Trump-backed J.D. Vance wins Senate seat in Ohio over Democrat Tim Ryan

NPR | By Ximena Bustillo

Published November 9, 2022 at 12:05 AM EST

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Republican J.D. Vance, seen here last spring, has been elected to the Senate from Ohio, defeating Rep. Tim Ryan.

Ohio is sending GOP candidate J.D. Vance to the Senate. He beat Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who is retiring.

Vance rose to conservative prominence after writing the memoir Hillbilly Elegy, and received support from former President Donald Trump right before the primary election.

Vance had a history of criticizing the former president. In 2016, he called Trump "reprehensible" and an "idiot," but in his primary campaign, Vance did a 180 and said those comments were "stupid." He has since referred to Trump as "the greatest president in my lifetime."

Currently, Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House, and the Senate is split at 50-50, with Vice President Harris holding a tie-breaking vote. Control of the Senate was expected to be decided by Ohio and a handful of other states.

Vance's win blocks one avenue for the Democrats to keep their majority.

Deepa Shivaram contributed to this report.