Trump and Pelosi cause a heated debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan | USA TODAY

In the second and final Ohio Senate debate, Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan defend their ties with their party's leadership.

RELATED: Ohio Senate candidates Tim Ryan, J.D. Vance debate abortion, police

Republican J.D. Vance and Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan faced off in the hour-long debate hosted by WFMJ in Youngstown. The event was more heated and personal than last week's debate in Cleveland, in part because of a format that allowed the candidates to spar back and forth with no time limits. Vance and Ryan are vying for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Rob Portman in the Nov. 8 election.

Both candidates kicked off the debate assuring voters that they're their own man. Vance dismissed Trump's comment that the Senate candidate is "kissing my a–" as a joke and accused Ryan of focusing his entire campaign on the quip. Ryan said Ohioans want an "a– kicker, not an a– kisser" at last week's debate, and his campaign created an internet meme of Trump-themed Chapstick.

Ryan, meanwhile, presented himself as independent of Democratic leadership even though he's voted with President Joe Biden's agenda 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. When Vance pointed this out, Ryan noted that he challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the position of top Democrat in 2016.

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30 comments

    1. @Boston Jackson I don’t try to argue with them too much, I do try and show them the flaws in their thinking and back up my stance with sources that are verifiable

    2. @lar ryder Yeah I’ve got other more more PTSD worthy stuff, but I keep that between myself, the VA, and those people who were there

    3. @lar ryder I also know that veterans are as varied a group of people as the population of the United States and the willingness to share their combat experiences is an individual choice with only a few exceptions

    4. @Ivan They don’t care about verifiable facts and/or flaws in their thinking… that’s what defines them unreasonable. Save your time.

  1. I find it interesting as to how people view politicians. Career politician versus “outsider”. It’s not one or the other. It’s whether or not the person takes the job seriously and whether they use power to benefit average Americans. Pelosi uses her power to benefit not just herself but many average Americans. Trump only got into power to benefit himself, his friends and his family. Trump never intended to help anyone else. He still doesn’t. If you choose someone who isn’t up for the job, doesn’t care about helping average Americans and lies constantly then you are making a mockery of our democracy. And the resulting legislation that is passed is bad. The 2017 tax cut is the highlight of the Trump administration. It is the only real accomplishment of it. And what a horrible piece of legislation that is. Roughly 80 to 90% of the tax cuts are for the wealthy few and their corporations. They didn’t double our GDP or increase job growth. But they did increase our deficit by 50% even before the pandemic and its recession hit. And it just increased the wealth disparity in this country. Everything republicans say they are for other than defense is a lie. Fiscally conservative? Trump’s total deficits in 4 years are 7.8 trillion. Carter’s in 4 years are 228 billion. Yet conservatives laud Trump and despise Carter. Family values? Moral Majority? Pro-life? Republicans aren’t pro family, moral or pro life. So in the end all you have left is they blow a lot of money on defense and they want power/control and money. What for? To keep getting more power/control and money.

  2. JD hoping Trumps in prison so he won’t HAVE to repay that debt!! Lol cuz he just sold his soul 😂😂😂

    1. @NAS I’m glad he advocated for that, too bad he tried to overturn the election, really makes that point a lot weaker now

    2. @PatrickPaul1203 Yup, 81 bazillion people voted for Brandon and there was zero voter fraud. He definitely has a 48% approval rating even with a high confidence of Repubs taking at least the House and a moderate chance of taking both Senate and House.

  3. Our political arena is a popularity contest between narcissists who make laws bettering their lives at the cost of the population.

  4. Now that’s the way to debate! Whether you like him or not, whether you’re on his party or not, is irrelevant. Ryan played that very well. No theatrics. No stupidity. And even if I hate everything he stands for, which I don’t know if I do, he managed this brilliantly.

  5. I want the Democrats to hold the House but I also feel that Nancy Pelosi needs to retire. She’s been there long enough and it is way past time for new leadership.

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