Recent state and national polls show a difference among Ohio and U.S. voters on what their chief concerns are heading into November’s mid-term elections. Ohioans list education, crime, taxes, inflation and abortion for their order of importance, while voters across the nation say the top descending issues are inflation, government/ leadership, abortion, the judicial system, unifying the country and immigration.
Despite the differing in importance of issues, both set of voters are well aware of the importance of this fall’s election for Ohio’s next U.S. Senator.
Tim Ryan, a Democrat (D), and J.D. Vance, a Republican (R), are vying for the U.S. Senate position currently held by Rob Portman (R), who announced in January 2021 he was not seeking a seventh term in the upper house of the U.S Congress.
Ryan has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003. He has made himself known on the national political scene by currently serving on the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the disbursement of money by the federal government; challenging Nancy Pelosi for House Minority Leader in 2016; and being a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Vance, who has never held political office, gained national prominence in 2016 when he authored his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” The book, which was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017, was made into the 2020 film by the same name.
Along with being recognizable candidates, Ohio’s election for the open Senate seat will be one to watch, according to Ballotpedia.org: “The outcome of the race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate; 35 of 100 seats are up for election (which includes one special election); Democrats have an effective majority, with the chamber split 50-50 and V.P. Kamala Harris (D) having the tie-breaking vote. Fourteen seats held by Democrats and 21 seats held by Republicans are up for election in 2022.”
Let’s meet the candidates in the 2022 election for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat:
Tim Ryan
Ryan, 49, was born in Niles, which is in northeastern Ohio’s Trumbull County. A graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, Ryan was a high school quarterback, but a knee injury ended his opportunity to play football in college.
He attended Bowling Green State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1995. He earned his juris doctorate (JD) from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2000.
Prior to being elected at the age of 27 to the Ohio Senate, where he served two years before winning a seat in U.S. Congress in 2002, Ryan was a congressional aide with the U.S. House in 1995; served as president of the Trumbull County Young Democrats; and interned in the county’s Prosecutor’s Office.
The 10-time U.S. House representative most recently won his 2020 election with 52.5% of the votes in U.S. House Ohio District 13, which represents portions of Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit and Trumbull counties.
In May’s Democratic Primary Race for the senate nomination, Ryan received nearly 70% of the votes in the seven-candidate field, garnering 359,941 votes. He is campaigning on revitalizing Ohio’s manufacturing industry; having a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour; the PRO Act; renegotiating existing foreign trade deals; expanding affordable healthcare; and focusing on blue-collar workers.
Ryan resides in Howland with his wife of nine years, Andrea Zetts, a schoolteacher. The couple has three children.
J.D. Vance
Born in Middletown, in southwestern Ohio’s Butler County, Vance, 38, joined the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating from Middletown High School. In his four years with the Marines, Vance served in the Iraq War as a journalist and performed public affairs activities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Ohio State University in 2009 and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2013.
Having received his degree from Yale, Vance worked in corporate law prior to becoming involved in venture capital – specializing in biotechnology. It was about this time Vance’s younger days became well known through the publishing of “Hillbilly Elegy.” He also became known on the national scene through his work as a contributor with CNN, ABC News, CBS News and Fox News. In 2019, he co-founded Narya Capital in Cincinnati.
Campaigning as a “conservative outsider,” in May, Vance won the Republican primary election with 32.2% of the vote in a field of 14 candidates, garnering 344,736 votes. Among the issues Vance is campaigning on for the U.S. Senate seat are bringing manufacturing back to Ohio; fixing the immigration system, which includes completing the U.S.- Mexico border wall; and breaking up technology conglomerates.
Vance resides in Cincinnati with his wife of eight years, Usha Chilukuri, who is an attorney. The couple, who met in law school, has two children.
Both candidates participated in a Question & Answer session with OCA.
Ohio Contractors Association: What are the top transportation priorities you believe should be addressed in Ohio over the next decade?
Tim Ryan: “I believe we as a nation have greatly neglected our transportation and infrastructure system for far too long. This has been especially glaring with the lack of funding dedicated to upgrading rural roads and bridges; connecting our rural areas to urban areas; and expanding rural broadband access. I have consistently advocated for and helped enact increases in transportation and infrastructure funding during my time on the Appropriations Committee and during my tenure as a member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.
“One of my proudest moments in Congress was helping pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is already helping rebuild roads and bridges, and providing funding for states and localities to deploy infrastructure and equipment for high-speed internet service in rural communities.
“This funding is critical for our rural communities. The fatality rate on rural roads is twice that of urban roads. We need to modernize and upgrade rural roads, bridges and our freeways that connect our communities for the sake of the safety and economic success of our rural areas, where many Ohioans don’t have alternatives to driving.
“We also need to prepare our transportation system for the future of mobility and electrifying our fleets. This should include a robust network of fast chargers and charging infrastructure not just for personal EVs but one that can sustain electric transit, school buses and freight trucks, as well as dedicate significant resources to grid resiliency to support increased demand.
“As more IIJA funding is distributed and grant opportunities open up, I want to continue to utilize my position in Congress to support grant opportunities for Ohioans and make sure this funding makes it to every corner of Ohio.”
J.D. Vance: “The top priorities for the state should be ensuring adequate transportation funding; securing the construction material supply chain; and increasing highway safety. Additionally, while the recent infrastructure bill will fund some needed improvements, nearly 50% of the funding won’t go towards brickand-mortar projects. I believe that our infrastructure dollars must be used towards funding actual infrastructure.”
OCA: What is the federal government’s role in planning, building and maintaining transportation infrastructure?
Vance: “The federal government should be limited to establishing highlevel broad standards and funding for planning, building and maintaining transportation infrastructure with as little regulatory involvement as possible.”
Ryan: “The federal government is well equipped to play a strong role in coordination with state and local stakeholders in planning, building and maintaining transportation infrastructure. Transportation infrastructure is almost always part of a larger nationwide system and, as such, the federal government is best positioned to ensure that all transportation infrastructure is part of a cohesive whole. Smart, strategic investments in infrastructure – including public-private partnerships where appropriate – are necessary to make sure America’s transportation infrastructure system works for all Americans.”
OCA: Which mechanism(s) do you support for funding transportation infrastructure improvements and maintenance at all levels of government?
Ryan: “I support maintaining the userfee system to fund the Highway Trust Fund, however, we need to address the funding deficiency caused by a lack of Congressional action on the federal fuel tax, which is not indexed to inflation. Currently all taxpayers pay into the HTF, whether or not they buy gas, thereby nullifying the purpose of the user fee.
“While moving towards a mileagebased user fee seems like an equitable solution, there are numerous barriers to implementation such as privacy concerns and complicated technological problems associated with how a motorist is charged depending on who owns the road.
“The federal government should establish an equitable user-fee system that is inclusive of all vehicles no matter the fuel source, so that gasoline, EV and alternative fuel motorists share in the maintaining of our transportation system.”
Vance: “Our transportation infrastructure is a crucial component of our strength as a nation. We must provide adequate transportation funding to keep our country moving. I am open to exploring a range of ideas for generating additional transportation funds, but I cannot support any proposal that would raise taxes on Ohioans during our current recession.”
OCA: Should user fees such as the motor fuel excise tax, port and waterway fees and airline passenger ticket fees be “firewalled” and protected exclusively for infrastructure maintenance and improvements in the mode in which they were funded?
Vance: “Yes, federal transportation trust funds should be strictly dedicated to the mode from which the user fees were generated.”
Ryan: “Yes.”
OCA: What steps would you support at the federal level to improve roadway safety?
Ryan: “First and foremost, upgraded and properly maintained roads and bridges are the single-most important factor for roadway safety. The IIJA is going a long way to get our transportation system up to the level it needs to be at. As I mentioned above, there also needs to be a real focus on improving roads and traffic safety tools in rural areas. I was particularly pleased to see large, dedicated funding for these purposes in the IIJA, which includes $1 billion in grants for the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program and $4 billion in formula grants to initiate or improve public transportation in rural areas.
“Federal and state governments need to be more supportive and make it easier for local communities to implement vision zero plans and streamline the process to help fund these projects. Many communities are devoting significant time and resources to studying best practices solutions to reduce pedestrian and motorist incidents. DOT should continue to build upon their Complete Streets initiative and encourage and incentivize states to quickly assess and fund vision zero projects.
“I also believe that DOT and NHTSA need to play a stronger role in assisting states in preparing for the evolving landscape of roadway safety. We need to make sure state DOTs and state law enforcement agencies have the legal, technical and technological assistance to create and enforce sound laws regarding impairment, as more states move to legalize cannabis use. NHTSA also needs to provide assistance to state DOTs and RPOs as they prepare for personal autonomous vehicles and autonomous transit on our roads.”
Vance: “I support maintaining funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) as a means to improve roadway safety. HSIP has been an effective and bipartisan approach to funding roadway safety projects for decades, and maintaining this program should be a priority.”
OCA: Do you support state and federal prevailing wage laws for public improvements such as road and bridge construction?
Vance: “I support the Davis-Bacon Act as it relates to publicly funded construction projects.”
Ryan: “I strongly support prevailing wages and have fought to ensure they are followed when it comes to projects within Ohio. Prevailing wages set fair wage and benefits standards to not only ensure projects are built with quality workmanship, but also that workers are not exploited. Prevailing wage laws protect against unscrupulous contractors who lowball on bids for taxpayer-funded construction projects, hurting not only the workers but the communities in which these projects will live.”
OCA: The federal government encourages project labor agreements (PLA) on large public improvements. What are your thoughts on the use of PLAs? Is it your opinion that these type of agreements foster or restrain competition, reduce or increase costs and delays, and what is their impact on local collective bargaining agreements?
Ryan: “I am a proponent of project labor agreements because I believe that PLAs reduce risk for all parties while ensuring reasonable living wages for workers.”
Vance: “I’ve heard perspectives from both sides of this issue, and I am eager to learn more about how these policies influence the industry. I tend to believe that early buy-in from labor groups help to move big government projects along more quickly with fixed costs, while also meeting the project’s labor needs. That being said, I’ve also heard that these agreements may unintentionally limit competition and make the bidding process burdensome for some firms. I would like to research this issue more before choosing a strong opinion, but I would be very willing to discuss this more in depth with your members to hear their firsthand experiences.”
OCA: What are your thoughts on environmental mitigation as it relates to the needs and costs of constructing, operating, and maintaining our nation’s transportation systems?
Vance: “Overregulation drives up the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining highways and roads. While protecting the environment is important, ensuring an effective, efficient and safe transportation system is paramount for our national economy. I support minimal environmental regulations and oppose any that would increase overall costs.”
Ryan: “Environmental mitigation laws and regulations are in place to ensure that we always take appropriate measures of the impact on the environment that transportation construction, operation and maintenance may have. I believe we can and should be good stewards of our environment while also ensuring that government agencies are moving as expeditiously as possible. This is why I’ve called for permitting reform that requires government agencies to approve permits within reasonable timeframes and requires the permitting processes, whenever possible, move concurrently rather than sequentially.”
Ryan and Vance are not only vying for Ohio’s open Senate seat, but they are also contending for the Democratic and Republican parties’ majority in the U.S. Senate. Ohio has been represented by both a Democratic and Republican U.S. Senator for the past 11 years. If Ryan wins the November election, he and Sen. Sherrod Brown, whose current term is through 2025, will be the first Democrats to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate simultaneously since 1995, when Howard M. Metzenbaum and John Glenn served. The last time the state was represented simultaneously by two Republican U.S. Senators was 2006, when George Voinovich and current Ohio Governor Michael DeWine were in office.