Allies of former President Trump see the selection of Sen. J.D. Vance as a key appeal to Midwestern voters, and some New York Republicans hope it will give Republicans a boost in the state.
Republican lawmakers representing the Democratic stronghold state held a media event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday, the day after President Trump selected Vance as his running mate for November’s election.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Rep. Mike Lawler both pointed to Vance’s pro-union stance, which is in line with policies they also support in their districts.
Malliotakis noted that Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien, speaking at the Republican National Convention on Monday night, praised several Republican lawmakers, including himself, Vance and Lawler, as “people who have worked with working people.”
Trump announces J.D. Vance as his running mate for 2024
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance on the first day of the Republican National Convention. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
“My district is one of the highest in New York for union representation, and I think that’s where J.D. Vance resonates with working men and women,” Malliotakis said. “Republicans are the ones who create jobs for these unions.”
Lawler argued that Vance’s military service – he enlisted two years after the Sept. 11 attacks – and his record would resonate with Americans in New York and across the country.
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New York Republican Reps. Claudia Tenney, Mike Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis and Elise Stefanik held a small press conference on Tuesday. (Elizabeth Elkind/Fox News Digital)
“J.D. Vance joined the U.S. Marines after 9/11, and being from New York, obviously all of our districts were affected by 9/11 and still are,” Lawler said. “He was a blue-collar, working-class guy, raised by a grandmother who was a Blue Dog Democrat, went to college, got a law degree and started his own business.”
“I think he has strong support, certainly in the Rust Belt and in the crucial states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, but also nationally.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney, who represents parts of upstate New York, said her district is not much different from the traditional Rust Belt states where the Trump campaign is hoping Vance will have the most support.
“Upstate New York is a bit of a Rust Belt in itself, which is why I think J.D. Vance is such an inspired choice,” Tenney said.
“Only in America can someone come from the poorest family and be as successful as J.D. Vance is. I think that’s inspiring for people in upstate New York.”
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During Monday’s Republican National Convention celebration, Vance was selected as Trump’s running mate for vice president. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
But she added that House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, who was also at the news conference, would have been a “historic” choice if selected.
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This comes after Politico reported last week that President Biden’s popularity in New York may be declining following his dismal performance at the CNN presidential debate late last month.
“We still act like this is a one-party state, but it’s been that way for 20, 25 years,” Manhattan Democratic Borough President Mark Levine told the outlet. “I truly believe this is now a battleground state.”
