JD Vance slams Tim Ryan's border security record in debate
Fox News' Kevin Corke recaps debates in Ohio, Georgia and Utah ahead of the midterm elections.
Ohio Senate candidates Tim Ryan and JD Vance set Twitter ablaze when their second debate became heated on Monday as supporters of each man seemed to think their guy came away victorious, and an exchange over racism created a particularly powerful moment.
Ryan, a 10-term Democratic congressman, sought to portray Vance as an extremist by echoing his associations with "crazies" who believe in 2020 election fraud claims and contributed to the Jan. 6 attack. Vance, a Republican, consequently accused Ryan of distracting from more important issues like inflation. Both candidates made several personal attacks against each other, which sparked a variety of social media dialogue.
Many conservatives felt Vance essentially mopped the floor with Ryan, but the polarizing debate also resulted in plenty of support for the Democratic candidate. Some felt Vance "demolished" Ryan, and others believed Ryan "crushed" Vance.
At one point, Donald Trump Jr. declared that Vance "ended Tim Ryan’s political career" when the Republican nominee suggested his biracial children get attacked online because Democrats accuse their father of racism. Vance said one can believe in having borders without being racist as he shot back at efforts to tie him to "great replacement theory."
"Holy crap, this is brutal," radio host Derek Hunter responded while another user responded, "The racism ticket has been overplayed."
Former CNN contributor Steve Cortes said Vance "showed why he is the Outsider, non-politician ready to truly advocate for Ohio," while left-wing provocateurs such as Steve Schmidt and Democratic strategists felt Ryan prevailed.
"JD Vance should really just stop getting on stages. Every time he does, someone embarrasses the living s--t out of him," Democratic consultant Adam Parkhomenko wrote.
Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, one of the most unabashed Democratic cheerleaders in the mainstream press, praised Ryan’s performance, but many pondered if they were watching the same debate.
"Last debate Tim Ryan emasculated JD Vance. Now he's just pounded him into the ground. Hard to imagine a better performance," Rubin tweeted while popular account The Foo responded, "I’m not convinced you’re watching the same debates as everyone else."
"This is how you know JD Vance won the debate," another user wrote in response to Rubin’s tweet.
U.S. Senate candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan are engaged in a heated battle in Ohio. (NewsNation via Reuters)
JD VANCE, TIM RYAN SQUARE OFF ON ECONOMIC ISSUES, ABORTION IN HEATED OHIO SENATE DEBATE
Many others took to Twitter with thoughts on the debate:
TIM RYAN INSISTS BIDEN SHOULD NOT RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024
US Senate Republican candidate JD Vance speaks to the crowd at a rally held by former U.S. president Donald Trump in Youngstown, Ohio, U.S., September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Before the debate, a new Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey found that if the election in Ohio were held Monday, 47% of likely voters would choose Vance compared to 45% for Ryan.
Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Aubrie Spady and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.