If the Trump campaign were to take a full nosedive, it would be in part due to the election of J.D. Vance, whose approval rating for the Trump/Vance pair is below 50% in his home state of Ohio, according to polls.
Before J.D. Vance appeared on Sunday’s show, The New York Times:
Others are more worried about what private polls show. Two recent private polls conducted by Republican pollsters in Ohio showed Trump The results show that Trump, who won with 53% of the vote in 2020, received less than 50% of the vote in the state against Harris, according to a person with direct knowledge of the data.
This does not suggest that Ohio is a definite swing state, but it would come as a surprise to reporters and pundits in the state if Vance were to lose support for Trump there. J.D. Vance is unpopular in Ohio and only won his seat after being nominated in the Republican Senate primary with Trump’s support. Ohio’s growing Republican support, combined with the Republican lean of the 2022 midterm elections, gave Vance the victory.
But Trump chose a running mate who performed worse than other Republicans in the state in the election. Trump picked a weak running mate with the worst approval rating in polling history, but that choice and Harris’ growing momentum have put Trump in a weak position in a state where Republican candidates are supposed to have an advantage.
A close Ohio state in November would likely be a huge disservice to Trump and a landslide victory for the Democrats. Trump may not think his running mate is important, but if the former president loses Ohio, it will likely be at least partly because of J.D. Vance.
