Josh Mandel seeks a victory over Trump-endorsed JD Vance through Ohio’s churches

Listening to Josh Mandel talk to an audience of fired-up churchgoers in Columbus, Ohio, you wouldn’t know the 44-year-old Republican was running against Donald Trump’s favoured candidate.

As he and his highest-profile national surrogate Ted Cruz held a captive audience over the crowd of roughly 100, the jabs towards so-called “RINOs” – Republicans In Name Only – seemed constant.

That’s why Mr Mandel’s effort to come out on top of Tuesday’s GOP primary for his state’s open Senate seat is so important: for Republicans, it could be a blueprint for winning without the support of the former GOP president and Mar-a-Lago kingmaker.