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Ohioans face an incredibly important decision as they consider the race for U.S. Senate Nov. 8.
Given his performance in recent debates and the message he's told across Ohio, J.D. Vance stands out as the clear choice to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate.
It's taken the course of this campaign for Vance's positions to become clear. At this point he appears to be appropriately prioritizing the issues most important to Ohio -- the economy, inflation, energy and the border.
"The borrowing and spending added to an energy-constrained economy just drives inflation through the roof," Vance said during a recent newspaper interview. "I think the combination of those two policies have really made it hard for average people to just afford the basic necessities."
Vance would take to Washington a strong focus on American energy independence. Ohio, his home state, is one of the world's top producers of natural gas and oil. The Biden Administration's policies, if unchecked, will dangerously constrain the production of these vital fossil fuels.
Vance is a strong advocate of a regulated border that can curtail the flow of illegal drugs -- particularly deadly fentanyl, which is flooding America in historically large amounts. Stemming this tide should be a national priority, and Vance says he will work to that end.
"If you don't get control over this, you're going to have a huge, huge problem with fentanyl deaths, which we already have, and they're going to keep getting worse," Vance said, noting his mother struggled with addiction while he was growing up in Middletown, Ohio.
Vance, an Ohio State graduate, has a story that resonates with Ohioans. He enlisted as a Marine and served in Iraq. He sought his fortunes in Silicon Valley before he elected to come home (this time to Cincinnati). He would take that can-do attitude to Washington to be a strong voice for Ohio.
Congressman Tim Ryan, Vance's opponent, aligns closely with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- whether he votes with them 100% of the time or not. In 2020, Ohioans rejected the Biden agenda by a large margin. Ryan's support of the Biden agenda would not represent well the voters in our area of Eastern Ohio where Biden received 22% of the vote in Monroe County, 27% in Belmont and 30% in Jefferson.
We endorse J.D. Vance for U.S. Senate because he will continue Sen. Portman's responsible, conservative approach to government that all Ohioans understand.