Exclusive: Trump-Endorsed J.D. Vance Takes Commanding Lead in New Poll

J.D. Vance, the best-selling author of Hillbilly Elegy, has taken a commanding lead in a new poll following President Trump’s endorsement of his Ohio Senate run.

The Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll, exclusively shared with Breitbart News, shows Vance leading the crowded GOP primary field with 39 percent when likely Republican primary voters are told that Trump has endorsed him in the race.

Former Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel trails behind Vance at 17 percent, Matt Dolan takes 14 percent, and millionaire investment banker Mike Gibbons comes in at 11 percent. Former Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken takes last in the poll at seven percent though 13 percent remain undecided.

Even when likely Republican primary voters are not told of Vance’s recent Trump endorsement, he leads the race with 31 percent with 17 percent undecided. Mandel comes in at 19 percent as Dolan and Gibbons each take 12 percent. Timken follows last at eight percent.

The poll shows Vance has more than doubled his support among likely Republican primary voters since March, while support for Gibbons has dropped by six to seven percent. A video of Gibbons went viral where he stated that middle class Americans are “not really paying any kind of a fair share” in federal income taxes.

In all of Ohio’s major media markets — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton — Vance leads his primary competitors.

Vance’s favorability among likely Republican primary voters in Ohio has also skyrocketed since he won Trump’s endorsement. In March, Vance had a net favorability of about 37 percent which was, at the time, lower than Mandel and Gibbons’ favorability.

Now, Vance has the highest favorability among all the candidates running in the race with 53 percent of likely Republican primary voters saying they view him favorably. At the same time, Mandel’s favorability has hardly budged while Gibbons and Timken’s favorability has dropped.

“J.D. Vance heads into the final stretch with a distinct lead for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio,” the pollsters state.

Protect Ohio Values PAC, supporting Vance, commissioned the poll.

The poll of 800 likely Republican primary voters was conducted from April 25 to April 26. The margin of error is +/-3.46 percentage points.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.