U.S. Senate Candidate JD Vance joins the Allen County Republican Party dinner on Tuesday evening.
Precious Grundy | The Lima News
LIMA — Members of the Republican party gathered 15 days before the election to prepare for the election. A dinner was held to come together and discuss the candidates on the November ballot.
JD Vance (R) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined the dinner on Tuesday evening. Guest speaker Graham is a U.S. Senator for the state of South Carolina. Graham has been in Congress since 2003 and will serve his term until 2027. He was first elected to Congress in 2002 and was just re-elected for a fourth term in 2020.
Governor Mike DeWine (R), Lt. Jon Husted (R), Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Ohio Speaker of the House Bob Cupp (R), Justice Sharon Kennedy (R), Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber (R) and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Paduchik joined the panel alongside Vance and Graham.
Vance will be running against Congressman Tim Ryan on Nov. 8. He shared his hopes for the future of the United States.
“We need a change in this country,” said Vance. “We need to take this country in a different direction. Inflation is killing families. The crime wave is hurting Ohioans whether they are rich or poor, black or white. I just think we need to take this state and country in a different direction. To do that we have to get the current leadership out of there. Tim Ryan has been a part of the leadership class. I am a part of the new generation that will take things in a new direction.”
Vance and Ryan have recently debated after previous conflict scheduling a debate. “I thought the debates went very well,” said Vance. “I was happy to be on the stage with him and happy to push back some of the attacks he has made about me and my own record.”
Graham spoke as the guest speaker for the fall dinner. He filled the room with laughter as he focused on preparing the party for the coming election and advocating for Vance.
“If you are looking for a change and people are,” said Graham. “Tim is going to have a tough sell on his hands. JD is new to politics and I think he has a really bright future. Trump won Ohio. I think DeWine is going to knock it out of the park; he has been a great governor.”
DeWine shared closing remarks on the new job development of Intel in Ohio.
“We were a long shot when we started with Intel,” said DeWine. “What I told our team was if we can get Intel, not only will it create thousands of jobs and have a ripple effect for decades in the future. It will also send a message to this country that Ohio was a place to come to. This is our time. We have a moral obligation to leave no child behind without some pathway. A pathway going into a college or a trade. We are moving in that direction.”
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351
