Former President Donald Trump reportedly plans to endorse Hillbilly Elegy author-turned-Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance in Ohio’s upcoming primary.

NBC reports that Trump has been consulting with donors and advisers recently about endorsing Vance. He held off on making his endorsement official, however, due to Vance’s lagging poll numbers and pressure from Vance’s rival GOP candidates: Josh Mandel and Jane Timken.

From the report:

‘The Mandel people hit the roof,’ one Republican with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News, noting that Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan tried to dissuade Trump on behalf of Mandel, whom the congressman supports.

Trump has been concerned with Vance, who criticized the former president bitterly in 2016. Vance is also running in about third place in recent polling and has barely cracked double digits — a major worry for Trump who doesn’t want to waste his endorsement, the sources said.

Trump weighing in on Ohio’s crowded senate GOP primary comes as the contest has been heating up in recent weeks. Despite Vance’s efforts to politically portray himself as a firebrand and immigration hard-liner, recent polls have shown him trailing Mandel and Mike Gibbons.

“Nothing is final until it’s final,” a source told NBC. “Trump can always change his mind. But he already kicked the tires on everyone and he’s ready to go with Vance. It’s either Vance or nobody. And it’s only nobody if somehow the other campaigns can get him to hold off.”

If Trump proceeds to endorse Vance, a one-time Trump critic, it will follow his decision to endorse Dr. Mehmet Oz for the daytime television host’s Senate run in Pennsylvania. Trump’s Oz endorsement raised eyebrows among conservatives who’ve publicly wondered if that was the right call.

Absentee voting by mail has already started, and Election Day is May 3.

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