5 takeaways from Ohio Senate debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan

Ohio's U.S. Senate candidates met on the debate stage for the second and final time Monday, giving voters the chance to hear their views on abortion, gun control and immigration before the vote Nov. 8.

Republican J.D. Vance and Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan faced off in the hourlong debate hosted by WFMJ in Youngstown. The event was more heated and personal than last week's debate in Cleveland, in part because of a format that allowed the candidates to spar with no time limits.

Here are takeaways from Monday's debate.

Debate took place in Ryan's backyard

Youngstown is at the heart of Ryan's congressional district in northeast Ohio, which makes the location for Monday's debate politically significant for both candidates. Ryan defended his record and touted his ties to the area, and Vance argued the congressman hasn't accomplished anything in his 20-year tenure.

"Whenever I'm up here in the Mahoning Valley, I'm constantly approached by people who tell me that Tim Ryan has failed them and Tim Ryan has failed to do his job," Vance said.

The Mahoning Valley includes swaths of white, working-class voters who abandoned the Democratic Party to support former President Donald Trump. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held events in the Youngstown area with Vance in recent months.

Recap: Ohio Senate candidates J.D. Vance, Tim Ryan face off in Youngstown debate

Who's sucking up to whom?

Both candidates kicked off the debate assuring voters that they're their own man.

Vance dismissed Trump's comment that the Senate candidate is "kissing my a--" as a joke and accused Ryan of focusing his entire campaign on the quip. Ryan said Ohioans want an "a-- kicker, not an a-- kisser" at last week's debate, and his campaign created an internet meme of Trump-themed Chapstick. 

When asked about his disagreements with Trump, Vance said the administration should not have appointed advisers such as John Bolton who "advocated limitless nonstop wars." After he stepped down as national security adviser, Bolton wrote a memoir that criticized Trump's actions as president.

Ryan, meanwhile, presented himself as independent of Democratic leadership even though he has voted with President Joe Biden's agenda 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. When Vance pointed that out, Ryan noted that he challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the position of top Democrat in 2016.

"You have to have the courage to take on your own leaders," Ryan said. "These leaders in D.C. will eat you up like a chew toy. You were calling Trump 'America's Hitler.'  ... Then he endorsed you, and you said he's the greatest president of all time."

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Vance sidesteps abortion question

In recent weeks, Vance has said abortion policy should largely be decided by the states, but he supports a "minimum national standard" to ensure the procedure isn't performed late in a pregnancy.

He has been less clear on any exceptions to such bans.

Vance has said he does not support exceptions for cases of rape or incest. In Monday's debate, Vance said a 10-year-old Ohio girl who went to Indiana for an abortion last summer should have been able to get the procedure because it's dangerous for someone that young to carry a pregnancy to term.

Beyond that, Vance declined to say what policies he would support, arguing that the abortion question is not black and white.

"I know people who have been pro-life since before I was born," Vance said. "One of the things they will tell you is they support an exception in the case of incest. I've heard a number of pro-life people say that. But an incest exception looks different at three weeks of pregnancy versus 39 weeks of pregnancy. I actually don't think that you can say on a debate stage every single thing that you're going to vote for when it comes to an abortion piece of legislation."

Candidates clash on immigration, race

The most contentious part of the night came when the candidates fielded questions about immigration.

Vance was asked about comments he has made about an immigrant "invasion." In response, he said Democratic leaders are pushing more immigration to "ensure that Republicans are never able to win another national election." He disputed that the question is related to race, saying immigrants can be white and nonwhite.

Ryan accused Vance of peddling the "great replacement theory," a conspiracy that argues nonwhite people are being brought into the United States to replace white voters. He said Vance has aligned himself with politicians who aim to stoke racist views that have led to mass shootings such as the attack this year in Buffalo, New York. 

Vance pushed back and was visibly angry, noting that he married a South Asian woman.

“Here’s exactly what happens when the media and people like Tim Ryan accuse me of engaging the great replacement theory: My own children, my biracial children, get attacked by scumbags online and in person because you are so desperate for political power."

Impassioned discussion on gun control, school shootings

Last year, Vance tweeted that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was a "far more reputable source of information" than MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow. A jury in Connecticut decided last week that Jones must pay nearly $1 billion to those affected by his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.

Ryan was quick to point out Vance's tweet Monday when gun control came up.

"We are running for the United States Senate," Ryan said. "This is the highest office you can get in this country except for president, and he's running around backing these extremists, the most extreme people in the country, a guy who denied Sandy Hook. It's maddening."

On gun policy, Vance signaled support for an Ohio law that allows teachers to carry firearms in classrooms after 24 hours of training. But he said that can’t be the only solution and called for increased funding for school resource officers and a greater focus on mental health.

Ryan, for his part, pushed for stronger gun control while also preserving the “culture” of guns in Ohio.

“Kids are scared to go to school," he said. "They’re climbing under their desks. We see the crime in the cities. How do all these people get these unlawful guns?”

Vance and Ryan are vying for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Rob Portman.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the Paste BN Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.