J.D. Vance Wins Jim Banks Endorsement as He Surges in Ohio Polls

OUT OF CAMERA FILE - JD Vance, the venture capitalist and author of "Hillbilly Elegy," add
AP Photo/Jeff Dean

As support for his candidacy continues to surge in polls, venture capitalist J.D. Vance has received an endorsement from Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), a top House Republican, in the crowded Ohio Senate race.

In an conversation with Axios, Banks, who serves as chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee and issued the endorsement on Tuesday, said Vance “isn’t afraid to stand up to the woke elites and will always put middle- and working-class Ohioans first.”

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) speaks to the media with members of the Republican Study Committee about Iran on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. The group has proposed legislation that would expand sanctions on Iran and aim to prevent the U.S. reentering the Iran deal. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 21: Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) speaks to the media with members of the Republican Study Committee about Iran on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. The group has proposed legislation that would expand sanctions on Iran and aim to prevent the U.S. reentering the Iran deal. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

As Axios reported, “Vance has improved his standing among five candidates, according to recent internal surveys.” The outlet also noted Vance “held a 6 percent share of the vote in April and 4 percent in June, respectively, well behind Mandel’s 25 percent and 22 percent in the same surveys. But in July’s survey of 800 likely Ohio Republican primary voters, Vance’s share had risen to 12 percent — placing him second in the field behind Mandel, who fell slightly to 21 percent,” according to a memo from veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio.

Vance announced his candidacy for the seat being vacated by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), vowing to “shake the system up.” Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy, has been instrumental in detailing how the Republican Party should move forward, embracing values former President Donald Trump promoted.

Vance has also called out President Joe Biden for a number of wrongdoings and negligence, holding him accountable for reckless spending which leads to inflation and the southern border crisis.

Vance has also received support for his hardline stance on Big Tech, including Google, which he recently accused of “conspiring with” the Communist government of China.

“Google, right now, is actively conspiring with and working with the Chinese government,” Vance said during an appearance on Fox News. “They’ve actually been very open about this. At the same time, the 29-year-old woke idiots who work at Google refuse to allow Google to enter into contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.”

During a wide-ranging, sit-down  interview with Breitbart News in June, Vance addressed the leftist frameworks of “critical race theory” and “white privilege,” saying Critical Race Theory “is fundamentally an assault on the American founding and the people who founded the country, [and] all of the things that America accomplished between the founding of the country and now.”

Other candidates in the Ohio Senate race include former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio GOP chairwoman Jane Timken, businessman Bernie Moreno, and prior Senate candidate Mike Gibbons.

Follow Kyle on Twitter @RealKyleMorris and Facebook.

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