Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance stood shoulder to shoulder on Cleveland TV station WJW this week and argued who was the best person to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss both candidates' attempt to appeal to moderate voters.
Debate Club
After months of talking past each other in TV ads and campaign appearances, Ryan and Vance talked over each other in the hour-long debate session.
It was spirited and informative.
Ryan supports a federal law guaranteeing abortion rights as was decided in the Roe vs Wade case. Vance said he’d support a national law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.
Ryan said he supports a federal law guaranteeing legal same-sex marriage nationwide. Vance said such a law would infringe on the religious freedoms of faith organizations that morally oppose gay marriage.
Both expressed strong, but vague, support for Ukraine. Both said they would support Taiwan if it were invaded by China.
And on the economy and inflation, the candidates differed. Vance blamed President Biden and the Democrats. Ryan wants a middle-class tax cut to help people cope with rising prices.
Underneath it all, both men were fighting hard for the middle. Each candidate tried to portray himself as the moderate. Each candidate tried to portray the other as an extremist.
October surprise
Usually, October surprises are bad news. In the case of this manufacturing news, it’s good news for Ohio, and likely good news for Gov. Mike DeWine.
Honda will stay in Ohio to build electric cars. Fayette County, about an hour south of Columbus, is where Honda will partner with the South Korean firm LG Energy Solution to build a $3.5 billion dollar plant that makes batteries to put in those electric Accords, Civics and CRV’s.
DeWine was beaming as he made the announcement. What the governor did not say at that celebration is what the state has shelled out to seal the deal with Honda. Ohio will give Honda $156 million in economic incentives to help Honda get its electric vehicle production plan going.
Snollygoster of the week
When he was running for president, Tim Ryan usually wore a blue tie, the color of the true Democrat. He wore a blue tie when he debated Morgan Harper in this spring’s primary debate for U.S. Senate. This week in his debate with J.D. Vance however, he wore a different color.
Ryan wore a red tie. The color tie is nearly always worn by Republican candidates and always worn by former President Trump. Coincidence? You be the judge.
If you have a suggestion for our Snollygoster of the Week award, a question or a comment, send them to snollygoster@wosu.org.
