Former President Donald Trump named Ohio Senator JD Vance Monday as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election, with both men receiving their party’s nominations Monday in Milwaukee, and Illinois politicians were quick to react to the choice.
Vance, 39, was nominated by voice vote on the floor of the convention, and waved to the crowd after he was brought into the Fiserv Forum.
While Illinois Republicans were behind the move, as described by NBC Chicago’s Rose Schmidt, Democrats were quick to criticize the decision.
Following Trump’s announcement, reaction was swift, with Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison released a statement saying “stakes of this election just got even higher” with Vance’s name being added to the ticket.
Harrison went on to say Vance has supported some Trump’s “worst policies” and a Trump-Vance ticket would undermine our democracy, our freedoms and our future. He concluded the statement by saying reelecting Joe Biden and Kalama Harris is “more important than ever.”
In Illinois, several top Democrats were critical of the choice, including Gov. JB Pritzker. Pritzker’s thread on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, begins with “Who is JD Vance” and goes on to refer to him as an “anti-abortion activist,” someone who “voted against IVF access” and more.
Rep. Sean Casten, a representative for Illinois’ sixth district, has not made a public statement, but has reposted multiple posts about Vance’s history of anti-Trump comments and criticisms of his books.
Despite Democratic criticism, Republicans in the Illinois delegation were largely bullish on the move, including Rep. Mary Miller, who cast the Illinois delegations’ votes for Trump during the nominating process Monday.
Rep. Mike Bost, serving as a delegate at the convention, also praised Vance’s nomination.
Rep. Darin LaHood praised Vance’s “story of resilience” in a social media post praising the decision.
Other politicians- including Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Tammy Duckworth and more- have yet to publicly respond.