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ICYMI: Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Senate Race: Tim Ryan Blasts Lindsey Graham Abortion Ban As J.D. Vance Stays Quiet

Columbus, OH – According to a new report from Cincinnati Enquirer’s Haley BeMiller, J.D. Vance refused to answer whether he supports a national abortion ban but cheered a ban last year. Vance’s position is out of step not only with Ohioans but even Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman, who Vance is vying to replace. 

Vance is also set to campaign with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham next month – standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the biggest cheerleader for a national abortion ban. This isn’t the first time J.D. Vance has let Ohioans know his extreme and out-of-touch position on abortion – he’s compared abortion to slavery and called rape “inconvenient.” 

“J.D. Vance’s disgusting comments on abortion are further proof that he belongs nowhere near the U.S. Senate. There is no doubt J.D. Vance would be another vote for a national abortion ban and take away Ohio womens’ freedom to make healthcare decisions that should be between them and their doctors,” said Elizabeth Walters, Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Senate Race: Tim Ryan blasts Lindsey Graham abortion ban as J.D. Vance stays quiet
Haley BeMiller 
September 15, 2022

  • U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan railed against a federal abortion ban introduced in the U.S. Senate this week, accusing “extremists” of trying to take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
     
  • The bill from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest or when the pregnant person’s health is at risk. The proposal is unlikely to get a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Graham said it would give Republicans fodder for their message on abortion ahead of the November midterms.
     
  • Vance’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, and the “Hillbilly Elegy” author has so far been quiet on Graham’s proposal. Vance doesn’t support exceptions for cases of rape or incest and said last year that children shouldn’t be punished for “inconvenient” circumstances around their birth.
     
  • He’s offered mixed messages on whether he would support a federal abortion ban. In a July “Meet the Press” appearance, he said states should be left to “figure this out for now” and signaled support for Ohio’s six-week abortion ban. Months prior, he said during a podcast interview that he would “like abortion to be illegal nationally,” although he argued a federal ban is unlikely in the current political climate.
     
  • “Let’s say Roe v. Wade is overruled,” he said in the January interview. “Ohio bans abortion in 2022 − let’s say 2024. Then every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity…If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening because it’s really creepy? I’m pretty sympathetic to that, actually. Hopefully we get to a point where Ohio bans abortion and California and the Soroses of the world respect it.”
     
  • Vance is scheduled to headline a Summit County Republican Party dinner with Graham next month.
     
  • Graham’s legislation came just days before a Hamilton County judge blocked Ohio’s six-week ban for two weeks. A USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll released Thursday found 68% of likely Ohio voters oppose that policy, and 84% supported exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
     
  • Some Republicans balked at Graham’s decision to introduce the ban in the midst of a key election cycle. After the court overturned Roe, many GOP leaders argued abortion policy should be left up to states and worked to shift voters’ focus back to the economy. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week that it should remain a state issue.
     
  • “Abortion is a very sensitive and emotional issue with strong feelings on both sides and therefore should be decided by the elected representatives of the people,” Portman said. “Through its Dobbs ruling, the Supreme Court made this clear. I believe this was the right ruling, and now our elected leaders in the states will make the decisions on this issue.”

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ICYMI: Columbus Dispatch: Up for grabs: Poll shows close races for 3 Ohio Supreme Court seats

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, a poll released from USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University shows Ohio Supreme Court races are ‘too close to call.’ Justice Jennifer Brunner, Judge Terri Jamison and Judge Marilyn Zayas are all polling within three points of their Republican opponents. Ohio is one of only four states in the country with the opportunity to flip its state Supreme Court, and the only one that could flip from GOP control to Democratic. That’s especially noteworthy with so much on the line for Ohio in the coming months – from abortion rights to redistricting. 

“Ohioans have an opportunity this year to reject the extremism of Republicans on the bench and put the Court back in the hands of justices who believe in the rule of law. For too long, we’ve seen the GOP-led court use the bench to play politics, and it’s time to restore integrity and justice back to the Supreme Court,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more from the Dispatch HERE and below: 

Columbus Dispatch: Up for grabs: Poll shows close races for 3 Ohio Supreme Court seats
Laura Bischoff 
September 14, 2022 

  • All three races for the Ohio Supreme Court are too close to call but about one in six voters has yet to make up their minds, a new USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll shows.
  • The survey of likely voters showed Justice Sharon Kennedy, a Republican, at 42.2% and Justice Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, at 41.8% in the race for chief justice − well within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
  • Justices Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer, both Cincinnati Republicans, are facing 1st District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas and 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Terri Jamison, respectively. DeWine leads Zayas 43.4% to 41% and Fischer leads Jamison 42.2% to 40.6%, the poll found.
  • Brunner, Jamison and Zayas lead among voters who are women, minorities or younger than 35.
  • Supreme Court decisions impact how much Ohioans pay in taxes, whether utility companies can add fees to ratepayers’ bills, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, what government records will be available to the public and more. Justices serve six-year terms.
  • Ohioans typically pay little attention to state supreme court races and often skip casting votes for judicial candidates. But this year could be different for three reasons:
    • Supreme court candidates will have their party affiliations listed on the ballot for the first time.
    • Current justices made high-profile redistricting decisions on Ohio legislative and congressional districts that likely voters followed.
    • The U.S. Supreme Court overturning Americans’ right to abortion may spike interest in state supreme court races.

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