Former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, is formally accepting the Republican nomination for vice president Wednesday evening.
The U.S. senator from Ohio caps off a night of Republican heavyweights who are showing their full support for the 2024 ticket.
Other prominent speakers scheduled Wednesday include Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Trump aide Peter Navarro, who was released from prison earlier on Wednesday, and Trump's son Donald Trump Jr and his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Tump was once again in attendance Wednesday night. He greeted supporters and shook hands with lawmakers and governors.
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Vance's wife Usha introduced her husband, who will reportedly try to appeal to White working-class voters, one of the most important constituencies of the Republican Party.
Like many of the speakers featured at the Republican National Convention this week, Vance once publicly expressed doubts about Trump. Vance said in 2016 that he could not vote for Trump, calling him a "fraud."
Despite past apprehension of Trump, Republicans have put together a convention attempting to show that the party is the most united it has been in decades.
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Republicans are feeling buoyed by recent polls that show Trump ahead of President Joe Biden. A poll released Tuesday by Reuters and Ipsos showed Trump ahead of Biden 43-41 in the popular vote. Although the popular vote margin is still within the poll's margin of error, most battleground state polls also give Trump an advantage.
Three of the most fierce battleground states are Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Republicans have said they believe Vance's addition to the ticket will particularly help Trump in those states because of his Midwest roots.
Vance has served in the Senate for less than two years, so many voters might be hearing from him for the first time on Wednesday. Vance is expected to focus his speech on his upbringing and growing up poor in Southwest Ohio, having at times a traumatic childhood.
