Democratic candidate, Tim Ryan lost Ohio’s vacant Senate seat to the Republican candidate, J.D Vance in 2022 state Senate race.
Vance would be replacing Senator Rob Portman, who would be returning soon. Ohio has shifted to be more reliably Republican in recent elections, voting for former President Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
Since the majority of Ohio supports most of the Republican policies, both aspirants took almost the same approach to solicit more supporters.
Ryan opposed the student loan forgiveness program and the Democratic party’s stance on immigration, and he distanced himself from the President’s campaign team.
In the final weeks of the campaign, Ryan received little support from Democrats on the national level, since he distanced himself.
Vance on the other hand received nearly $30 million in backing from the Senate Leadership Fund, spearheaded by the Republican party.
Tim tried to portray Vance as a carpetbagger who cares more about San Francisco and Washington, D.C., than his home state.
Since Vance had certain connections with stakeholders in high places, Ryan portrayed him as a candidate for the rich, as Vance later supported Trump, after opposing him earlier.
Trump endorsed Vance early in his primary campaign, which boosted his bid to win the nomination, saying that J.D is kissing his a** so badly because he wants his support.
Ryan also opposed allegations that he was in the pockets of Democratic leaders, noting that he campaigned against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the position of minority leader in 2016.
