Ohio Senate race: JD Vance and Tim Ryan make final push ahead of midterm elections

Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance made their closing arguments to Ohioans on Monday as they both vie to succeed the GOP’s Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate. 

The Ohio race is one of the most closely watched races in the midterm elections and could decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate for the second half of President Biden’s first term. 

JD Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the bestselling book ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ received former President Trump’s endorsement during a contentious Republican primary. 

‘Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, is a referendum on Joe Biden’s failed policies and the fact that Tim Ryan is a rubber stamp for the failed Joe Biden agenda for this country and for the state of Ohio,’ Vance told a crowd in Dayton. 

Trump made his own stop in Dayton to give Vance one final push on Monday, calling him a ‘MAGA all star.’ 

‘JD will fight for Ohio with every bone in his body,’ Trump said. ‘JD knows how important it is to have leaders that put America first, put Ohio first.’ 

Tim Ryan, a 10-term congressman and former Democratic 2020 presidential primary contender, made stops in Akron and Youngstown on Monday. 

‘We are at a moment, at a crossroads, where either the extremists are going to continue to assert themselves into the body politic of the United States of America, or we stop them. That’s what tomorrow is all about,’ Ryan told a crowd in Akron.  

A Real Clear Politics average of recent polls gives Vance an 8-point lead over Ryan.