Democrat Tim Ryan has maintained a high-profile presence in Ohio's U.S. Senate race since the May primary, while the Republican nominee J.D. Vance has been laying low.
In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about the vastly different approaches in the Senate race during the summer months.
Vance, the Trump-endorsed venture capitalist and best-selling author, has basically disappeared from public view since his May primary win. There have been no big campaign events, no TV commercials and hardly a media appearance.
Many suspected he was using this slow period campaign to raise money, much of that is done in private. But that does not appear to be the case.
The second quarter campaign finance report shows Vance raised a mere $2.3 million dollars. That’s less than a third of the $9.1 million dollars Ryan raised during the same time period.
While Ryan has $3.5 million in the bank, Vance only has about $630,000 available and he loaned his campaign $700,000.
Meanwhile, Ryan is spending lots of money, some $10 million dollars on TV ads, campaign mailers and digital advertising.
More unconstitutional maps on the November ballot
Voters are casting ballots for unconstitutional state legislative districts in the delayed August 2 primary for Ohio House and Senate candidates. Voters will cast ballots in those unconstitutional districts in the fall, and they will pick candidates for Ohio's unconstitutional congressional districts in the fall as well.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled every legislative district in Ohio, state and federal, is illegal. The court this week ruled the second congressional map, which was submitted by Ohio lawmakers and installed by federal judges, unconstitutional and gave lawmakers two months to draw another one.
It won’t matter this year, because the rejected map’s districts are set, as are state legislative districts. The first time they could change is for the 2024 election
Snollygoster Of The Week
This week's Snollygoster of the Week award, which we give every week to the shrewdest political move or politician of the week, goes all the Republicans who voted against the marriage equality bill that is now before Congress.
The bill passed the House this week, mainly with Democratic support. A few Republicans, including Ohioans Mike Carey, Anthony Gonzalez, Dave Joyce and Mike Turner, voted for the bill.
Many Republicans who don't necessarily oppose same-sex marriage said that we're not going to vote for this because same-sex marriage is settled law. The same thing was said about Roe v. Wade.
The bill is now in the Senate, after it was co-sponsored by Ohio's outgoing Senator Rob Portman.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.
