Trump Has A Major Rally Planned In A Key Election State

Trump Has A Major Rally Planned In A Key Election State

Sebastian Hughes on April 14, 2022

Former President Donald Trump will travel to Ohio to hold a rally amid a contentious GOP primary to be the state’s next senator.

Trump’s Save America PAC announced the rally would take place on April 23, though the attendees of the event have yet to be disclosed. The candidates are competing to fill the vacant seat left by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

Numerous candidates have attempted to secure Trump’s endorsement, including former state treasurer Josh Mandel, businessman Mike Gibbons and former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken. Trump is reportedly planning on endorsing venture capitalist and author J.D. Vance, according to three sources who allegedly spoke with NBC News.

Associates of Trump reportedly said the former president has concerns about all of the candidates running for the nomination and might not endorse anyone, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Despite the spending of millions of dollars on the race, no clear frontrunner has emerged.

Gibbons led Mandel by two points in a Fox News poll released in March, with no candidate securing more than 22% of the vote. A February poll from The Hill and Emerson College gave Gibbons a seven point lead.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he might skip Trump’s rally in order to fulfill a commitment to honor former president Ulysses S. Grant’s 200th birthday, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. DeWine’s primary challenger, former Rep. Jim Renacci, has already sent news releases and text messages about attending.

“So we’ll have to kind of see if that works out,” DeWine said, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.