Washington Examiner: Ohio Republicans Want More Action, Effort From J.D. Vance In Key Fall Senate Race
July 20, 2022
Columbus, OH – A new report from Washington Examiner highlights how Ohio Republicans are upset with Vance’s uninspiring campaign.
J.D. Vance is facing brutal coverage for a terrible fundraising quarter that left his campaign in debt and Ohio Republicans can’t stop complaining to the press, saying that Vance has “got to crank up his fundraising” and “it’s certainly got to be a wake up call…Tim Ryan is running circles around him right now.” WEWS put it succinctly in new reporting this week: “Around the Ohio Statehouse, Democrats and Republicans alike have all been wondering: where is Vance?”
Washington Examiner: Ohio Republicans want more action, effort from JD Vance in key fall Senate race
David Drucker
July 20, 2022
- Complaints about JD Vance and his Senate campaign are rising among Ohio Republicans after the conservative populist posted an anemic second-quarter fundraising report.
- Vance entered July with $628,804 in cash on hand — a fraction of the $3.6 million war chest reported by Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Tim Ryan. Some Republican operatives in Ohio are placing blame for the disparity squarely with Vance and his campaign operation. These Republicans are accusing Vance of being a lazy fundraiser while griping that even when supporters try to help, campaign officials authorized to and capable of facilitating their assistance are impossible to reach.
- “He’s basically taken the Joe Biden approach of hiding in his basement since the demographics and momentum are with Republicans,” an Ohio GOP insider said Monday, using a Republican line of attack against President Joe Biden from 2020 to sting Vance. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t even appear that he’s been making fundraising calls from his basement.”
- “J.D. isn’t talking to people, and by people, I mean elected officials — statewide officials, congressmen, including those who have called him,” added an Ohio Republican strategist. “His first stop out of the gate after his primary win was in Pennsylvania. It was for a Trump rally, but still.”
- This week, Vance is in Israel — not Ohio, but a trip likely to play well with social conservatives, an important voting bloc.
- Ryan raised a whopping $9.1 million from April 1 through June 30, dwarfing the $2.3 million collected by Vance. The Democrat is using his resources advantage to hit the television airwaves early, and heavily, aiming to frame the race as one between a centrist (himself) and an extreme Republican (Vance). A new Ryan campaign spot is simply a string of Fox News clips of interviews and favorable reporting about the congressman.
- “Vance’s campaign is flailing,” claimed a memorandum on the Ohio Senate race issued by the state Democratic Party.
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