Republican Donald Trump helped J.D. Vance win his 2022 election for U.S. senator from Ohio — and now selected his former critic turned staunch ally as his vice presidential running mate.

Speaking on Monday from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Tom McCabe, an RNC delegate, said the selection of Vance “is exciting and it’s great for Ohio. He’s an up and coming star in our party. He’s done a great job in his nearly two years in the Senate.”

Vance, a 39-year-old Cincinnati resident, brings “youth to the ticket,” McCabe said.

“That’s important and he has those Midwest values that appeal to voters. Also, his views align with our nominee: Donald Trump. I’m really excited we’ll have someone from Ohio. It will bring a spotlight to Ohio and our needs,” McCabe said.

McCabe, who had to walk outside to speak to a reporter because the Ohio delegation was so loud cheering the selection, said, “Everyone was buzzing about J.D. being the nominee coming into the convention. There’s been so much excitement about it with the delegation. We are thrilled by the selection.”

McCabe said he believes “Vance will help the ticket in these blue-collar towns and counties that we need in November.”

Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson said, “I may not always agree with President (Joe) Biden on things, but the one thing nobody can dispute is his ability to building a team — and the fact that Donald Trump would pick the man who once called him ‘America’s Hitler,’ and has no experience as the potential No. 2 in the line of succession shows that not only did nobody want the job, but that he has no idea how to build a team.”

Regarding Vance, Anderson said his “claim to fame is that he published a book to give himself a pat on the back for his ability to pull himself up by his bootstraps, without realizing the irony that he was only able to pull himself out of poverty because of the social programs Democrats have championed and that he would have happily voted against.”

Anderson said after Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump’s life, he hoped the Republican presidential nominee “would have chosen a much less inflammatory candidate. But it appears he’s once again decided to appeal to his fringe base instead of our better angels.”

Trumbull County Republican Party Chairman Mike Bollas said of the Vance selection, “I’m thrilled. I don’t think Trump could have picked a better person. He’s intelligent, young and he knows what he’s doing. The only thing is we’ll have to get another senator after he’s elected.”

Bollas said Vance will be “supportive of Trump’s policies and we need to bring those policies back like a strong border, the economy, foreign relations, being energy efficient. We need to get back to the way we were. We need people like Trump and Vance supporting those policies.”

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who represents Trumbull County, said Trump “made an excellent choice” selecting Vance as his running mate.

“Sen. Vance has been a strong advocate for Ohioans fighting to preserve the American Dream for future generations,” Joyce said. “From advocating for families in East Palestine after the train derailment to preserving our Great Lakes, J.D. has been a powerful voice in the Senate on the same issues I fight for in the House. As Buckeyes, we fight every day to preserve the core values of our nation: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Joyce added, “President Trump is wise to pick a young leader with an innovative vision for our future. Ohio has always played a large role in presidential politics. That’s why I believe Sen. Vance will make us proud on the national level and he will be a fantastic vice president.”

Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters said Vance “is an out-of-touch millionaire who launched his political career by taking advantage of Ohio’s opioid crisis and has spent his time in the Senate humiliating himself in the service of a convicted felon instead of working to improve the quality of life for Ohioans. His support for a national abortion ban and his twisted belief that women should stay in violent marriages for the benefit of their children exemplifies his dangerous extremism. He’s not just wrong for Ohio, he’s wrong for the country.”

Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Vance will “bring a new generational perspective to the ticket” and Trump “has made a great choice and Sen. Vance will be a great partner as they campaign together this fall.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said Vance “is a perfect pick: tough, smart and high-energy. He knows what it’s like to have to fight, what it’s like to win and what it’s like to serve.”

Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee for Ohio’s other Senate seat in the Nov. 5 election and a Vance ally, said, “J.D. is a dynamic, visionary leader who is the perfect messenger for the America First agenda alongside President Trump. He will fight with President Trump for our middle class, secure our border and unleash American energy.”

Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chair, said of Vance, “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 elections in 2020.”

SENATE CAMPAIGN

In his first political campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022, Vance emerged from a crowded field to win the May primary for the seat with much credit for that victory given to Trump’s endorsement a few weeks prior and $15 million from a super political action committee funded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Vance’s former boss.

Trump came to Ohio three times in 2022 for Vance: one in the primary and twice in the general election, including Sept. 17, 2002, at Youngstown’s Covelli Centre.

Vance beat then-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat formerly of Howland, in the 2022 general election by 6.1%. It was the closest statewide election that year. The seat was opened by the retirement of Republican Rob Portman, who chose not to seek a third six-year term in the Senate.

Vance defeated Ryan in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, which the Democrat represented for 20 years in the U.S. House.

Vance beat Ryan by 7.1% in Trumbull County and by 3.5% in Mahoning County.

Vance, who wrote the best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” was a vocal critic of Trump during the 2016 election, calling him “reprehensible,” “an idiot” and said that he didn’t vote for him that year. He privately said in 2016 — but not reported until 2022 — that he went “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a–hole who wouldn’t be that bad and might even prove useful or that he’s America’s Hitler.”

In an October 2021 interview with this newspaper, Vance said he was wrong about Trump and his criticism was the result of voting for Republicans for president in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and being disappointed.

“I assumed that everybody who ran was basically a scumbag so I had a certain mistrust that any politician would deliver on his promises, and Trump actually did a good job,” he said. “So one of the most important things is when the facts change, you change your mind. The facts to me were he actually honored his promises.”

At an April 27, 2022, campaign stop at Mahoning County Republican Party headquarters, Vance said of his primary opponents, “You never try to be someone else. You’ve got to be yourself. I think that’s one of the mistakes, by the way, that a lot of these clowns make against me in the primary. They haven’t learned anything from the substance (of) how Trump governed. They try to act like Trump, but you’re not Trump.”

Vance also said, “The thing I hate about politics is people refuse to admit they change their mind. They refuse to admit they were wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong about Donald Trump.”

During the Sept. 17, 2022, rally in Youngstown for Vance, Trump reminded the audience of Vance’s past criticism.

“This is a great person who I’ve really gotten to know,” Trump said of Vance. “Yeah, he said some bad things about me, but that was before he knew me, and then he fell in love.”