What Went Down During Ohio’s And Indiana’s Primary Elections

I agree with Geoffrey as well. Vance didn’t lead in a single poll until Trump endorsed him. He was struggling to raise money or defend against attacks about his past anti-Trump comments, and the super PAC giving him air cover was running low on funds and sounding the alarm in a major way. The Trump endorsement neutralized those attacks and inspired Thiel to give the pro-Vance super PAC another $3.5 million lifeline.

I think that’s right, Geoffrey. Also, while rural voters are definitely the Trump base, in sheer numbers most Trump voters and supporters were in suburbs and cities, and Trumpism likely still finds its support there. Rural voters don’t make up enough of the population to make a difference on their own.

Mandel and Vance et al. were certainly jockeying for Trump’s anointment, Geoff. And when Trump accidentally created a portmanteau of their names when talking about his endorsements at a rally this weekend, I bet that was salt in the wound for Mandel.