Vance answers questions from locals in campaign’s third stop in Steubenville
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STEUBENVILLE -- J.D. Vance may be from the opposite side of the state, but his campaign for U.S. Senate has made him become a frequent visitor of the area.
The Cincinnati-area Republican, vying for the party's nomination in the May primary for the seat being vacated by the retirement of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, held a townhall inside the downstairs banquet room of Froehlich's Classic Corner Wednesday, his third stop in Steubenville during the campaign season.
Vance, an author, venture capitalist and former Marine who describes himself as a "conservative outsider" in the race told a crowd of around 30 that Steubenville "reminded him of home," the smalltown of Middletown.
Vance, currently sitting third in the RealClearPolitics average of polls behind Cleveland-area investment banker Mike Gibbons and former state treasurer Josh Mandel, said in his introduction the goal of the conservative movement and his bid for the U.S. Senate is to restore a life like his grandparents who raised him had, where good paying jobs allowed families to live on a single income.
A prosperous time of American manufacturing, he said, both parties are responsible for allowing to end with those jobs moving overseas.
"We don't make enough stuff anymore," he said. "Look at where things come from."
Vance told a personal story about his mother's struggles with addiction, and her recovery, recent milestone in it, and told the crowd America is "a country of second chances."
A second chance, he said, she would not have gotten if the country's current troubles with fentanyl coming across the southern border were happening during her struggles.
Those problems, and the increase in human trafficking, he said, show the importance of finishing a border wall and securing the border.
He also addressed his past criticism of former President Donald Trump, which has recently been the subject of opponents' ad campaigns, admitting he "wasn't a fan" of Trump in 2015 during the campaign and "did not think he would be a good president."
"I was happy to be proven wrong," Vance said, adding that him "hating" the former President would be "news to Trump," with whom he said he recently spoke.
The first question Vance took was from a former steel worker about how Vance would tackle restrictions on American industries from agencies like the EPA.
Vance said there are "different standards" for products made in the U.S and places like China.
"If the standards are fair, we can compete with anyone," he said, and added the Republican Party is "the party of the working people now."
He also said the legislative branch has the constitutional power to take back power from agencies like the EPA.
Another local asked about issues he may potentially conflict with party leadership on, Vance pointing to things such as banning members of Congress from owning stocks and foreign policy issues.
He also said he not only supports term limits in Congress, but also for government bureaucrat positions, singling out Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.
Asked about abortion, and the potential reversal of Roe vs. Wade, Vance said abortion "destroys the soul and character of the country."
He suggested his proposed solutions would be to defund Planned Parenthood and instead move that funding to other women's health organizations that are not involved in abortion, and approve conservative judges to federal courts.
He also took aim at Silicon Valley and big corporations "abusing" visa program like H1V programs and said his solution would include more merit-based immigration programs.
In closing, Vance shared a conversation he had with a friend of faith, that told him despite the challenges the country faces "despair is a sin" and told the crowd, "We're called to believe enough in America to fight for it."