Coloradans react to JD Vance as Trump’s VP candidate pick

DENVER (KDVR) — The Republican National Convention kicked off Monday with a major announcement: Donald Trump selected U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his pick to run for vice president this November.

FOX31 spoke to two Coloradans with insight into how local Republicans reacted to the announcement. They said the pick is not surprising for the former president, and they expect Colorado Republicans to get behind him.

Folks who follow Colorado politics said Trump picking JD Vance as running mate is not a surprise given Vance’s strong backing of the former president in recent days.

Kristi Burton Brown is the former chair of the Colorado Republican Party and current vice president of the conservative think tank Advance Colorado.

“I think JD Vance is an excellent choice by President Trump,” Burton Brown said. “If he is elected, JD Vance will represent the Rust Belt, working-class Americans. He’s a father currently raising his kids, who cares about education issues. Also, he’ll be the first millennial in the White House as vice president, and that’s a significant win as well.”

JD Vance pick seen as a look toward the future

Seth Masket, professor of political science at the University of Denver, is at the RNC gathering research from delegates and county chairs. Even though Vance has a record of opposing Trump in the past, Masket was not surprised that he was tapped as a candidate for the position.

“Vance is someone who was very critical of Trump not that many years ago. Back in 2016 and a few years since that, he said some of the more critical things than any other public-facing Republicans have been. But he’s really moderated that over the past few years, especially since running for Senate in 2022,” Masket said. “Vance has obviously been one of former President Trump’s staunchest defenders in recent months, particularly in the last few days since the assassination attempt. He’s come out and said some of the most bombastic things, blaming Democrats for it. So if there was any doubt left, that may have actually been what tipped things over in his favor in the end.”

Masket and Burton Brown said this year’s Republican vice presidential pick is one that looks ahead to the future.

“The pick of a vice presidential candidate probably doesn’t affect that much in the presidential race, but it might matter more when the main candidates are as old as they are: in their late 70s or early 80s. Particularly for Donald Trump: If he wins, he can only serve one more term. So this pick is, obviously, fairly important,” Masket said.

“It’s a really smart choice when the president looks to the future and says not only how can I do a good job in my current term and how can I prepare my party and the country for the future,” Burton Brown said. “So by turning to the next generation, that’s what President Trump is doing. He’s also picking a military veteran and a law school graduate — other qualifications that Trump himself doesn’t have but he can add to the ticket to broaden his experience.”

‘We’re going to see a closer race in Colorado’

Although Colorado is expected to remain blue this November, the state’s party chair said she expects this pick to get Colorado voters excited as Republicans in the state look to rebuild.

“We’re going to see a closer race in Colorado. Certainly, I think we probably know what’s going to happen at the top of the ticket here in Colorado, but a shift like that and excitement surrounding JD Vance as the VP nominee, President Trump as our presidential nominee, it just helps the lower races, helps the CD-8, helps CD-3, helps legislative races in Colorado,” Burton Brown said.

Republicans in Colorado are hoping for a surge for some of those down-ballot candidates, saying they are focused on winning in November to get the party back on track following some significant losses in statewide races in recent years.

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