Former President Donald Trump's endorsement of JD Vance in the Ohio Senate GOP primary has some "very upset," but Ohio Senate candidate Mike Gibbons on Newsmax said the decision was above his "pay grade" and, ultimately, the voters will decide.
"Ultimately, it's going to be the decision of the voters in the state of Ohio," Gibbons told Friday's "Spicer & Co." "I've heard from a lot of sources that a lot of people are very upset at the idea of President Trump endorsing at this point."
Trump's endorsing Vance over others was obviously going to disappoint a lot of the other candidates, but Gibbons also suggested to host Lindsay Keith the Senate primary campaigns are crucial to voter turnout in the November midterm election.
"We've had 10 candidates working pretty hard for a year," Gibbons told Keith. "To have somebody to come in and endorse, particularly the former president to come in and endorse at this stage, it's probably not the greatest thing for trying to draw people into an election in the future.
"We've all worked hard."
Gibbons was in the mix for Trump's coveted endorsement, having served as the Ohio state finance co-chair in 2016 presidential election
"I've visited with him," Gibbons said of competing for the endorsement. "I've been very proud of my support for him in the past.
"I've supported him, gave speeches for him," he continued.
"I believe in the Trump agenda. I believe in America first."
Gibbons added he cannot tell how or why the endorsement of Vance came, saying it was "above my pay grade," but he remains confident for the May 3 Senate GOP primary.
"We like our polling no matter what happens," Gibbons concluded.
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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