Swing State | Illustrated by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan compete for Ohio’s open senate seat. Other open seats are highly contested in several swing states.
Ohio’s Candidates
Read about Vance and Ryan’s recent debate here.
J.D. Vance
James David, or J.D., Vance is the Republican candidate for the United State Senate in Ohio. Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio; a marine, author, lawyer and investor, Vance focuses on job loss, addiction and economic turmoil, according to the official J.D. Vance for Senate Inc. website.
“The U.S. Senate needs someone who knows what it’s like to live in a left-behind community, not a career politician who has done nothing for the people of Ohio,” Vance states on his campaign website.
Vance’s platform is focused on the topics of national leadership and national decline, unnecessary spending in the presidential administration and improving natural energy and manufacturing.
Other key topics of Vance’s platform are border issues, an end to drug epidemics, big technology, foreign policy, small businesses, an end to abortion, Second Amendment rights and post-pandemic Ohio. Students can find more information about the Vance campaign on its official website.
Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan is the Democratic candidate for the United State Senate in Ohio. A native of Niles, Ohio, Ryan has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003 and is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Congressional Manufacturing Caucus.
According to Ryan’s official House of Representatives biography, the representative is particularly interested in the economy and well-being of Northeast Ohio.
“He is a champion of efforts to make college more affordable, revitalize America’s cities and improve the health and well-being of American families and children,” the biography states.
Protecting reproductive health, addressing climate change, fortifying American manufacturing and ensuring social programs are important to the Ryan campaign, according to the official biography. The biography also notes a focus on economy and energy, as well as education.
“Investing in education is an investment into our economy, our quality of life and most importantly it is an investment into our children’s future,” Ryan states in the biography.
For more information about Ryan’s platform, visit the House of Representatives biography.
Swings states in national races
Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania are states with highly contested races, according to John Zogby, founder of the Zogby poll, in a U.S. Department of State press briefing.
In Georgia, Republican candidate Herschel Walker is facing off against Democratic Raphael Warnock. According to Zogby, Warnock slimly led in the three weeks ahead of election night. Zogby describes this race tersely.
“Georgia – wow. Georgia, for those of you who have been following American politics, Georgia is the new Florida,” Zogby said.
Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters are running against one another in a race that shows no significant trendline, although Zogby says that Kelly, a retired astronaut who has been in the senate for two years, looks to be ahead.
Nevada has produced two candidates whose race is too tough to call, according to Zogby. The Democratic Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina elected to the senate, is the incumbent candidate who holds a slowly dissipating lead against Republican Adam Laxalt.
“And that is just way too close to call, and it’s trending back and forth, back and forth,” Zogby said. “Ground zero is the state of Nevada.”
Finally, Zogby says Pennsylvania is producing an issue of non-voting. Democrat John Fetterman is up against Republican Mehmet Oz, famous host of “The Dr. Oz Show.” As of Oct. 26, Fetterman led the race by 1.8 percentage points in the race that Zogby says is deadlocked.
Students can find more information about the battleground states in the U.S Department of State press briefing.
