Ohio’s two candidates for U.S. Senate appeared at a town hall Tuesday night answering questions submitted by moderators and a bipartisan live audience.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland Twp., and Republican J.D. Vance, a Cincinnati businessman, participated separately for 30 minutes each in the town hall in Columbus hosted by FOX News. Network anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderated.
Ryan and Vance are competing in the Nov. 8 election for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Here are 6 takeaways from the town hall:
1. Ryan said the Inflation Reduction Act, approved with no support from Republicans, won’t immediately give relief from inflation but will lower costs over time as it helps untangle supply chains and reduce drug prices and will create good paying jobs with its investment in green energy manufacturing like solar and electric vehicles.
2. Vance said states should be allowed to decide on abortion limits but he also supports U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) proposal requiring that all states ban abortion at a minimum of 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother.
3. Ryan called the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade “the largest government overreach into the private lives of our citizens in the history” of the country and called for codifying the Roe decision that prohibited states from banning abortion until the beginning of the third trimester and required exceptions to save the life or health of the mother.
4. Vance said he would be an independent voice for Ohioans, that “nobody is going to own my vote card” and if current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, is the only candidate for majority leader it would be an easy decision to vote for him if Republicans gain control of the Senate.
5. Ryan said more must be done to get guns out of the hands of criminals and improve funding for police and public safety, saying that the American Rescue Act Plan he voted for will help fund additional police officers, boost their pay and increase training.
6. Vance said he believes the 2020 election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump, that Ohio’s election was well run but other states’ elections were not and that the “biggest threat to democracy” are big technology companies censoring information.
Multiple investigations, election audits and court rulings nationwide, along with Trump’s then-Attorney General William Barr, found no evidence of widespread fraud or election problems that would have changed the fact that Joe Biden won the majority of the popular and electoral college votes.
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