For a long time he was against Donald Trump, now he is supported by the ex-president. J.D. Vance wants to finish building for Ohio in the Senate and the wall at the US southern border. He threatened the US government with a blockade.
The US state of Ohio is thousands of miles north of the US-Mexico border, at the other end of the country. But J.D. Vance, Republican Senate candidate there, wants to finish what ex-President Donald Trump started. "We need a fight for the border wall," he appealed to party supporters in his hometown of Middletown. "We have to say to Joe Biden, 'You don't get a penny for your priorities unless you secure the southern border'."
After the Nov. 8 congressional election, Biden's Democrats could be forced to make compromises that are difficult to convey to their progressive, urban voters. Next to inflation and the economy, immigration is the third most popular issue that Americans call "very important" in polls, with 59 percent rating it so. 31 percent consider it "somewhat important". For the Republicans, it's a heart-and-stomach concern anyway.
Vance also has topical reasons for making immigration a top issue in his Senate candidacy alongside inflation and energy production. Since February 2021, the US border agency has recorded significantly more border crossings outside of the controls. Between 150,000 and 240,000 people are counted monthly. In the past year, there were more than ever - once again, the authorities are likely to announce a new record at the end of the year. Trump had already mobilized conservative voters in the congressional elections four years ago with his bluster about the "caravans" from Central America.
Democrats have controlled both chambers of Congress since early 2021. If you and Biden agree among themselves, the Republicans can currently only do something against their legislative projects to a very limited extent. But given the poll results, the Conservatives are already seeing the floodlights at the end of the tunnel. At least the House of Representatives, they should therefore almost certainly win. In the Senate, the decisive duels are mostly pointed to the button. It could even be the case that Biden will have to complete his term without any parliamentary majority.
Vance had long courted Donald Trump's support and finally received the ex-president's endorsement. The Senate candidate became known in 2016 with his autobiographical novel "Hillbilly Elegy". In it he describes the bitter nostalgia for the industrial decline of the rust belt and the social consequences for the workers there in such a realistic way that he became a popular explainer in the US media for explaining the reasons for Trump's election victory. He sharply criticized the newly elected President.
But Vance has changed, turned from Trump's opponent to a supporter. Warnings about his "cultural heroin" and predictions of a "hard sobering up" have turned into praise and angry tirades in the ex-president's tone. One reason may be that tech investor Peter Thiel - among other things he is a co-founder of Paypal - supported him with ten million dollars last year. Little did it know that Vance would even make it through the Ohio primary. Thiel is a big supporter of Trump. Vance and Thiel have worked together in the past in the investment field.
The threat Vance is proposing to his fellow Republicans depends on the state budget. The President presents it to Congress, which must approve the budget. This gives Parliament enormous leverage. Should the Republicans win both chambers of Congress, the next two years are likely to be a gauntlet for the Democrats. After an election victory, Vance wants to demand three billion dollars in federal funds for the further construction of the wall. He is currently neck and neck in polls with his competitor, Democrat Tim Ryan.
Even if the Republicans only achieve a majority in the House of Representatives, the struggle for money will be enormous. Aid to Ukraine is one of the Democrats' priorities. These must also be confirmed by Congress. In the future, the Republicans could tie their approval of such weapons packages to projects such as the building of the wall - and get Biden into moral and intra-party trouble. Not to mention the possible consequences for the war in Europe should it continue.
