Northern Kentucky Republican delegates in Milwaukee said there is “excitement” about U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio being named former President Trump’s running mate, following months of speculation about who would be the party’s vice presidential pick.
Kenton County Republican Party chairman Shane Noem is one of 46 Kentucky delegates selected to represent Kentucky at the 2024 Republican National Convention that formally nominated Trump on Monday. He told LINK in a text “”The crowd in Milwaukee is energized, unified and optimistic about November’s election.
“There is a lot of excitement about having a Vice President who knows how to find Kenton County on a map! Senator Vance is a great addition to the ticket,” said Noem.
Vance, 39, was selected as Trump’s running mate just hours before the pick was announced on the convention floor Monday. Other potential picks included Florida Sen. Marc Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. The Middletown, Ohio-born junior Ohio senator has Kentucky ties that Vance wrote about in his bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy, published in 2016.
Noem told LINK that the Trump-Vance ticket is “a strong, unified ticket that will win in November.”
On Monday, all 46 Kentucky Republican delegates voted to nominate Trump as the party’s 2024 presidential nominee. Another of those delegates from NKY is state Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, (R-Alexandria), also at the convention in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum this week.
The former president received a total of 2,388 delegate votes out of an estimated total of 2,429, putting him well over the estimated count of 1,215 needed to win the party’s nomination.
Trump was in attendance at the convention on Monday night but did not speak to the crowd. He is expected to formally accept the party nomination in a speech on Thursday.
The convention began less than 48 hours after an assassination attempt on the former president at a rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday that injured Trump’s right ear. One victim was killed, and two others were critically injured in the shooting. No motive for the shooting has been announced.
Back on the convention floor Monday, support for the Trump-Vance ticket was also apparent among key Republicans just north in Vance’s home state of Ohio. All 79 of Ohio’s RNC delegates voted to nominate Trump. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told NBC News Monday that, without a doubt, his state – once a longtime presidential swing state – “will go for Trump.”
“This is a great thing for Ohio,” DeWine told NBC. “Ohio’s going to go for Trump. The real question is the Senate,” he said, referring to this year’s election battle between Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican nominee Bernie Moreno. “It will be a real battle,” said DeWine.
Speakers on the first day of the convention included U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, and party firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA. Speeches differed in tone and, but the overall theme was unity and a call for return to Republican party rule.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled to end on July 18.
Next month the Democratic National Convention will hold its 2024 nominating convention from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. President Joe Biden is the Democratic party’s presumptive nominee. However, debate has continued among some prominent Democratic party supporters and others about whether the 81-year-old should step away amid questions about his mental sharpness following a June debate performance.
Biden has repeatedly said he will not drop out of the 2024 race. In a letter distributed by his campaign after the debate, the president said it is time for speculation about him leaving the race “to end.”
“We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election,” Biden said in the letter. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
The 2024 U.S. presidential election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 5.