For updates from the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, head to the . Plus: You can watch live video coverage from 海角社区 of tonight's speeches.
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio 鈥� When vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance spoke to the crowd at the RNC last night, he made a promise to the people of Middletown, Ohio and other blue-collar towns like it.
"All the forgotten communities in every corner of our nation: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from," he said.
Some people in Middletown, where Vance grew up with his grandparents, said he has never been an advocate for them, even after becoming a U.S. senator.
鈥淥h, my God. It is very surprising considering that J.D. Vance hasn't did anything for our community here in Middletown,鈥� said Lakeisha Thomas Monday after news that former President Trump picked Vance as a running mate. Thomas runs a non-profit for low-income residents in Middletown.
Even so, Vance鈥檚 roots could be enough for folks eager to see the 鈥渉ometown kid鈥� succeed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always awesome to see someone from your hometown get to come up and represent a local place, no matter what their political party is,鈥� said Andrea McKeller, a local real estate agent who says she thinks Vance鈥檚 small-town roots will drive him to 鈥減ut in place a lot of policies to, hopefully, move some favor toward the smaller towns to help the communities grow.鈥�
Others in Middletown said they were surprised by the news, given Vance鈥檚 relatively young age. He鈥檚 39, turning 40 next month.
鈥淚 was astonished, I thought he was kind of young,鈥� said Janet Hydeman, who works for a stained glass company and says she votes Republican. She reflected that being young and having a youthful image could help draw in younger voters.
鈥淚f he can keep reaching out to find out what younger people want and keep bringing that into the mix of the Republican Party, otherwise, I think we're getting kind of old.鈥�
Vance鈥檚 previous comments on Trump will no doubt be fodder for the Democratic campaign. You can prepare to hear sound bites everywhere from eight years ago when Vance was out touting his book Hillbilly Elegy, and calling Trump an 鈥渋diot鈥� and 鈥渞eprehensible,鈥� at one point .
He鈥檒l need to convince Trump loyalists that he鈥檚 solidly on their team now. Hydeman said she wants to be assured he truly believes the things he鈥檚 saying now and not just backing the Trump line for his own political gain.
Donald Peck, who says he鈥檚 voted for Democrats and Republicans 鈥� notably, he said, Trump in 2016 but Biden in 2020 鈥� was surprised Vance was in politics at all, pointing out Vance鈥檚 political career began in 2022 when he ran for and won Ohio鈥檚 junior U.S. Senate seat.
鈥淚 guess he鈥檚 as well-qualified as any,鈥� he said.
Loading...
One person in Middletown who doesn鈥檛 care about Vance鈥檚 nomination or the fact that he鈥檚 from Middletown is software developer Orville Bennett who didn鈥檛 want to give his political party affiliation. With a shrug he said it doesn鈥檛 affect his life. 鈥淣o, not even a little bit.鈥�
Bennett said he doesn鈥檛 plan to vote for either presidential candidate, nor does he think the election鈥檚 outcome will make much of a difference in his day-to-day life.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e both not great options for the things that I value,鈥� he said.
For Ohio, Vance鈥檚 nomination could mean a resurgence in prominence on the national scene. Once purple, Ohio hasn鈥檛 been a pivotal swing state for some years. His selection this week has fired up , including Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou who told those at an Ohio delegation breakfast this week that the state is 鈥渂ack in the mix on the presidential side with Sen. Vance at the top of the ticket.鈥�
Copyright 2024 91.7 WVXU