Pictured are Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance (center(, former GOP president Donald Trump, and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Morgan Harper (far left), a Columbus Democrat

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, political and investigative reporter, editor-in-chief

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former president Donald Trump headlined a GOP-led rally on  Sat., April 23, 2022 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, a city north of Columbus.The event drew hundreds and comes as the May 3 primary election nears, an effort, says sources, to boost voter turnout for Republican candidates.

Though he has not announced an endorsed candidate for governor last week he endorsed author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance in the crowded Republican primary for the  U.S.  Senate seat up for grabs due to the upcoming retirement of GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Cincinnati.

Vance joined the former president on stage mid-way through his remarks as Trump lauded him as the savior to keep Portman's Senate seat in the hands of Republicans, the other U.S. Senate seat held by Sen Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat and senior member of Congress. The former president said that Vance "will deliver a historic victory for America first in Ohio." And he said that Republicans are determined to win back the U.S. House and Senate in November.

"Seven months from now the people of Ohio are going to vote to fire the radical left Democrats," said Trump to a tentative audience. "And you're going to elect an incredible slate of true American Republicans to Congress."

He criticized the mainstream media as he often does, calling it "fake news."

Several Republicans are vying for the nomination to succeed Portman in a 50-50 senate in what has become a political bloodbath. Aside from Vance, other candidates on the GOP ballot who hope to replace Portman are businessman Mike Gibbons, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken, and state Sen. Matt Dolan. Recent polls show Vance slightly ahead of Mandel, who slipped to second place since Trump's endorsement, and Gibbons in third place.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, attorney Morgan Harper and tech executive Traci Johnson round out the  Democratic candidates vying to replace Portman, Ryan a Youngstown area Democrat who is not seeking reelection to Congress this year and the front-runner candidate for the Democratic primary.

Both Harper, a former consumer protection attorney with the Obama administration, and Johnson are Black.

Harper said in a statement to Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com after Saturday's rally that Trump is a joke who promotes White supremacy and White men.and that Vance and several of the other GOP candidates in Ohio seeking the open seat in the U.S. Senate are no better.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance share a dark vision of gutting the government and replacing it with…more rich white guys," said Harper. "The entire Ohio GOP Senate race has focused only on Trump’s endorsement instead of how any of these Republicans would improve the lives of Ohioans. Mandel, Timken, and the rest are no better. They all raced to the bottom in pursuit of Trump’s stamp of approval. They should all be ashamed.”

The former president last visited Ohio on June 26 of last year and spoke at  a GOP rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds. According to Trump's Save America PAC, last year's rally marked the first of many appearances by the former president "in support of candidates and causes that further the MAGA agenda and accomplishments of President Trump’s administration."

That  GOP rally last year in Wellington, Ohio where Trump spoke was to support Max Miller, whom he has endorsed in the primary for Ohio’s 16th Congressional District against GOP incumbent Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, and of whom he also pushed for at the rally in Delaware on Saturday.

A conservative one-term president and real estate mogul, Trump, a staunch Republican, lost reelection in 2020 to current president Joe Biden, a Democrat and former U.S.  senator and vice president under former president Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president. But the former president, still a controversial figure, remains a viable force for GOP endorsements as gubernatorial and congressional and U.S. Senate races heat up and the November midterm elections near.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor. Coleman is a seasoned Black Cleveland journalist who trained at the Call and Post Newspaper for 17 years and an experienced investigative and political reporter. She is the most read independent journalist in Ohio per Alexa.com Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.