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OH-Sen: Former Ohio GOP Lawmaker, "J.D. Vance (R) a 'craven shapeshifter' regurgitating MAGA speak" [1]

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Date: 2022-10-04

J.D. Vance (R. OH)

Joan W. Lawrence, a former Republican Ohio State Representative (1983-1999) and a former Director of the Ohio Department of Aging under Governor Bob Taft, Jr. (R. OH) (1999-2006), has an op-ed piece out in The Columbus Dispatch regarding U.S. Senate candidate, J.D. Vance (R. OH) and it’s pretty brutal:

Lawrence isn’t the only one that is urging Republican voters in Ohio to reject Vance:

x “JD Vance is lined up with the crazies…” Couldn’t say it any better than that. All the more reason to support ⁦@TimRyan⁩.#OHSen #OHPol



Ohio Republican group urges GOP, swing voters to reject J.D. Vance - Ohio Capital Journal https://t.co/DF38Bn4z2h — Warren County Dems (@WarrenCoDemsOH) October 4, 2022 With November’s election looming, a group of Republicans are hitting the campaign trail this week. But instead of stumping for the GOP, they’ll be encouraging voters to back the Democrat, Tim Ryan, in Ohio’s race for U.S. Senate. They’re working with an organization called Welcome PAC which emphasizes Democratic Party outreach to independents and “future former Republicans.” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is the group’s primary donor. The PAC contends there’s a large pool of swing voters who reject former President Donald Trump. They’ve made it their mission to encourage those voters to reject Trump allied candidates as well. And that’s how Phil Heimlich found himself teaming up with a handful of other Ohio Republicans campaigning for Tim Ryan. Among them are two high level former staffers for outgoing U.S. Sen. Rob Portman — chief of staff John Bridgeland and legislative affairs director Jonathan Petuchowski. Former state Auditor James Petro, former state Rep. Rocky Saxbe, retired Major General Dennis Laich, and former Shelby County GOP chairman Chris Gibbs round out the list. There are a lot of “formers” in that lineup, though. While they’re pitching a return to a different era of Republican politics, it’s possible the party has picked up and moved on without them. Vance’s campaign makes no bones about its position on WelcomePAC: “Ohioans shouldn’t be fooled: this bogus organization isn’t ‘Republican’ — it’s a Democrat trick funded by a far-left super donor,” campaign spokesman Luke Schroeder said in a statement. While Hoffman has donated to plenty of Democrats, he has also contributed the $13,700 legal maximum to Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, both of whom are Republicans.

And here’s a very curious move:

Republican megadonor Peter Thiel is signaling to allies that he is largely done helping Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, and wants his deep-pocketed political network to boost Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters as he trails Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in the polls, according to people familiar with the matter. Thiel told guests at a recent Masters fundraising event that he believes Vance is on track to win his Senate race against Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, according to those who attended the gathering and overheard his comments. The GOP donor hosted the fundraiser at his $5 million home in Los Angeles. “Peter said, ‘That race [Ohio Senate] is done in my mind,’” according to one of the people familiar with Thiel’s conversations with attendees. Vance and Ryan are vying for retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s seat in Ohio, a swing state where Republicans have enjoyed increased success in recent years.

Seems like a premature decision on Thiel’s end:

As both races will shape Senate control, candidates and their allied outside groups have piled money into ads ahead of the Nov. 8 vote. Campaigns and independent groups have spent over $120 million on ads in the Arizona Senate race, while they have put north of $100 million into the Ohio contest, data from AdImpact shows. Thiel did not tell fundraiser guests whether he plans to give more money to a pro-Masters super PAC. But his decision to tell guests to focus more on Masters than Vance shows he could still deploy more cash in the Arizona Senate race with just over a month until Election Day. It also reflects a view that Arizona could play a larger role than Ohio in determining Senate control. At the Masters fundraising event, Thiel told attendees that Vance no longer needs the boost he required during the GOP primary because most polls show him leading Ryan, according to those familiar with Thiel's conversations. A RealClearPolitics polling average shows Vance leading Ryan by more than 1 percentage point. Ryan has raised over $21 million while Vance has brought in just over $3.6 million, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets.

Ryan certainly hasn’t slowed down on hammering Vance:

x And JD Vance is STILL standing with insurrectionists.pic.twitter.com/YEUEwZlc0v https://t.co/OScBeWFYLm — Tim Ryan (@TimRyan) October 3, 2022

While also keeping a focus on the issues:

With his visit on Monday to Youngstown’s medical marijuana grow facility, Senate candidate and Congressman Tim Ryan (D, 17th District) brought the legalization of recreational marijuana into the campaign. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, marijuana is legal for medical purposes only. At the same time, it’s now legal for medical and recreational use in 21 states and the District of Columbia. On Monday, the Tim for Ohio campaign released pictures of Ryan — dressed in protective equipment — touring Riviera Creek. Riviera Creek’s growing process is a secret. Only the end product is allowed to be photographed, but Ryan called the process “cutting-edge technology” and sees it being used to help feed the world. “The Defense Department will use something for military purposes that later become commercialized. That always happens, and so here it is. It’s about medical but pretty soon it’s going to be about growing food in a way that you can really increase your yields, and healthier food and less transportation,” Ryan said. You don’t need to worry about weather. It’d be a good thing. A lot of jobs.” But that cutting-edge technology is used to grow marijuana for medical purposes only. Ryan says marijuana should also be legal for recreational adult use. “You can make sure the product is safe and not laced with fentanyl or some of these other things that are killing people. To me, I think we need to take that next step,” Ryan said. We tried contacting Ryan’s opponent in the Senate race, Republican JD Vance, for his stance on legalizing recreational marijuana but never received a reply.

Health and Democracy are on the ballot this year and we need to get ready to flip Ohio Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Ryan and his fellow Ohio Democrats campaigns:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/4/2126930/-OH-Sen-Former-Ohio-GOP-Lawmaker-J-D-Vance-R-a-craven-shapeshifter-regurgitating-MAGA-speak

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