Ohio Democrats

Donate

The Cincinnati Enquirer

Third Time’s The Charm: J.D. Refuses To Answer Three Times Whether He Supports National Republicans’ Abortion Ban

Columbus, OH – Within the past week, J.D. Vance refused three times to answer whether he supports Lindsey Graham’s plan for a national ban – despite saying last year that he would “like abortion to be illegal nationally.” 

When asked by the Cincinnati Enquirer, Vance’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. This weekend, Vance was asked by the Daily Beast about his position and “would not say whether he’d support a national ban on abortion” and a Vance campaign spokesperson “declined to offer a position.” CNN also asked Vance about his position but he “did not respond to CNN’s questions.”   

J.D. Vance’s real feelings on abortion are extreme and out-of-touch – he’s compared abortion to slavery and called rape “inconvenient” – which is likely why he is trying to hide his views from Ohioans. Vance’s support of a national abortion ban is even at odds with Senator Rob Portman, who he is vying to replace. And Vance is out-of-step with Trump who supports abortion exceptions for rape and incest. 

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. 

“J.D. Vance’s dangerous position of wanting to force survivors of rape and incest to give birth is so toxic that he’s trying to hide it at all costs. No matter how California fraud J.D. Vance contorts himself next, Ohioans know they can’t trust a single thing he says,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

###

DeWine Debate Watch: Day 16

Columbus, OH — As debate season starts to ramp up in the closing weeks and days of the election cycle, Mike DeWine has continued to duck committing to debates across Ohio with Mayor Nan Whaley, even as the Mayor has already publicly agreed and challenged DeWine to a number of debates. DeWine also dodged a debate with his primary opponents earlier this year, signaling that he is scared to defend his record to Ohioans, especially since he’s debated political opponents in the past. It’s ‘DeWine Debate Watch’ Day 16, reminding Ohioans that DeWine won’t even try to make his case to them as he seeks re-election to the highest statewide executive office. 

“Mike DeWine clearly knows his record over the last four years of selling out working families in favor of the wealthy and well-connected is not going to be popular with Ohio voters. If DeWine can’t even muster the political courage to tell Ohioans why they should re-elect him, he doesn’t deserve the job and should be held publicly accountable for his cowardice,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Ohioans deserve answers from DeWine on a number of key issues, including his promise to ‘go as far as we can’ to rip away reproductive rights, his broken promise to ‘do something’ to combat gun violence in Ohio, his connections to the largest public corruption scandal in state history and his role in the failed redistricting process that produced GOP-gerrymandered maps and cost Ohioans millions of dollars. 

Read more from the Cincinnati Enquirer here and below: 

The Cincinnati Enquirer: Poll: 84% of Ohioans want governor, U.S. Senate candidates to debate
Jessie Balmert
September 13, 2022 

  • Ohioans overwhelmingly want candidates for the state’s top political posts to face off in one-on-one debates, according to a new USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll.
  • About 84% of likely Ohio voters said candidates for Ohio governor and U.S. Senate should debate each other.
  • Strong support for debates spanned across age, gender and political party, according to the new poll.
  • U.S. Senate hopefuls J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan are expected to debate, but they haven’t yet agreed to the same time and place.
  • In contrast, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has all but said he won’t debate Democratic challenger Nan Whaley, a former Dayton mayor.
  • “In the ideal world, there would be debates with both candidates appearing on the same stage, answering the same questions, so Ohioans could compare and contrast their ideas,” said Herb Asher, a professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University.
  • For DeWine, there could be more risk than reward, Asher said. Whaley would try to hammer DeWine over his signature on Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, the scandal-ridden nuclear bailout in House Bill 6 and the lack of action on gun reform since the Dayton mass shooting in 2019.

###