Mandel confident of win in Ohio GOP Senate primary without Trump endorsement

Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel (R) said on Monday that he remains confident that he will win the state’s Senate primary even without an endorsement from former President Trump.

During an appearance on Fox News’s “America Newsroom,” Mandel told hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer that other prominent GOP figures have endorsed his campaign, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Gen. Michael Flynn.

“I’m confident we’re going to win tomorrow’s primary. We’ve done something that no Senate candidate or governor candidate in Ohio has ever done before,” Mandel told the hosts. “Rather than running the campaign through traditional Republican Party groups, we’ve actually run our campaign through churches.”

“Last week I had General Michael Flynn with me crisscrossing the state at different churches, and we’ve got this army of Christian warriors throughout the state who are going to come out in droves and propel us to victory tomorrow.”

When Hemmer asked Mandel if he would have benefited from Trump’s endorsement, which instead went to J.D. Vance, the former state treasurer said he would still be ready to work with the president to take on Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) in the general election.

“Well listen, I’m going to win tomorrow and I’m going to work with President Trump in the general election,” Mandel told Hemmer. “We’re going to be working together to beat Tim Ryan, beat the Democrats, but more importantly, we’re going to work together to advance the America First agenda.” 

After staying out of the highly competitive primary to replace Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Trump announced his endorsement of Vance, an author and venture capitalist, at a rally last month. However, Trump was unable to recall Vance’s name during a rally in Nebraska over the weekend.

Vance, a former Trump critic, saw a bump in the polls following the endorsement. Others in GOP primary are investment banker Mike Gibbons, Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) and former Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken.

Primary voters will head to the polls on Tuesday.