JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<select>
<option value="1">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
</select>
JavaScript
$('select :[value=2]').prop("selected", true);
alert($('select :selected').text());
$('select option:first-child').prop("selected", true);
alert($('select :selected').text());