots was central in the 2022 Senate race, his first political election after releasing the memoir about Middletown, Ohio that would propel his career.
Vance first reached the public’s consciousness after the release of his critically acclaimed 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir Of A Family And Culture In Crisis. Critical reception for Vance’s memoir about growing up poor in Middletown was mixed; some thought the story was inspiring, others exploitative. During interviews about his book, Vance would discuss his views about declining rustbelt cities while also saying he’d never support Trump.
“I’m a Never Trump guy,” Vance said in a 2016 interview with Charlie Rose. “I never liked him.”
Vance also took digs at Trump on Twitter in 2016, saying, “My god what an idiot,” in reference to Trump. The tweets were later deleted. He’s said he regrets his previous criticisms, and Trump’s publicly forgiven him, but just how deep their evolving bond is will prove itself in the following weeks.
So, when will we know?
Trump is expected to announce his voice for VP at the start of the Republican National Convention on July 15 in Milwaukee, if not sooner.
Chris LaCivita, a senior advisor on Trump’s campaign, tweeted on June 25 that the VP pick could be announced "as soon as today …or …sometime in mid july !!"
With so many cards stacked against Trump, including Biden’s fundraising success and his looming sentence for dozens of felony charges, he may just hold this card close to his chest while he has the nation’s attention.
The 90-minute debate starts at 9 p.m. ET at CNN's Atlanta studios.
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