COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Republican Party picked up two major wins in Ohio Tuesday night as Gov. Mike DeWine won a second term in office and JD Vance defeated Tim Ryan to take over Rob Portman's U.S. Senate seat.
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Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has won a second term in Tuesday’s race for the state’s chief executive slot against challenger Nan Whaley, a Democrat, who had hoped to regain a seat last won by her party 16 years ago.
DeWine won a surprisingly tight three-way primary in May as conservatives angered by his efforts to slow COVID-19 sought to unseat him. Whaley handily defeated former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley in her primary. DeWine and Whaley bonded over the 2019 mass shooting that killed nine in Dayton. But Whaley had increasingly criticized the governor for his failure to pass stronger gun laws and for his anti-abortion stance.
“Hillbilly Elegy” author JD Vance has defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan for an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. The 38-year-old Vance, a newcomer to politics, benefited from a last-minute push by former Republican President Donald Trump, who had endorsed him.
Tuesday's victory was a blow to Democrats, who viewed Ryan’s well-executed, well-funded campaign as one of their best chances nationally for a Senate pick-up.
The seat is currently held by moderate Republican Rob Portman, who said he’s retiring due to Washington dysfunction. Vance successfully linked Ryan to the national economic climate he blamed on President Joe Biden.