Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance, candidates for Ohio Senate, discuss problems during a town hall at 5:40.
On the campaign trail, Vance, who has never held public office, attempted to link Ryan to President Biden and the economic downturn, and he questioned what Ryan has to show for his 20 years in Congress, suggesting that it is time for new representation. He also discussed rising prices, fentanyl crossing the southern border, and criminality. He claimed that Congress must halt spending to reduce inflation and has urged the United States to strengthen its energy independence.
During the campaign, Vance also stated that he would support a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks, as proposed by South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. However, he has been imprecise about which exemptions he may accept, with the exception of one to safeguard the life of the mother.
Vance suffered his own ideological metamorphosis after announcing his candidacy, moving from a self-described “never-Trump man” who referred to the previous president as “culture heroin” to someone Trump referred to as “kissing my a**” during an Ohio rally. He is likely to be a much more conservative senator than Portman, who reached bipartisan agreements on infrastructure, gun legislation, and electoral count act reform.
In the final months of the campaign, polls showed Vance with a narrow advantage, but outside Republican groups spent millions on the contest. On the closing months of the election cycle, the Senate Leadership Fund invested approximately $30 million in the Ohio Senate campaign. Trump’s MAGA Inc. has also spent more than $2 million on campaign advertising.
To combat inflation, Ryan has advocated tax cuts for individuals and small companies and stated that returning supply chains back to the United States is the long-term solution. In a famous advertisement, he expressed agreement with Trump on China.
On the campaign trail, Ryan supports his claim of distancing himself from his fellow Democrats by noting that he ran unsuccessfully against Nancy Pelosi for Democratic leader in 2016. In this Congress, however, Ryan has voted in lockstep with the Democratic Party. A year ago, he voted for a package of gun control measures and a bill to codify Roe v. Wade. Previously, he opposed both gun control and abortion.
Ryan stated on the campaign trail that he was running to represent the “exhausted majority” of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Additionally, he has attempted to portray Vance as an extremist who fled Ohio for California and is only running for himself.
Ryan criticized Vance for his support of federal abortion restrictions and earlier statements opposing exceptions for rape or incest, despite the fact that the election was primarily focused on the economy. Ryan slammed Vance for helping to gather funds for attorneys for people who marched on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as for attending Trump rallies.