Democratic group backing Ryan in Ohio Senate race targets GOP ticket-splitters
WelcomePAC, a Democratic-funded group that aims to reach ticket-splitting voters this fall, has launched a six-figure advertising campaign against Republican J.
WelcomePAC, a Democratic-funded group that aims to reach ticket-splitting voters this fall, has launched a six-figure advertising campaign against Republican J.D. Vance in Ohio’s competitive and increasingly hostile Senate race.
The strategy, shared first with NBC News, targets opposing wings of the GOP: those who dislike Donald Trump, whose endorsement helped Vance win the primary, and those who love Trump but might distrust Vance, who once was an unsparing critic of the former president.
"Why are 1 in 5 Republican voters saying no to J.D. Vance?" the group asks in an ad that will be placed in newspapers serving small rural towns. "There are many reasons."
WelcomePAC’s print, radio and digital ads — pricier TV spots are not part of the plan — represent a small fraction of what others are spending on the contest. But it is a rare outside investment in behalf of Vance’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Tim Ryan, who has kept the race closer than expected with little help from national Democrats who have prioritized other states.
Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance speaks at the Butler County GOP headquarters in Middletown on Wednesday. Gaelen Morse / Getty ImagesRecent independent polling has shown a toss-up in the battle to succeed Sen. Rob Portman, a relatively moderate Republican. A Spectrum News/Siena College poll this month suggested that 20% of voters who said they planned to vote for Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's re-election also planned to vote for Ryan. But drawing split-ticket conclusions from that figure can be tricky. DeWine registered more crossover support than Ryan did in the survey, with 18% of Democrats favoring DeWine for governor and 7% of Republicans backing Ryan for the Senate.
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