Here’s the latests news today out of Ohio:
A new poll shows that Democratic Representative Tim Ryan has a slight lead against Republican JD Vance in Ohio’s Senate race as Republicans begin a full-court press in the state.
The Suffolk University/USA Today Network Ohio poll surveyed 500 voters in the state who are either certain or probably will vote with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
The poll showed that 46.6 per cent of voters said they would vote for or are leaning toward Mr Ryan compared to 45.6 per cent of voters who said they would vote for Mr Vance, a venture capitalist and author who wrote the bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy.
Mr Vance won the Ohio Senate primary in May when former president Donald Trump endorsed him, which came after Mr Vance struggled for months in polling.
The numbers are an improvement for Mr Ryan. A survey conducted in late May showed that Mr Vance led Mr Ryan 41.6 per cent to 39.4. The two men are running to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman in a state that Mr Trump won by eight points in 2016 and 2020.
Mr Vance’s flagging numbers have prompted Republicans to go into overdrive to assist him. The Senate Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will spend $28 million worth of ads for Mr Vance.
In addition, Mr Trump will hold a rally with Mr Vance in Youngstown on Saturday. Notably, it’s slated to be held at the same time that the Ohio State University Buckeyes will play against the University of Toledo Rockets.
Emphasis Mine.
Ryan’s has proven to be a strong candidate that can win Ohio:
Since President Biden’s loss in 2020, political observers have increasingly seen the Buckeye State as Trump territory, with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) being a notable holdout.
Ryan’s strong candidacy is changing that. Polls show him in a tight race with Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author who Trump backed in the GOP primary.
Various Democratic House candidates are also showing strength — most notably Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who looked like she’d be in trouble after redistricting made her district more Republican. Kaptur is now in a toss-up race with Republican J.R. Majewski, who has come under scrutiny because he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“When you look at all of the major cities across the state of Ohio, they’re all Democrat. Ohio was a swing state for a long time. I’m not convinced that it’s not a swing state at this point,” said Derrick Clay, a former Midwest political director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “I know that Tim Ryan has really went out of his way to talk to rural voters and talk to working class people across this state, and that’s something that I believe is the reason why he has advanced so well in his current campaign for Senate.”
Biden will visit Ohio on Friday to deliver remarks at a new Intel semiconductor facility. The visit is a signal of Democrats’ hopes for Ohio not only in 2022 but also in 2024, when they are optimistic that Biden could be competitive again in a presidential race.
Health and Democracy are on the ballot this year and we need to get ready to flip Ohio Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Ryan and his fellow Ohio Democrats campaigns: