CINCINNATI — As the November midterm election grows closer, candidates campaigns are picking up speed and early voting is underway.
Ohio voters have the power to vote for whichever candidates and issues they chose to.
The race for the open seat in the Ohio Senate could be a decider in which party controls Congress next year.
Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman announced in 2021 his plans to not run for reelection for a third term.
Long-time Democratic congressman Tim Ryan is going head-to-head with Republican venture capitalist and author JD Vance.
The issues listed below are the issues Ryan and Vance have chosen to prioritize on their respective campaign websites.
Here's a breakdown of the two candidates and what they have prioritized with their campaigns:
Backgrounds
Tim Ryan
Ryan is from Niles and has served served as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 13th District since 2003. Prior to that he served a half term in Ohio's Senate from 2000 to 2002. He ran for president in 2020 before ending his campaign to run for reelection for his 10th term.
JD Vance
Vance is from Middletown and is best known as the author of New York Times bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy." The venture capitalist and veteran's book gained attention during the 2016 election, and former president Donald Trump has backed Vance. Vance has become a well-known TV commentator, as well.
Issues
Tim Ryan
Cutting workers in on the deal: Wants to pass the PRO Act, which will raise minimum wage to $15 per hour, expanded access to affordable child care and protect dignified retirement. Ryan's also working to close gender and racial pay gaps.
Rebuilding our country: Working to ensure Ohioans can invest into infrastructure. He also wants to revitalize manufacturing for the 21st century economy, which would mean fixing the supply chain and bringing down costs while creating jobs for Ohioans. At the heart of his infrastructure plan is Ryan's bipartisan Build America, Buy America legislation introduced with Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman.
Investing in affordable health care: Ryan supports expanding Medicare by lowering eligibility to 60, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, supports investing research to end the Black maternal mortality crisis and to put an end to the opioid epidemic.
Giving seniors a pay raise: Wants to increase benefits, cut taxes and ensure Social Security keeps up with rising living costs. Also wants to strengthen Medicare and ensure pension protections.
Protecting our natural resources: Revitalizing clean manufacturing at home with American-made wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and more for the clean energy economy. He also wants to ensure safe drinking water for all Ohioans.
Strengthening our national security: Ryan is working to close the pay gap between National Guard members and active duty service members. He also wants to expand skills training and career opportunities for veterans transitioning to civilian life. He also wants to bring research money to Ohio to develop new defense technology jobs in Ohio.
Helping our students with the future: Ryan wants to invest in affordable child care, universal pre-K and two years of tuition-free community college for anyone who wants. Also interested in expanding access to tuition-free college in exchange for public service and expanding loan forgiveness.
Creating new opportunity for rural Ohio: Wants to make big investments in roads and bridges, as well as affordable high-speed internet. Also wants to ensure that Ohio's rural hospitals have the resources they need, expand mental health care for veterans, increase telehealth services for those with substance use disorders. Lastly, Ryan wants to work with and invest in farmers and the agriculture industry.
Ending racial disparities: Ryan wants to invest in training and expand accountability for law enforcement. He also wants to pass voting rights legislation to protect Black voters.
Keeping Ohioans safe: Aims to end gun violence but increasing background checks. Also wants to expand racial bias training, make sure law enforcement have the resources to detect and stop the spread of opioids, and he also wants to address police brutality and systemic racism.
Modernizing our immigration system: Wants to invest in technology and resources to secure the border. He also wants to fix the broken immigration family and is against separating immigrant families and ending protections for young people brought to the U.S. as children.
Strengthening our democracy: Ryan supports legislation that would require dark money groups to disclose their donors. He also wants to pass legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act and is calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster.
Protecting reproductive freedom: Ryan believes every Ohioan deserves the right to safe, legal abortion. He wants to codify Roe v. Wade and supports funding Planned Parenthood.
Standing with LGBTQ+ Ohioans: Ryan is a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, health care and more. He also wants to ensure LGBTQ+ veterans can get the health care they deserve through the VA.
J.D. Vance
Spending and inflation: Wants to get inflation under control.
Advocate for energy independence: Wants to implement policies that support natural energy we can harness and produce in America. He also wants common-sense energy policies that put the American consumer first so America can become energy independent.
Restore America's manufacturing base: Wants to bring jobs back to America that were shipped overseas. Vance also supports the continuation of former president Donald Trump's Tough On China policies.
Solve southern border crisis: If elected senator, he promises to opposed every attempt by Democrats to grant amnesty to immigrants. He also wants to work to finish the border wall and double the number of border patrol agents.
Combat drug and opioid epidemic: Promises to tackle the drug epidemic, eliminate drugs coming into our communities and help those devastated by addiction.
Dismantle big tech oligarchy: Vance wants to break up the big tech companies to reduce their power in the economy and politics. He also wants to ban the "theft" of private and personal information.
A foreign policy that puts America first: Vance supports a foreign policy that puts Americans first and focuses on troops winning America's wars.
Defend American small businesses: Vance wants to cut taxes on companies that invest in America and raise taxes on those that outsource jobs.
End Abortion: Vance is "100 percent pro-life" and wants to prioritize family and the sanctity of all life.
Protect 2nd Amendment rights: Vance promises to ensure the right to owning guns and push back on those that opposed the 2nd amendment.
Election integrity: Vance wants to end mail-in voting, and he wants to ensure measures like voter ID and signature verification on absentee ballots.
COVID-19 and schools: On his website, Vance opposes letting politics drive public health decisions. He also opposes masks in schools.
READ MORE:
Your 2022 Ohio Midterm Election Guide
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