February 25, 2022

Happy Friday, and welcome to “Buckeye Brawl,” a weekly newsletter from the Ohio Democratic Party highlighting the nasty, chaotic, and expensive Republican primary for Senate. This out-of-control primary is making conservatives “deeply worried” about the prospects of Republicans losing this seat.

As the Republican Senate primary continues to sink lower and lower, these GOP candidates are injecting even more nasty personal attacks, more chaos and more money into this race. We’re here to help you keep track of all of it.

Here’s what you may have missed:

PARTICIPATED IN THE PLUNDER. J.D. Vance took a shot at Jane Timken – who owns a significant amount of stock in the Timken Company, which owns several steel mills – for being an out-of-touch millionaire, saying, “I’m the only person who can look Tim Ryan in the eye and say, ‘my family didn’t own a steel mill — they worked in a steel mill.” Vance’s super PAC allies wasted no time piling on to spotlight the company’s business dealings with Putin’s Russia, with one advisor, tweeting, “No candidate has business ties in Russia except for Jane Timken. Her husband’s company has provided steel for their tanks, rail, and military,” and another going even further:  “Worth remembering that the last time Russia invaded Ukraine, Jane and her husband eagerly participated in the plunder.” No matter how hard she tries, Jane Timken just can’t escape Timken.

SMALL AND IDIOTIC. When asked about Timken’s ad saying he was “overcompensating for his inadequacies,” J.D. Vance hit back on the Bill Cunningham Show, saying, “I know Donald Trump. Jane Timken is no Donald Trump. She doesn’t have his charisma, which is why her campaign isn’t doing very well. And when she makes jokes like that, it just makes her come across as small and idiotic. It doesn’t come across as funny. I think it’s ridiculous that she’s trying to distract from the fact that she doesn’t have a message, right? Why is Jane Timken running for Senate? It’s a bunch of RNC talking points, so it’s not surprising she feels like she has to go after me in these ridiculous attack ads.” Ouch, sounds like someone touched a nerve.

POSTER CHILD OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. On the Mark Levin Show, Josh Mandel laid into his GOP opponents for not taking on the establishment, saying, “These people who are running against me, they were nowhere to be found. They did not have the courage to take on Kasich. They won’t have the courage to take on the squishy establishment leaders in Washington. You know, I’ve got a bunch of people running against me in this race who are a bunch of never-Trumpers, pro-impeachment RINOS.” After hammering Timken’s squishy RINO roots for months, Mandel pounced on Senator Rob Portman’s endorsement as proof, calling her “the poster child of the establishment. You know she was the party chairman, you know she provided coverage for DeWine with all his mask mandates and vaccine mandates. This lady actually defended the congressman who voted to impeach Trump. You know, she’s pro-impeachment.” Josh is right about one thing: after failing to gain traction as a MAGA warrior, Jane Timken went back to what she knows best – the establishment. Good luck with that, Jane!

Thanks for reading along – that’s all for the Buckeye Brawl this week. If you have questions, my email is mbeyer@ohiodems.org. Have a great weekend!