Poll shows Tim Ryan slightly ahead of JD Vance in Ohio Senate race

Former president Donald Trump will hold a rally with Mr Vance in Youngstown on Saturday

A new poll shows that Democratic Representative Tim Ryan has a slight lead against Republican JD Vance in Ohio’s Senate race as Republicans begin a full-court press in the state.

The Suffolk University/USA Today Network Ohio poll surveyed 500 voters in the state who are either certain or probably will vote with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

The poll showed that 46.6 per cent of voters said they would vote for or are leaning toward Mr Ryan compared to 45.6 per cent of voters who said they would vote for Mr Vance, a venture capitalist and author who wrote the bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy.

Mr Vance won the Ohio Senate primary in May when former president Donald Trump endorsed him, which came after Mr Vance struggled for months in polling.

The numbers are an improvement for Mr Ryan. A survey conducted in late May showed that Mr Vance led Mr Ryan 41.6 per cent to 39.4. The two men are running to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman in a state that Mr Trump won by eight points in 2016 and 2020.

Mr Vance’s flagging numbers have prompted Republicans to go into overdrive to assist him. The Senate Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will spend $28 million worth of ads for Mr Vance.

In addition, Mr Trump will hold a rally with Mr Vance in Youngstown on Saturday. Notably, it’s slated to be held at the same time that the Ohio State University Buckeyes will play against the University of Toledo Rockets.

Mr Ryan, for his part, has tried to separate himself from the larger Democratic Party, criticising President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Most recently, he ran an ad where he threw a football at televisions, including one that said “Defund the Police.”