Josh Hawley endorses JD Vance in competitive Ohio Senate primary

Sen. Josh Hawley on Tuesday endorsed JD Vance in Ohio’s competitive Senate primary.

In a tweet, the Missouri Republican wrote that he is “proud” to endorse his friend Vance, the author of the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy.

“He will be the principled fighter the working people of Ohio deserve,” Hawley wrote of his fellow Yale Law School graduate.

After Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, announced he would not seek reelection to a third term in 2022, several candidates entered the race for the Republican nomination, including Vance, former state treasurer Josh Mandel, ex-Ohio GOP chairwoman Jane Timken, and businessmen Bernie Moreno and Mike Gibbons. Candidates in the crowded field are vying for the backing of former President Donald Trump, who has not yet announced an endorsement in the race. Hawley is a close ally of Trump, even objecting to the Senate’s certification of the 2020 election results.

Hawley’s endorsement of Vance marks the senator’s first in a 2022 Republican Senate primary. This includes Missouri, where the state’s other Senate seat is coming open with the retirement of Republican Sen. Roy Blunt in the 2022 cycle after 12 years in that office. In a statement, Hawley added that he believes Vance “knows well the devastating realities that our country faces.”

“Especially in Ohio, families gripped by addiction have the cards stacked against them and entire towns continue to plummet. JD will fight for tighter restrictions at the southern border, bring back a robust manufacturing industry and put the needs of our own American citizens first,” Hawley said.

Vance said in a statement he is “honored to receive Josh’s endorsement.”

“No one else in the U.S. Senate has fought as tirelessly against the Big Tech monopolists who censor conservatives and control the flow of information in our country,” Vance said. “Josh points the way toward a conservatism that stands for the interests and values of American workers and families.”