Ohio Senate town hall takeaways: Ryan, Vance address inflation, immigration as race nears finish line

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio's U.S. Senate candidates took the national stage Tuesday to tackle issues from inflation to immigration as the competitive race nears the finish line.

Republican J.D. Vance and Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan participated in a town hall in Columbus hosted by Fox News. Unlike previous debates, the candidates did not appear on stage together and separately fielded questions from moderators and audience members.

The event came one week before Election Day and gave Vance and Ryan another chance to make their case to voters. The winner of next week's election will replace retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman and could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Although the live audience in Columbus included Republicans and Democrats, Fox's viewership tends to skew conservative. That placed Vance in his comfort zone while giving Ryan the opportunity to pitch himself to moderate Republicans as someone independent of Democratic leadership.

Here are some highlights from Tuesday's town hall.

How is Inflation Reduction Act helping people?

Ryan voted for legislation enacted by Democrats — dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act — that aims to lower carbon emissions, expands Medicare benefits, and enacts a 15% minimum corporate tax. Vance, meanwhile, has campaigned against federal spending and contends this package will exacerbate inflation rates.

In response to an audience question, the congressman said the law won't alleviate high costs at the grocery store and gas pump in the short-term. But he said the bill will create jobs and resolve supply chain bottlenecks by boosting the natural gas industry and encouraging electric vehicle production.

Until then, Ryan said, Congress needs to pass a tax cut to "put money in people's pockets."

"That's not going to help you today," he said. "That's why we need a tax cut. It will help us bring supply chains back. It's going to create tens of thousands of union construction jobs here. Ohio is right in the middle of all of this."

Later in the hour, Vance indicated he supports one provision of the spending package: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

“You should not be unable to afford insulin in the greatest country in the world because you can’t afford it,” he said.

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Candidates address political violence

Ryan was asked about comments he made during a September MSNBC interview, in which he said of "extremist" Republicans: "We need to kill and confront that movement."

He said during Tuesday's town hall that it may not have been a "great choice of words." Still, he argued there are some political movements that may be encouraging violence, such as the recent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband. He also criticized the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and accused them of killing a police officer, prompting boos and shouts of "Liar!" from the audience.

A medical examiner ruled that Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick died from natural causes the day after the attack, but noted that "all that transpired played a role in his condition."

"I don't care what your politics are, but Americans should say no," Ryan said. "We have to say no to that."

Vance, for his part, condemned the attack on Paul Pelosi, calling it "disgusting."

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Immigration and border security

How to address illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border was a consistent topic of conversation throughout the night.

Vance advocated for finishing the border wall and declaring drug cartels as terrorist organizations. He cast illegal immigration as an economic crisis, arguing that people who use fentanyl that comes in across the border become unable to work.

On legal immigration, Vance said he supports a merit-based system that determines what skill sets people would bring to the U.S., instead of asking who they know in the country.

Ryan, by contrast, doesn't support the border wall and said it is vulnerable to physical security breaches. He instead believes the government needs to utilize technology at the border and create an "orderly process" for legal immigration. He also said the U.S. should be tougher on manufacturers and processors of fentanyl in China and Mexico.

A voter asked Ryan why he called for defunding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which the congressman categorically denied. In a 2019 presidential candidate questionnaire for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ryan said he would commit to reducing the size of the immigration detention system in part by cutting ICE's detention budget.

Ryan gets tougher questions of the night

Ryan was on defense throughout the night as he fielded questions about past comments and views on fracking, abortion, and whether nonviolent offenders should be released from prison. Vance, by contrast, was largely given a platform to answer questions without pushback from moderators or jeers from the audience.

One exception was when the hosts asked about a nonprofit Vance founded, in part to combat opioid addiction, that's been the subject of attacks by Ryan and his allies. An Associated Press investigation found the organization enlisted a doctor with ties to Purdue Pharma, and critics have cast Vance's endeavor as a jumping-off point for his political career.

Vance told moderators that he chose to wind down the nonprofit because of financial reasons and his Senate bid.

Near the end of the segment, Vance fielded questions about political civility and what manual labor jobs taught him about life. The latter gave him a chance to reminisce about his work at a tile distributor before one of the moderators mentioned his service in the Marine Corps.

In response, Vance joked: "You actually gave me a softball."

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate takeaways: Ryan and Vance talk inflation as race nears end