CLEVELAND — Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance see many things differently so it’s not surprising they both see this race for the U.S. Senate breaking their way in these final days.
“We got a ton of momentum, we're going to win,” said Ryan. “I mean we just got ground troops out knocking on doors like crazy. We got a ton of Republicans that are tired of the extremism that are coming our way and the rank and file working class who went for Trump are coming back home to us. So we're going to have a nice win on election night, you just feel it on the ground.”
It’s an optimism shared equally by Ryan’s opponent, J.D. Vance.
“I feel really good. I think that we've been able to get the message out that if people want to go in a different direction in the country, if they want to push back against the inflation and the crime policies of the current administration, I'm their guy,” Vance said. “And so, I think that people are just unhappy with the direction of the federal government, with the direction of federal policy, where the economy has gone and they're starting to see me as the change candidate and that's a good thing because I think that that's what people want.”
Polling has showed the race to be neck and neck. It’s also shown that the number one for voters is the economy. Vance and Ryan tell News 5 that’s what they’re hearing as well, but we asked both when it comes to the economy would changing or keeping who controls the Senate have any real impact on the economy given the global downturn?
“I really think it can,” said Vance, “because the two big issues that have caused inflation both in Europe and especially here in the United States are one, you have government spending way too much money at a time when they should be I think getting back to fiscal sanity, they're spending a lot of money but the two, the really big one, again bad in Europe also bad in the United States is that we have way too much interference in our energy industry.”
Ryan believes the Senate can act in ways to positively impact the economy. “I think to some extent you can have some response and I think that the idea of passing a tax cut to put money in people's pockets is a policy initiative that would really help,” Ryan said. “I think, when you talk about unlocking these supply chains, moving stuff back here to manufacture in Ohio like we're doing with electric vehicles and batteries and computer chips like that's part of a longer term strategy that can protect us from this happening into the future.
A major impact on the economy is the ongoing war in Ukraine. Senator Rob Portman has been one of the senate’s biggest champions of aid to Ukraine, Vance however has a different view on that moving forward.
“I certainly think we're reaching the point here where additional resources to Ukraine,” Vance said. “I don't know how much it's actually going to help here, right? I think that what's in the United States best interest, recognizing of course that Vladimir Putin should have never invaded and the people of Ukraine are incredibly brave, it's frankly incredible what they've been able to do repelling the Russian invasion. But I really think what's in our best interest is to try to deescalate the conflict as much as possible.”
Ryan says he would vote to continue the aid. “I will continue Rob Portman's leadership on Ukraine,” Ryan said. “I have done it in the house from my Defense Appropriations Committee making sure they get the armaments that they need, the support that they need, the aid that they need and help with the refugees back here across the board.”
