J.D. Vance's story 'works on Long Island,' New York Republicans say

New York Republicans say vice presidential pick J.D. Vance will help them return their swing seat members to Congress.

"We really need that new energetic voice in politics,” Broome County GOP Chair Benji Federman told POLITICO from the convention floor.

“We need to energize the base for Marc Molinaro,” he added, referring the representative from New York's 19th District, who is running for re-election in a seat that President Joe Biden won in 2020.

Both parties have declared that the road to a majority runs through the Empire State. New York state party chair Ed Cox reaffirmed that’s still the case in Milwaukee.

“It’s going to be very positive,” Cox said of Vance’s addition. “J.D. Vance can cover Trump's base, and permit Trump to do the things that he knows he needs to do.”

Federman said Vance, who is 39, could help drive up voter turnout in his county — in both parties — and his relative youth in the presidential race will inspire a new generation of Republicans in New York.

“J.D. Vance, his biography, his history, the way he grew up … It's a story of raising yourself from your bootstraps,” said Suffolk County GOP Chair Jesse Garcia, who’s county covers two Long Island districts. “That's a story that works on Long Island. It's a story that works in upstate New York and even works in New York City. And I think that's going to make a connection with our voters.”