Ohio Republican Primary: Wine-Sipper J.D. Vance to Face Time Ryan in November

But Thiel scored Trump’s endorsement for Vance, and Don Jr. even campaigned with him. The rest of the rogue’s gallery also joined Vance on the trail, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, just off of saying the Catholic Church was beholden to Satan (does a Satan-controlled church have the wherewithal to dodge Jewish lasers?). Vance also toured Ohio with Representative Matt Gaetz, currently under federal investigation for trafficking underage women.

This, to put it mildly, is a far cry from the conservatism we once knew here, which defined past Ohio Republicans. The conservatism of the Tafts, John W. Bricker, and George Voinovich: traditionalist, cautious to a fault, modest, suspicious of big government programs or entanglements abroad.

Back onstage at the Duke Energy Center, none of the fringe figures Vance has lately been palling around with were present. It was just J.D., and his wife a bit off to the side, triumphantly speaking as he pulled away from his competition. This included the original front-runner, State Treasurer Josh Mandel.