JD Vance is faltering in the Midwest, a big problem for the GOP

• When Trump tapped JD Vance as his running mate, the Ohioan's background was a major selling point.
• But new CNN data shows Vance with a double-digit net unfavorable rating across the Midwest.
• Vance's national rollout as the GOP vice-presidential nominee has been rocky.

Sen. JD Vance's national introduction as former President Donald Trump's running mate has been less than ideal .

Vance, known for his best-selling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," was elected to office less than two years ago to represent Ohio. Many Republicans have long viewed him as a future face of the party, given his Midwestern background and his appeal to many MAGA adherents.

But on the heels of a CNN analysis that found Vance was the least-liked nonincumbent vice-presidential nominee in at least 44 years, the network also reported that the GOP lawmaker had a double-digit unfavorable rating with voters across the Midwest.

A CNN poll in July found Vance had a 28% favorable rating and a 44% unfavorable rating — or a minus-16-point favorability rating — among registered voters surveyed in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

For Republicans banking on Vance to boost the party across the Midwest, his standing is far below where he'll need to be to win over swing voters in key states such as Michigan and Wisconsin.

During an appearance last week, Harry Enten, a CNN data reporter, also pointed to a data aggregate putting Vance at a minus-5-point favorability rating after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

"The people who know him best, the region that knows him best, they like him even less than America likes him," he told the network's Erin Burnett.

Vance is still early on in his political career, but the Trump campaign needs him to move the needle now.

Even in the GOP-leaning Ohio, Vance vastly underperformed other statewide Republicans on the ballot during his 2022 Senate race.

While Republican Gov. Mike DeWine won reelection by 25 points that year, Vance defeated his opponent — then-Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan — by only 6 percentage points.

Democrats have needled Republicans over the selection of Vance, arguing that his views on issues such as abortion will repel female voters. But Trump has so far stood behind his vice-presidential pick.