Trump to Stump for Vance in Ohio Senate Race Senate candidate J.D. Vance speaks with prospective voters on the campaign trail on April 11, 2022. in Troy, Ohio. (Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)
By Luca Cacciatore | Friday, 16 September 2022 10:02 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump is flying to Ohio this weekend in support of his endorsed Republican nominee in the U.S. Senate race, J.D. Vance, The Hill reported.
Vance, a venture capitalist and the author of "Hillbilly Elegy," is currently leading Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in a RealClearPolitics average of the polls conducted thus far by a margin of 2.7 points.
Recent surveys from the Trafalgar Group and Emerson College have Vance at four percentage points or higher above Ryan, with the race still featuring many undecideds — as high as 13%, according to Emerson's latest survey.
Polling data in the state has been notoriously off. In 2018, nine major pollsters in the month leading up to that year's midterm had Democrat gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray tied or leading current Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican.
DeWine would go on to win by nearly four points, according to Ballotpedia.
The 2020 presidential election polling showed the state as a toss-up between Trump and then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. In the end, Trump would win by an eight-point margin.
Trump, who might seek a rematch against Biden in 2024, warned Ohio-based radio broadcaster Hugh Hewitt ahead of the Saturday rally that any indictments against him could initiate "problems in this country the likes of which we've never seen before."
"I think they'd have big problems, big problems. I just don't think they'd stand for it. They [the public] will not sit still and stand for this ultimate of hoaxes," the former president said, clarifying that he was not inciting any violent action.