Out of the public eye, it seems former President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate has raised eyebrows within Texas Republican circles.
Vance, author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” diverts from the long held free market, anti-regulatory principles. Austin political consultant Matt Mackowiak told the Houston Chronicle, “The free-market side of the party would have preferred someone like Sen. Marco Rubio or Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.”
However, he also stated that even though Vance was not the most politically brilliant choice, “he does have strengths.”
Despite the mixed reactions, many Texas Republicans publicly commend Vance, 39, as a fresh face in a presidential race dominated by candidates over 75. State Rep. Stan Gerdes, a former aide to Gov. Rick Perry, described Vance as “a new generation of bold leadership within the Republican Party and America.”
However, some business leaders have expressed skepticism. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly urged Trump to select another candidate, and former AOL Chair Steve Case, who once employed Vance, publicly questioned his politics.
Yale business professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld wrote an op-ed in Time magazine, mentioning that some Republican CEOs were “disappointed” by Trump’s choice, citing concerns over Vance’s support for raising corporate taxes, increasing tariffs, and his desire to devalue the dollar, which could increase exports but also consumer costs.
The impact of Vance’s economic views and populist stance on Trump’s chances in Texas is uncertain. Trump won Texas with 52% of the vote in 2020. For now, Texas business leaders and Republican donors are largely silent.
Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told Houston Chronicle that Republican donors are unlikely to second-guess Trump’s choice, as it could provoke the former president. “Most will stay quiet and only worry if something concrete happens in the future,” he said.
Before he was a best-selling author, a U.S. senator or a Republican nominee for vice president, Vance was a legal clerk for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
In a Texas Tribune interview, Cornyn praised Trump’s pick of Vance as a running mate, saying he “represents the next generation of Republican leaders.”
“I’m excited that the president would think not only about his own election, but you know what the next generation looks like,” he said.
On the other hand, Democrats have denounced Vance as an ideological extension of Trump, calling him an existential threat to democracy.
“This is someone who supports banning abortion nationwide while criticizing exceptions for rape and incest survivors; railed against the Affordable Care Act , including its protections for millions with preexisting conditions; and has admitted he wouldn’t have certified the free and fair election in 2020,” President Joe Biden’s campaign said in a statement after Vance’s selection went public.
