Ohio Senate candidates will meet for their first debate Monday night as they remain neck and neck in the polls for the swing seat.
Republican businessman and author J.D. Vance will face Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) in Cleveland at 7 p.m. EDT on WJW/Fox 8. The two will spar again the following Monday at a second debate. Early voting begins Wednesday.
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Vance and Ryan are locked in a very tight race, according to polling averages, well within the margin of error. FiveThirtyEight has Ryan ahead by less than 1 percentage point, while RealClearPolitics has Vance ahead by just over 1 percentage point.
The debates will give the candidates the opportunity to wrestle over issues such as abortion and the economy.
“We’re starting to get the message out consistently that Tim Ryan is a fraud, and his voting record doesn’t align with the presentation on the campaign,” Vance told the Washington Examiner over the weekend. “So, [I] feel good about the race. We’re ahead, I also think we have the momentum, and hopefully, we can take whatever lead we have and expand it over the next 30 days.”
Ryan will likely use abortion as a cudgel against Vance during the debate as Democrats seek to capitalize on signs it has motivated their base following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“San Francisco phony J.D. Vance has sold Ohioans out at every turn by calling for a national abortion ban, saying law enforcement is ‘corrupt,’ and bringing a Purdue Pharma mouthpiece directly to the Ohio communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic,” a Ryan spokesperson said in a statement.
Vance was endorsed by Donald Trump during the primary and has touted that association throughout the general election in a state the former president carried by 8 points in 2020. Ryan, meanwhile, has tried to distance himself from President Joe Biden and has avoided campaigning with him. Vulnerable Democrats have sought to separate themselves from Biden’s low approval ratings, especially on the economy and inflation.
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Vance’s campaign initially refused to participate in a debate sponsored by the Ohio Debate Commission due to a donation the commission’s executive director made to Ryan’s campaign in 2014.
The seat became open after Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) announced he would not seek reelection. Ryan has served in the
House since 2003, and Vance is a venture capitalist and author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
