In case you missed it, J.D. Vance won his Republican Senate primary race last night and is now officially the GOP nominee to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
Vance has become a pretty polarizing figure, even on the Right. Some Republicans are pleased that he seems to have embraced Trumpism wholeheartedly, while others are concerned by his remarkable shift away from more traditional small-government conservatism. He won his primary, though, and it is what it is. And he has a very real chance of winning his election in November.
Particularly if media outlets are going to continue to cover him the way Axios has chosen to cover him:
The Republican establishment privately regards J.D. Vance — who won last night's Ohio Republican Senate primary — with the same disgust many felt toward Donald Trump when he entered the White House. https://t.co/gpImZROo4i
— Axios (@axios) May 4, 2022
“With the same disgust many felt toward Trump when he entered the White House.” And even before Trump entered the White House. Even many anti-Trump conservatives (not of The Bulwark/Dispatch variety, mind you) recognized that Donald Trump was propelled into the White House largely by riding the wave of flyover country resentment at Democratic and media liberal elites’ attitudes toward working- and middle-class Americans. Like Donald Trump, J.D. Vance has carefully cultivated an image of himself as a friend of and advocate for regular Americans. And if that image is what the media decide to go after, they need to be prepared for Vance to ride his own wave into the Senate.
You say that like it's a bad thing! https://t.co/9GMAb4tCSV
— Mark Mendlovitz (@MendlovitzMark) May 4, 2022
a badge of honor for @JDVance1 https://t.co/3O8jUgPmTj
— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) May 4, 2022
Great endorsement of Vance https://t.co/32gMlwGlFs
— Jared Rabel (@JradRabel) May 4, 2022
That’s actually basically what this piece is. It’s full of examples of praise for Vance and conspicuously lacking in quotes from members of “the Republican establishment” who are supposedly so disgusted with him.
I'm sorry what? I didn't appoint an establishment to represent my opinions? The so called establishment of *both* parties are self serving and not in their parties best interests at times. So let them whine privately. https://t.co/LmJBWO3ddm
— Scott Coleman (@bandphan) May 4, 2022
Always great when a media organization like Axios writes an article saying a Trumper is disliked by the party without quoting any of the gutless.
The country is in a lot of trouble and the media is not helping. https://t.co/jvrbYxGFCg
— SoonerAtty (@SoonerAtty) May 4, 2022
If Axios’ reporting is anything to go by, they should probably start assigning journalists to cover Vance’s Election Night victory party now.
