Oklahoma delegates to GOP Convention united in praising JD Vance as VP choice for Trump

While Donald Trump’s announcement that U.S. Sen. JD Vance would be his running mate in the presidential election has been greeted with surprise and skepticism in some quarters, Oklahoma delegates to the Republican National Convention praised Trump’s choice, calling it a home run by the former president.

On Monday, just days after he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, Trump named Vance as his choice for vice president.

Vance has served in the U.S. Senate for about two years. He is a former Marine and a venture capitalist with a law degree from Yale. He wrote the popular book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” about growing up in Appalachia. The book later became a movie.

Monday, Trump said Vance’s selection will bring focus to the people he fought for, “the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond.”

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump, said in a social media post.

Trump’s choice was praised by Oklahoma House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, a delegate to this year’s Republican National Convention.

“Senator Vance was a great choice,” Echols said. “He’s the first millennial in U.S. history to appear on a presidential ballot.”

Echols and Pollard: Vance brings excitement to race, a ‘home run’ pick

Choosing Vance, Echols said, buttresses Trump’s effort to reach working-class families.

“His upbringing from a working-class family really plays into Trump’s message,” he said.

Echols said he believed Trump and Vance have a close working relationship. Still, Echols acknowledged that Vance’s age could be seen as a negative by some.

“Senator Vance will have to convince the American public, and I think he will, that if something were to happen to President Trump that he is ready and capable of being the next commander and chief,” Echols said. “So overall, I thought it was a home run pick.”

More: Why did Donald Trump pick JD Vance? Loyalty, MAGA views and fundraising

Pam Pollard, former chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party and a delegate to the convention, said she, too, was pleased by the choice of Vance for vice president.

“People are very excited,” Pollard said. “Every time I talk to someone about JD Vance, they are excited, and that makes me excited. I’m glad the president chose him.”

Pollard said Vance’s story was compelling and brought energy to the party.

“He wanted to make himself better, he wanted to make his life better,” she said. “Is that not the greatest story anyone could have? I’m just grateful to the Republican Party that we have that story.”

Like Echols, Pollard said Vance’s life story makes him a compelling candidate. Vance is very relatable to working class Americans, she said.

“He’s very relatable,” she said. “He never gave up, and he’s proof that the difficulties in your life don’t have to hold you down.”

Vance replaces Pence on ticket

Vance replaces former Vice President Mike Pence, who distanced himself from Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pence was in the Capitol that day, when a pro-Trump mob attacked police officers, broke into building and attempted to stop Congress’ certification of the electoral college votes.

Pence, who briefly considered a run for president, also has been critical been critical of the Republican Party’s changes to its platform. Pence and other members of the party’s right wing have complained that the party eliminated abortion from the platform.

Echoing Pence, state Sen. Dusty Deevers, a Republican from Elgin, issued a scathing media statement last week, criticizing the RNC for its platform choices.

Weigh in: Former President Donald Trump chose U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. Share your thoughts with us

Notably, the opposition to abortion and support for a Christian definition of marriage present in previous platforms were removed, Deevers said.

“The RNC platform committee’s decision to remove from the platform Christian values regarding abortion and marriage is a reprehensible attack on God’s Word, pre-born children, and the Christians who have shed blood, sweat, and tears for the party because they believed it would fight for their values. Nothing is done that is not before the face of God and He will hold accountable those responsible for conspiring to secularize the Republican Party,” Deevers’ statement said.

Deevers urged all RNC delegates, especially those from Oklahoma, “to reject the platform adopted by the committee and work to amend it such that it calls for abortion’s abolition and marriage to be defined as the union of one man with one woman.”

As expected, Democrats criticized Trump’s choice of Vance.

“Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Biden-Harris campaign. “Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November.”

The Republican National Convention continues through Thursday.