Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican who is a contender for Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, will help the former president raise funds next month in Cincinnati, according to an invitation obtained by NBC News on Tuesday.
Trump is promoting Vance as a “special guest” for a fundraiser and “lunch discussion” on May 15. Trump expects the host committee members to contribute or raise $250,000 for each pair. Attendees pay $100,000 per couple or $50,000 per individual. All proceeds will go to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee.
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The event might serve as a trial for Vance, a first-term senator from Cincinnati and a key Trump ally in Ohio. Eight years ago, during his first presidential campaign, Trump made a show of auditioning potential running mates at rallies before settling on Mike Pence, then-Governor of Indiana.
Such public spectacles have yet to occur in Trump’s third presidential quest. He has been unable to campaign due to his hush money trial in New York, but he does have rallies set for Wednesday in Wisconsin and Michigan, two Midwest battlegrounds.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, stated late Tuesday, “Anyone who tells you they know who, how, or when President Trump will choose his vice president is probably wrong, unless that person is named Donald J. Trump.”
Trump developed a friendship with Vance, 39, when he endorsed him in the crowded 2022 Senate primary. More recently, they banded together in Ohio to support former auto dealer Bernie Moreno, who won the Republican Senate primary this year after Trump headlined a rally for him in the last days of the campaign. In the primary, Vance actively pursued high-level contributors and raised funds for the pro-Moreno Buckeye Values PAC event.
This fall, Moreno will face Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in what is likely to be one of the most contested Senate elections in the country.
Ohio is no longer a presidential swing state; Trump won by 8 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020.
Vance told Fox News on Sunday that he hasn’t spoken with Trump about the vice presidency but would “seriously consider it” if invited to join the ticket.
Vance is one of six vice presidential candidates scheduled to attend a Trump 47 spring event in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend. Expected attendees include Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina, Governors Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
