With the deadline to vote in Ohio’s primary races approaching Tuesday night, the top candidates in the hotly contested Republican U.S. Senate battle have varying views on what the outcome of the race will be.
“We’re spending the day before the election with voters at town halls all across Ohio, leaving no stone unturned. J.D. is in a strong position, and we are confident J.D. will be the Republican nominee,” said Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for candidate J.D. Vance.
Vance has been surging in the polls since receiving the coveted endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
But others involved in the race say it is still a toss-up, and that any one of the top three candidates in the polls could win.
A source close to Mike Gibbons’ campaign told The Ohio Star Monday that the mood of the campaign is “cautiously optimistic.”
“Nobody really has any hard idea of how this thing is gonna end up,” the source said. “I think the reason [the Gibbons campaign] is optimistic is because [Trump’s endorsement of Vance] has helped him, but it hasn’t been a deal-closer.”
“I think it’s wide open, and I think that’s what the campaign feels,” the source said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if Josh [Mandel] won, I wouldn’t be shocked if J.D. won, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Mike won.”
Mandel, the former Ohio State Treasurer, is also near the top of the polls as the race comes to a close.
His campaign did not return a Monday comment request.
The hard-fought battle saw candidates vying for Trump’s endorsement for months.
The former president was on the ground in Ohio Saturday stumping for the Vance campaign, where he once again noted that despite the fact that Vance did not support him while he was running for president in 2016, he is convinced that Vance had the best chance to win the race to replace outgoing Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) in November.
“I’m very pleased to introduce the man with by far the best chance to defeat the radical Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate this November. And you know what?” Trump said of Vance. “He’s a guy who said some bad shit about me. He did. He did. But you know what? Every one of the others did also. In fact, if I went by that standard, I don’t think I would have ever endorsed anybody in the country.”
Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-17) is expected to be the Democrat Party’s nominee.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “J.D. Vance and Donald Trump” by J.D. Vance.
