Republican J.D. Vance, running for Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, leads his opponent, Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan, a Trafalgar Group survey revealed on Friday.
The most recent survey found that Vance is leading Ryan by 3.5 points, outside Trafalgar Group’s 2.9 percent margin of error.
Of the 1081 likely general election voters, 47.3 percent said they would back Vance, while only 43.8 percent would vote for Ryan. Only 8.9 percent said they were still undecided.
The Trafalgar Group poll sampled likely general election voters from October 10 to 12, with a 95 percent confidence level.
During the election cycle, the two candidates have gone back and forth on who would be better to represent the state. However, Ryan has done a disservice to himself by trying to campaign like a moderate.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks during a rally in support of the Bartlett Maritime project, a proposal to build a submarine service facility for the U.S. Navy, on May 2, 2022, in Lorain, Ohio. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
In the most recent debate between the two, Ryan, who votes with his own party’s leadership 100 percent of the time, said during last Monday night’s debate that politicians “who don’t have to guts to stand up to their own party” are a “huge threat to democracy.”
According to ProPublica, he has voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 100 percent of the time, and according to FiveThirtyEight, he has voted with President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time. Ryan only voted with Trump 16 percent of the time.
Additionally, Ryan doubled down on his comments from earlier in the year calling to “kill and confront” MAGA while specifically targeting J.D. Vance in his rhetoric by saying, “Kill and Confront the extremist movement of which J.D. Vance, unfortunately, is a part of.”
During the debate, Vance hit Ryan back for his comments, saying they are “not exactly the rhetoric of a unifier.”
Ohio’s U.S. Senate race is critical for the Republicans’ chance to retake the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. With Ohio currently being represented by a Republican, it is crucial for the party to keep the seat.
The Senate is currently divided 50-50 between the parties, with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris being the tie-breaking vote. Senate Republicans must hold seats in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and net at least one seat to put the GOP back in the majority and hinder President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The Ohio Senate election, along with the rest of the country, takes place on November 8.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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