WASHINGTON: J.D. Vance, a Republican contender for the US Senate who gained former President Donald Trump’s backing, is expected to win his party’s closely contested primary in Ohio on Tuesday, according to US media.

The 37-year-old, like many Republicans, was initially hostile to Trump during his ascent to power, even labelling him “America’s Hitler,” but eventually became an avid admirer, mirroring the former president’s fiery populism.

Vance, a former Marine and Yale Law School graduate, rose to prominence after the release of his novel “Hillbilly Elegy” in 2016, which attempted to explain why working-class white voters may be lured to the campaign of a New York real estate magnate like Trump.

In Ohio, several candidates were seeking for the Republican nomination, with the debate mostly centred on how close the party should stay to Trump, who continues to declare victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Moderate Republicans, like departing Senator Rob Portman, are concerned that if the Republican nominees accept such unsubstantiated assertions, Democrats may be able to win the November general election.

In a victory address, Vance told his fans, “I’ve absolutely got to thank the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”

“A lot of the fake news media out there wanted to write a story that this campaign would be the death of Donald Trump’s America First Agenda. Ladies and gentlemen, it ain’t the death of the America First Agenda!” Vance remarked.

Vance will face moderate Democrat Tim Ryan, an incumbent US representative from a blue-collar district, in the November election.

Democrat Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s other current senator, has a similar political approach to Ryan, giving Democrats hope that they may be able to take up a vital Senate seat from the red-leaning state.

Because the US Senate is now split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, each election this November has the potential to change the chamber’s control.

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