Delaware Valley Republicans greeted former president Donald Trump’s selection of U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate with praise.
“It’s a solid pick and politically good for Pennsylvania,” Republican strategist Charlie Gerow told DVJournal. “It flattens the ‘Blue Wall’ across the Rust Belt.” The “Blue Wall” is political shorthand for the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which helped put Democrats Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden in the White House.
Most political strategists believe Biden must win all three states to secure another term in the White House.
Trump named Vance his pick Monday afternoon, just after the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The former president wrote on social media Vance fights for “American Workers and Farmers” making him a key to securing battleground states.
In a sign of Vance’s importance to the GOP’s “Blue Wall” strategy, Trump told ABC News, “I’m going to leave him in Pennsylvania.”
Where in the Keystone State will Vance spend his time?
Longtime GOP strategist Christopher Nicholas suggested Vance appeals more to western Pennsylvania than the Philly suburbs. “Trump has real problems in eastern Pennsylvania — specifically in the Philly TV market, which accounts for 42 percent of the vote,” he wrote in PA Political Digest.
Gerow disagreed. “The Vance selection only helps” in the Delaware Valley region, he said.
National Committeeman Andy Reilly agrees, telling DVJournal Vance has appeal in southeastern Pennsylvania, in part due to his biography. Vance, 39, is a Yale grad and a bestselling author, giving him a connection with affluent suburban voters.
“Hopefully he’ll be able to use his background to connect with younger voters and swing voters in the suburban areas,” Reilly said.
Pennsylvania RNC delegates cheered Vance’s nomination.
“[He] is a terrific pick for President Trump,” Delegate Michael Straw told DVJournal.
It’s Vance’s history that appeals to Pennsylvania Republicans. He became a household name with his memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ which was adapted into a film for Netflix by Ron Howard. It details Vance’s childhood in Ohio.
“Vance represents the Rust Belt and good Midwest values which resonates with the entry country,” RNC delegate Ellen Bowman Cox told DVJournal. “Very happy with [Trump’s] selection of Vance.”
Pennsylvania Republican candidates focused on Vance’s military service. He joined the Marines in 2003 right after high school and was deployed to Iraq.
“[Vance is] a fellow veteran who will stand up for the hardworking men and women of America,” wrote GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick on social media.
Vance would be the youngest vice president since 40-year-old Richard Nixon was elected as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate in 1952. In contrast, President Joe Biden was 66 when he became VP in 2009 making him one of the oldest. Biden had been a U.S. senator for 11 years when Vance was born.
Democrats portrayed Vance as a hardliner who supports the “extremist MAGA agenda.”
Shortly after Vance was named Trump’s running mate, the Biden campaign said that the pair are “the most extreme and out-of-touch ticket in American history.” Campaign officials suggested Trump and Vance would be a danger to America.
“Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” said Biden’s campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Biden’s campaign focused on the Project 2025 policy agenda put together by a right-wing D.C. think tank and suggested it would be the guidebook for a Trump second term. Trump’s campaign has pointed to his Agenda 47 policy guide as the real goal.
The Biden for Pennsylvania account posted a graphic on Tuesday that said Trump’s Project 2025 was dangerous for American’s rights and freedoms.
Vance is likely to face Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris in at least one debate before November. The Biden campaign said Harris accepted a debate invitation from CBS News. The Trump campaign accepted an invite from Fox.
Opinions on who would win a Harris-Vance debate fell along party lines.
“The VP will take it to JD Vance,” said progressive U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Fox News journalist Brit Hume disagreed. “He’ll run rings around Kamala Harris in any debate.”
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