Sen. Schumer, among other critics, urges Trump to replace Sen. Vance as VP pick before Ohio ballot access deadline

By 
 July 30, 2024

Former President Donald Trump's choice of Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) to be his running mate has been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans, including speculation that Trump regrets the decision and would like to change his vice presidential candidate.

According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Trump has less than 10 days to swap out his running mate because of an August 7 ballot access deadline in Vance's home state of Ohio, the Independent reported.

That fast-approaching deadline may not be as ironclad as some have suggested, however, and Trump may instead have until the beginning of September to make any alterations to the Republican ticket if he decides that it is necessary.

Schumer says Trump should replace Vance on GOP ticket

On Sunday, Sen. Schumer appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" and, among other things, critically discussed former President Trump's selection of his colleague, Sen. Vance, as his running mate.

"And one more point about this, and that is the addition of JD Vance to this ticket. It's -- it's incredibly a bad choice," Schumer said. "I think Donald Trump, I know him, and he's probably sitting and watching the TV, and every day, Vance, it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic."

"Vance seems to be more erratic and more extreme than President Trump," he continued. "And I'll bet President Trump is sitting there scratching his head and wondering, 'why did I pick this guy?' The choice may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats."

Asked to elaborate, Schumer added, "Now the President has about 10 days -- 10 days before the Ohio ballot is locked in. And he has a choice: does he keep Vance on the ticket, where he's -- he probably -- he's -- he already has a whole lot of baggage, he's probably going to be more baggage over the weeks because we'll hear more things about him, or does he pick someone new? What's his choice?"

Ohio deadline was extended to September 1

That 10-day countdown mentioned by Sen. Schumer referenced the August 7 deadline in Ohio for candidate ballot access -- a deadline that the Democratic National Committee has seized upon to justify holding a virtual roll call of state delegates to determine the party's nominee before the mid-August convention in Chicago.

Yet, according to a press release last week from Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, that supposed deadline had already been extended to September 1 by the state legislature and governor.

"I’ve seen numerous media reports and interviews within the past week in which you repeatedly cite Ohio’s August 7 ballot access deadline as justification for your committee’s intent to conduct a 'virtual nominating convention,'" LaRose wrote in the letter to DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. "As you know, the Ohio General Assembly made an exception to the ballot access deadline for the 2024 presidential election, passing legislation signed by the governor that temporarily extends it to September 1, 2024."

"As the state’s chief elections officer, I’ve confirmed with our state’s attorney general that Ohio law does not require the DNC to conduct a 'virtual roll call' prior to your scheduled August convention dates," he continued. "I’m confident that your attorneys are well aware of this fact, and I suspect your current rhetorical posturing is part of a plan to replace the incumbent president without a contested convention or any kind of democratic process."

"It’s clever, if not completely antithetical to your party’s relentless finger-wagging about threats to democracy, but I ask that you stop using Ohio to justify your course of action," the secretary added.

Poor polling, inexperienced, and past controversial comments

Regardless of whether the Ohio deadline is August 7 or September 1, Trump has limited time to decide whether to stick with his choice of running mate or cave to the criticisms of Democrats, their media allies, and anonymous Republicans in Congress, per The Hill.

The problems for his pick of Vance include poor polling and net negative favorability among voters, a perception that he is too young and inexperienced, and controversies over rehashed statements in years past, including the senator's initially harsh critiques of Trump himself during the 2016 cycle that have been resurfaced.

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