Vance Projected Winner In 2022 Ohio Senate Race

OHIO — Author-turned-politician J.D. Vance is projected to be Ohio's next senator, NBC News and FOX News reported late Tuesday night, at which time Vance had a sizable lead ahead of his opponent, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.

As of 11:18 p.m., Vance had 2,084,034 votes to Ryan's 1,802,073, according to unofficial vote totals from the secretary of state. The winner will replace outgoing Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican.

Polling throughout the campaign offered little clarity as to the potential outcome, according to NBC News, although more recent polls indicated Vance had an edge. One Emerson College survey last week showed Vance was leading by 9 points, The Columbus Dispatch reported, although Baldwin Wallace University’s last poll showed Ryan ahead 50.2 percent to 46 percent, according to The Center Square.

Looming large in the Ohio senate race were President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, according to reports.

“In some ways, Ryan has been running against Joe Biden as much as he is running against J.D. Vance,” Tom Sutton, of Baldwin Wallace’s Community Research Institute, told The Center Square, noting Ryan attempted to distance himself from the president and appeal to voters who supported former President Barack Obama but flipped for Trump.

Vance received Trump’s endorsement, despite being a vocal critic of the ex-president in the past, and Trump appeared alongside Vance during the campaign, according to NBC News, whereas Ryan mostly steered clear of his fellow Democrats on the campaign trail, the Dispatch reported.

Among issues that shaped the race was the squeeze of inflation felt across Ohio and nationwide in recent months. Ryan called for short-term tax cuts and long-term expansion of the state’s natural gas industry, according to WCMH, which reported Vance spoke in favor of scaling back government spending and investing in energy.