"Expect campaign rivals to pounce on the contradictions, while the eloquent Vance will try talk his way around it — banking on the fact that Ohio twice went for a populist billionaire."

From "J.D. Vance tells associates he plans to run for Senate in Ohio" (Axios).

Vance made his name as an author [of "Hillbilly Elegy"], but he's made his career as a venture capitalist, backed by many of the coastal billionaires he now plans to rhetorically run against.

FROM THE EMAIL: Mike writes:

Well, I suppose that Vance’s putatitve opponents can point out that Vance is now a venture capitalist. But if Scranton Joe can point back to his relatively impoverished roots, Vance can make an even better claim. Vance really has been there and done that when it comes to living in and coming from poverty and a druggy/criminal culture. What got him out of there and to his “exalted venture capitalist status” was a tour in the military as an enlisted man. He followed that with a rush through undergrad school and then on to an Ivy League Law School where some of his fellow students sneered, “What are you doing here?” You’ll recall that John Kasich, running in Ohio, made much of being the son of a letter carrier for the Post Office. Whoever is likely to run against or oppose Vance won’t have his “authentic” lower class background. And if they want to paint him as a wealthy plutocrat, that sort of attack won’t work. Unlike Joe Biden who probably can’t remember anything, the voters can believe that Vance remembers where he came from.

"Even though he has not yet announced that he is running, and I certainly hope he does, I am giving my Complete and Total Endorsement to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin."

"He is brave, he is bold, he loves our Country, our Military, and our Vets. He will protect our Second Amendment, and everything else we stand for. It is the kind of courage we need in the U.S. Senate. He has no idea how popular he is. Run, Ron, Run!" 

Said Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, quoted in Politico. 

Wisconsin is one of Democrats best pickup opportunities on the Senate map after President Joe Biden carried it in November. But Johnson won an upset victory in 2016 for a second term despite being considered a longshot in his rematch against former Sen. Russ Feingold. In a twist, some Democrats are hoping he runs again after Johnson has aligned himself with Trump and made headlines for controversial statements about the election and the insurrection at the Capitol. 

Who might the Democrats run in Wisconsin? That's the question I was trying to answer when I dug up this Trump article. Ah, here:

Several Democrats are already in the race, including Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson and Milwaukee Bucks Executive Alex Lasry. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes are also seen as potential candidates.

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