J.D. Vance: Ohio voters want a senator with my values

J.D. Vance says he simply has to tell the truth in the waning months of the campaign for U.S. Senate.

Perhaps best known for writing his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance is running for the open Senate seat left by the retiring Rob Portman. His opponent is U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio.

"My values, my principles are where Ohio voters want to go, and Tim Ryan has been a rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi," Vance said Monday during a campaign stop at the News Journal. "Tell the truth about his record and mine. I think if we do that, we're going to be in a very good place."

According to a recent poll by Emerson College Polling, Vance leads Ryan by 3 points. Some Republicans have criticized Vance for not being visible enough in the campaign, a claim he disputes.

"I think things are going great," the 38-year-old Middletown native said. "We're certainly getting out there quite a bit, meeting a lot of people, talking to a lot of voters."

After graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Iraq War, performing public affairs duties. He later graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in political science and philosophy.

Vance followed by earning a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School, where a professor persuaded him to write his memoir.

With the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Vance won the Republican primary over several other candidates, including Josh Mandel and Matt Dolan.

Vance gives views about several controversial topics

Vance addressed a number of topics that have been in the news lately, including President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, the raid on Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate, and abortion.

Last week, Biden announced his plan to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need.

Both Vance and Ryan have criticized the plan.

"He (Ryan) voted for it, but now he says he's against it because he's running for Senate," Vance said. "It's a pretty substantial giveaway to a group of Americans that, by and large, doesn't need it right now.

"College graduates earn over their lifetime $2.8 million more than people who haven't gone to college. It seems a little bit weird to ask people who haven't gone to college to subsidize those who have."

Vance also criticized the recent raid on Trump's estate. Authorities seized dozens of classified documents from the compound.

"My basic view is none of us knows what happened. I think that's a problem," Vance said. "If the justice department is going to go after the former president and likely candidate in 2024, then it needs to say why.

"The attorney general can't raid a former president's home without a good reason for why they did it. They haven't even tried to justify it. It's fundamentally a political act because they're going after a political figure."

Biden has said he knew nothing about the raid.

"I don't know what's worse, if Biden knew about it and is lying or that they didn't tell the president of the United States they were going to raid the home of a former president," Vance said. "I don't know which way is worse, but either way, it's not good."

Candidate says his abortion views align with most Ohioans

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overrode Roe v. Wade, abortion has been another topic dividing American voters.

"I'm pro-life," Vance said. "Tim Ryan has attacked my views as being out of step with the majority of Ohio. His defending elective abortion up to 40 weeks of pregnancy is just preposterous. It's something no civilized countries support, and the major of Ohioans think is ridiculous."

As for how he can help the people of Richland County, Vance noted the importance of manufacturing.

"We need to take on the Communist Chinese, make sure they're not stealing our industrial sector," he said.

Vance said all Ohioans could benefit from a secure southern border.

"All parts of our state are affected by the border crisis," he said, adding he supports Trump's idea of building a wall.

Vance called the border "the sex and drug capital of the world." In addition to a wall, he advocates for more aggressive enforcement by border patrol agents.

He added Ryan supports hiring "87,000 IRS agents to harass small businesses" in Ohio, while he would prefer to see 20,000 border patrol agents securing the southern border.

Ryan announced late last week that he has agreed to three debates with Vance, who said there would be at least one or two debates but said he had a problem with one of the dates Ryan announced.

"I definitely want a debate. The voters of Ohio deserve some debates," Vance said.

He added he will become "more aggressive and more pronounced" with TV commercials in the next couple of weeks. Vance criticized Ryan for what he called attack ads against him.

"I don't think advertisements should be exclusively negative," Vance said. "It's fine to draw a contrast. It's another thing to make your entire campaign about attacking someone else.

"If I was Tim Ryan and I had 20 years in D.C., getting nothing done, maybe I'd attack my opponent, too."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Vance talks about U.S. Senate race during stop at News Journal