Southern California Democrats were quick to point out that former President Donald Trump’s pick for a running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, was once a harsh critic of the former president.
And Republicans, perhaps predictably, praised Vance as a choice for vice president after Trump made the announcement as the Republican National Convention got underway on Monday, July 15.
“Now’s the time to unite and elect the change we need to get our country back on track,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, said, also offering congratulations to Vance.
Noting Vance’s once-fierce commentary of the former president, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, implied that Vance is joining the ticket “in the raw pursuit of power.”
“Having declared Trump unfit for office, he now joins the ticket, ready to advance all that he once deplored,” said Schiff, a candidate for U.S. Senate.
Vance, 39, who is the first millennial to join a major-party ticket, called Trump “a total fraud,” “a moral disaster” and even “America’s Hitler” when Trump first ran in 2016. The former president, who is running for another term in the White House, announced the Ohio senator as his running mate as the Republican National Convention got underway on Monday, July 15.
Related: Who is JD Vance? Things to know about Donald Trump’s pick for vice president
State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, who’s running for California’s open 47th congressional district, also alluded to Vance’s past rhetoric, saying he prefers presidential candidates “whose VP nominees don’t openly call them America’s Hitler.”
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis posted a screenshot of Vance’s website where he outlines his stance on abortion — “I am 100 percent pro-life,” he said — and said Vance “wants a world where American women have fewer rights than they did 50 years ago, where they can’t make decisions about their own bodies, where their lives and futures are in the hands of politicians.”
On her campaign account on X — formerly known as Twitter — Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, shared a post indicating that if Vance was vice president in 2020, he would not have certified the election results as then-Vice President Mike Pence did.
“That’s right J.D. Vance would’ve stolen your votes,” Torres said.
But Scott Baugh, a former state legislator who is vying for that CA-47 seat, said he was happy with Trump’s pick.
“Trump and Vance are the leaders we need to get the economy back on track, secure our border and fight crime,” Baugh, a Republican, said in a social media post. “They will champion the American Dream.”
Vance “has served our country as a U.S. Marine, a U.S. senator, and he now has the honor of serving as the nominee for vice president,” Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, said in an emailed statement.
“J.D. also has expertise as a business owner, and as one myself, I am excited to work with a team which understands how to lower costs, grow our economy, stop the deficit spending that has fueled inflation and once again make the American Dream affordable for the people we represent,” he said.
“Sen. Vance is a young dynamic leader that will bring even more energy and excitement to the ticket,” Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, said. “I look forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration to address the needs of hardworking communities like the Central Valley, end the border crisis, grow our economy, defend our water and energy resources and make America Great Once Again.”
A spokesperson for Steve Garvey, who is running for U.S. Senate in California, declined to comment on the pick.
This story has been updated. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
