McIntosh, an informal Trump adviser who frequently talks with the former president about campaigns around the country, responded by saying he would look into the matter, according to one of the people familiar with the conversation. But the Club continued airing the $1 million TV buy — and on Wednesday, the organization escalated the offensive by plowing another $500,000 behind the effort.
Trump’s intervention in the race illustrates how he views the 2022 midterm election: as a tool to bolster and measure his own political standing ahead of a potential 2024 bid. The former president has been endorsing Republican candidates across the country and using their successes to trumpet his popularity within the party. And when he believes he hasn’t gotten enough credit he’s lashed out: After Republican Glenn Youngkin’s upset win in last month’s Virginia gubernatorial race, the former president steamed that he wasn’t getting enough recognition.
A Trump spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, declined to comment on the conversation between Trump and McIntosh but said: “President Trump loves Ohio, and you don’t have to look any further than his historic 8-point victory in 2020 to know Ohio loves President Trump. No wonder that every candidate in Ohio has become a champion for America First. The strongest ‘Trump’ candidate will surely win.”
A Club for Growth spokesperson declined to comment.
After McIntosh’s conversation with Trump, the Club for Growth sent to the former president’s political team a polling memo contending that the ad blitz had no bearing on his standing. The memo outlined the results of surveys conducted in four media markets across the state and compared Trump’s numbers before and after the commercials aired. The project found that there was no significant change in Trump’s popularity in any of the four markets.
“The polls … show that the advertising has had no effect on President Trump’s image as his favorable and unfavorable ratings changed by no more than a single point in any market,” stated a separate Club-commissioned memo obtained by POLITICO, which also argued that the barrage had taken a toll on Vance.
Vance allies disputed the Club’s polling showing declining ratings for Vance. And in a statement saying the Club for Growth was “desperate to stop J.D.,” because he doesn’t share the group’s “globalist pro-China trade agenda,” Vance campaign manager Jordan Wiggins noted that the Club for Growth had worked against Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries.
Read More: Trump intervenes in Ohio Senate primary — for himself