Ohio needs politicians in Washington who put America first, Ohio second, and their political party third, at best.
A vote for a U.S. senator on Nov. 8 should be for a senator who has made Ohio his or her focus, even if that has meant diverging from the party pack.
Between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance, Mr. Ryan most closely fits that paradigm.
Mr. Ryan, 49, is an authentic son of northern Ohio. He comes from and has lived all his life in the hard-hit industrial community of the Mahoning Valley, except for the time he spent getting his bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University. Toledo is an older industrial community like Youngstown. Mr. Ryan “gets” Toledo.
Ohio doesn’t need another participant in the exhausting social culture obsessions that divide Democrats and Republicans in Washington, in talk shows, and on social media.
What Ohio needs is a senator focused on bringing jobs and economic opportunity to the heartland, where Ohio is located.
The reshoring of manufacturing is creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Ohio. Mr. Ryan has been engaged in the effort his entire career while Mr. Vance, who made his fortune as a California venture capitalist, is a natural ally of the financial interests who sent U.S. jobs overseas in pursuit of low-cost labor.
Mr. Ryan has campaigned diligently and with effectiveness. He received comparatively little help from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. That makes him less obligated to campaign funders.
Mr. Vance, 38, also promises Ohio-centric emphasis on jobs and the economy. He would bring intelligence and a conservative attitude to the deliberations of the Senate. But his campaign and political career have been problematic.
After publishing his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, focusing heavily on the double whammy administered by unemployment and drug addiction, Mr. Vance sought to help with a nonprofit that would combat the opioid epidemic. Little came of it.
He defeated six other candidates for the GOP nomination largely by winning the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Getting that endorsement required him to backtrack on his estimation of the former president, whom he called an “idiot” in 2016.
Mr. Vance went so far as to lend credence to the thoroughly debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen through fraud from Mr. Trump.
Also disappointing is Mr. Vance’s neutrality when it comes to Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting to repel an unjustified invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and America is helping with arms. Mr. Vance’s lack of support for Ukraine suggests, again, a desire to please the Trump base. Based on his campaign statements, it appears that Mr. Vance would be weak on opposing Mr. Putin.
Electing Mr. Ryan would help reorient the national Democratic Party and the Senate Democratic caucus more resolutely on the reshoring of manufacturing. He would ally with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) in the cause for the revival of Midwestern trade and manufacturing. A Ryan victory would help breathe energy and direction into the Ohio Democratic Party and tug the party back to the middle, which would make it competitive again in statewide campaigns.
Congressman Ryan was elected in 2002 after defeating an eight-term Democratic incumbent who had sided with free-trade interests. In 2016, he went head to head against Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California for Democratic House leadership and lost, but he won some modest concessions. In 2020, he ran for the Democratic nomination for president as an opponent of unfettered free trade. A study by the nonprofit Center for Strategic & International Studies found that Mr. Ryan voted against all of the major trade liberalization deals.
As a congressional staffer and then congressman, Mr. Ryan understands how to pull the levers of power. His learning curve is significantly shorter than Mr. Vance’s.
This is not an endorsement of the big-spending bills that have emanated from the White House and the Democrat-controlled House — including Mr. Ryan. It appears likely that Republicans will gain majority control of the House, so there will be an effective brake on the worst excesses of the Democratic Party.
We expect Mr. Ryan to champion bipartisanship based on shared economic interests, live up to the promises of political independence he’s made in his campaign, and not be a stooge for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).
Because he is the best choice for Ohio’s long-term benefit in this election, The Blade recommends a vote for Tim Ryan for U.S. Senate.
First Published November 6, 2022, 4:00 a.m.
