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Republicans look to surrogates for boost in Ohio Senate race

Posted May 02, 2022 7:00 am

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

FILE - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel, left, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, meet with members of the media before a campaign event at High Street Baptist Church, in Columbus, Ohio, April 30, 2022. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File ) The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election.

Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. Former President Donald Trump, who held a rally in Ohio late last month to boost candidate JD Vance, botched Vance's name at an event in Nebraska over the weekend while trying to tout his endorsements nationwide.

The involvement of prominent surrogates in the primary shows the high stakes of Tuesday's election, when seven candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman. Democrats see the race as one of their best chances nationally to flip a seat in the midterm elections, while Republicans remain optimistic about their chances of holding a seat in a state that has swung to the right under Trump's influence.

The primary has been heated from the start, with nearly all the Republicans in the race competing for Trump's endorsement - a prize that eventually went to Vance, the author of 'œHillbilly Elegy.'ť At the time of the endorsement, Vance was trailing in the polls, and the race is seen as one of the first big tests of Trump's enduring influence among Republican voters.

But at a rally in Nebraska on Sunday, Trump seemed to undercut his support for Vance by mixing up his name with that of another candidate in the race.

'œWe've endorsed Dr. (Mehmet) Oz. We've endorsed J.P., right - J.D. Mandel. And he's doing great,'ť Trump told the crowd. 'œThey're all doing good. They're all doing good. And let's see what happens.'ť

Mandel is the last name of one of Vance's most bitter rivals, former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, another candidate who had courted Trump's support. For voters inclined to follow Trump's endorsement, the gaffe risked muddling in their minds which candidate has the former president's backing.

Cleveland investment banker Mike Gibbons, a GOP contender in Ohio, seized on Trump's mistake as an opportunity to disparage Vance.

'œQuite a ringing endorsement, eh?'ť he said in an email blast Sunday night, saying Vance is 'œclearly irrelevant'ť to Trump.

Gibbons' final push included an online event featuring Paul, the senator from Kentucky, while Mandel campaigned with Texas' Cruz on Friday and Saturday, and with fellow military veterans Monday.

Meanwhile, Portman continued to campaign for Jane Timken, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, who has pointed to the strength of her grassroots network headed into Tuesday's vote.

Vance campaigned over the weekend with Hawley, Gaetz and Greene, a trio of strident Trump allies who are among the party's most hard-right lawmakers. They portrayed Vance as a Washington outsider who will take on the establishment and stand up for average working Ohioans.

Vance was slammed for his decision to appear with Gaetz, who is embroiled in a federal sex trafficking investigation, although he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Vance said that being accused of a crime these days 'œis very often more about corrupt law enforcement than it is about anything anybody's actually done.'ť

Rival candidate Matt Dolan, a state senator and former assistant state attorney general, rebuked Vance for the statement, as did one of Dolan's top supporters, former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery.

'œThe fact that JD is more inclined to defend a man being investigated for sex trafficking than our brave police officers and sheriffs, clearly proves he is unfit to serve as Ohio's next U.S. senator,'ť Montgomery, a four-time state officeholder, said in a statement.

Dolan is the only prominent GOP candidate in the race who didn't jockey for Trump's endorsement.

In the state's Democratic Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan was campaigning before union groups and teachers, while his progressive rival Morgan Harper, a former consumer protection attorney and community organizer, was knocking doors and visiting polling places. The winners of the Republican and Democratic contests will face off in November.

___

Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics

FILE - Republican Senate candidate JD Vance greets supporters at the Save America Rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, April 23, 2022, in Delaware, Ohio. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana) The Associated Press

FILE - Republican Senate candidate JD Vance speaks at a rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, Saturday, April 23, 2022, in Delaware, Ohio. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File) The Associated Press

FILE - Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing in Washington, April 26, 2022. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (Al Drago/Pool Photo via AP) The Associated Press

FILE - Senate candidate JD Vance, left, greets former President Donald Trump at a rally at the Delaware County Fairground, April 23, 2022, in Delaware, Ohio, to endorse Republican candidates ahead of the Ohio primary on May 3. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File) The Associated Press

FILE - Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, greets Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel onstage at a campaign event at High Street Baptist Church, in Columbus, Ohio, April 30, 2022. High-profile surrogates for Republicans running in Ohio's hotly contested Senate primary are fanning out across the state or holding other events to give their endorsed candidates a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday's election. Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were among the conservative emissaries making final pitches in the critical Senate race. (Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File) The Associated Press

FILE - Texas Senator Ted Cruz walks on stage at the Northwest Baptist Church on Alexis Rd. to endorse Ohio Senatorial candidate Josh Mandel, standing to the left of Cruz in Toledo, April 30, 2022. (Stephen Zenner /The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File) The Associated Press

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