Tim Ryan, J.D. Vance locked in tight Ohio Senate race: poll

Ohio Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan (D) is running nearly neck and neck with Republican challenger J.D. Vance, according to a new poll.

A USA Today Network Ohio-Suffolk University poll released Monday found that 47 percent of Ohio general election voters said they would vote or lean toward Ryan if the Senate election were held today, while 46 percent said they could back Vance.

Six percent of respondents in the poll said they were undecided, while 1 percent said they would support someone else. The slim margin between the two leading candidates falls within the poll’s margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

The polling also showed President Biden’s approval ratings continuing to lag, with 42 percent approving of his job as president and 53 percent disapproving.

A plurality of voters in the poll, 42 percent, characterized their vote in the midterms as intended “to change the direction” Biden is leading the country, while 27 percent said their vote was in support of Biden’s efforts and 25 percent said it was mostly unrelated to the president’s policies.

The Ohio Senate seat is considered one of the most competitive races this election cycle, which has been rated by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as “lean Republican.” 

Ryan made a recent appearance with Biden during the president’s visit to the state for a new semiconductor manufacturing site, but the Senate hopeful has noticeably kept his distance at other times from the president.

The Ohio Democrat said during a recent radio interview that “My hunch is that we need new leadership across the board,” speaking of both Republicans and Democrats.

The USA Today Network Ohio-Suffolk University poll was conducted Sept. 5-7, with 500 Ohio general election voters surveyed.