Trump Endorses J.D. Vance in Republican Primary for Senate in Ohio

Few races across the country have captured Mr. Trump’s effect in Republican primaries in the way that Ohio’s Republican Senate campaign has, with candidates seeking to model themselves after the former president.

Most of the contenders have railed against undocumented immigrants, and only one has recognized President Biden as the nation’s legitimate leader. Two nearly came to blows during a recent debate.

Ahead of the endorsement, many Republican county party leaders expressed frustration that Mr. Trump might select Mr. Vance, the author of the best-selling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” They noted that he had spent much of his life in San Francisco and had been critical of Mr. Trump even as they worked to elect him.

“He is the guy who worked against Trump and spoke against Trump and told everybody he didn’t vote for Trump,” said David Johnson, the chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, who has endorsed Jane Timken, a former chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party who is now running for Senate. “He is a very bright guy and well spoken, but the concern is he wouldn’t carry the Republican Party Trump base in Ohio, and you have to have this to win.”

Mr. Johnson helped circulate the letter from Republican leaders in Ohio, which stated that Mr. Vance was not a registered Republican and provided Mr. Trump with a list of negative comments that Mr. Vance had made against him in the past, including calling him “another opioid” in 2016 and saying that he hoped Mr. Trump would be “soundly defeated” that year.

“While we were working hard in Ohio to support you and Make America Great Again, J.D. Vance was actively working against your candidacy,” the letter says. “He referred to your supporters as ‘racists’ and proudly voted for Evan McMullin in 2016.”

Asked for comment, including about the accusation that Mr. Vance is not a registered Republican, Taylor Van Kirk, a spokeswoman for the Vance campaign, said: “When he has voted in primaries, J.D. has always voted in Republican ones. He has a long public history of supporting Republican candidates, including Donald Trump in 2020.”