He’s a Trumper through and through
Irena Stolar has voted Republican for over half a century, from Richard M. Nixon to Donald Trump. But in the midterms, Stolar, 73, said she will cast her first vote for aDemocrat. Originally from Ukraine, Stolar refuses to supportJ.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, who has said he wants to cut off aid to the war-torn country.
“Definitely not this year, with J.D. Vance saying that Ukraine doesn’t matter,” saidStolar, during a break from her shift as host at Olesia’s Taverne, a busy Ukrainian restaurant.She recalled being upset earlier this year, when Vance said on a podcast interview just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “I gotta be honest with you. I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”
Vance later recalibrated, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “is the bad guy” and “we want the Ukrainians to be successful.” But for Stolar, the damage was done. “If he said one thing, then backs down on it, you can’t trust someone like that,” she said. “I’d like our senators to continue supporting Ukraine, sending arms as much as they can.”
Stolar was one of 15 Republican voters or elected officials The Washington Post interviewed this month here in Parma, a city of 80,000 near Cleveland that has one of the largest Ukrainian American populations in the state. Many said they would not vote for Vance. In a tight contest, such sentiments could have far-reaching implications.
Polls show that Vance and Rep. Tim Ryan (D) are in close competition as the race nears its conclusion, and with Democrats trying to retain their narrow Senate majority, the stakes are especially high. There are about 41,000 people with Ukrainian heritage in Ohio, according to the Census Bureau, and many have felt the effects of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine more acutely and personally than most Americans.
While the war in Ukraine has not been the central focus of the race — a recent candidate debate focused on other topics, such as the economy, immigration, and moderation vs. extremism — it is one that has stirred impassioned responses that loom large over the final weeks of the contest and future showdowns in Congress over funding for Ukraine.
The clashes here come asHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) recently signaled that if Republicans win the House in November, the GOP is likely to oppose more aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. In recent years, a growing number of Republican lawmakers and candidates have embraced a more nationalist and isolationist foreign policy, a Trump-era shift from decades of more consistently hawkish and interventionist leanings in the party.
Vance and his allies are wagering that a sharp focus on improving life in Ohio and a critique of investments abroad will resonate in a state Trump carried twice. The author of “Hillbilly Elegy” and a Trump critic turned supporter, Vance has embraced some of the “America First” leanings that have become cornerstones of the pro-Trump movement. He has saidhe believes the United States has spent enough helping Ukraine and should instead channel funds toward blocking the flow of fentanyl across the Mexican border.
“We’ve got to stop the money spigot to Ukraine eventually,” Vance said in an interview with an ABC News affiliate in September. “We cannot fund a long-term military conflict that I think ultimately has diminishing returns for our own country.”
If Vance wins, as expected, he is going to be a member of the wingnut wrecking crew in the US Senate. He thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room and he has no character or moral center, a dangerous combination.