CLEVELAND (WJW) — The top five Republican candidates battling to appear on the November ballot for Ohio’s Senate seat will square off during a debate at Fox 8 News in Cleveland Monday.
It comes days after a heated exchange between two candidates, Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel, at a forum in Columbus.
How to watch:
The hour-long debate starts at 7 p.m. at FOX 8 News. It’s hosted by NBC4’s Colleen Marshall and FOX 8’s Joe Toohey.
The debate can be viewed on Nexstar stations across the Buckeye state. Those stations are WDTN 2 News in Dayton, NBC4 in Columbus, WKBN/WYTV in Youngstown, WTRF in Wheeling, West Virginia/Steubenville and FOX 8 News. The debate will also stream on each station’s website.
The candidates:
- Matt Dolan: state senator, former state representative, son of Cleveland Guardians owner Larry Dolan.
- Mike Gibbons: investment banker, Ohio Finance Co-Chair for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016.
- Josh Mandel, former Ohio treasurer, former state representative, previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 and 2018.
- Jane Timken: former chair of the Ohio Republic Party.
- JD Vance: venture capitalist, author of “Hillbilly Elegy.”
The rules:
Each candidate will get 60 seconds to answer a question. If there is a follow-up question or rebuttal, the candidate will have 30 seconds to respond and 15 seconds for clarification, if needed. We will be reminding the candidates of those times throughout the night. A bell will ring when time is up.
The polls:
While outgoing Sen. Rob Portman endorsed Timken, many of the candidates are still courting the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
A February poll from Emerson College and The Hill showed 39% of Republican primary voters are undecided. Gibbons led GOP voters with 22%. He’s followed by Mandel with 15%, Vance with 8%, and Timken and Dolan with 6% each.
The same debate opportunity was offered to the Democratic Senate candidates, however, not enough candidates met the requirements.
