The CBS Mornings midterms segment descended into something that’s almost certain to be a tall tale when the co-host Tony Dokoupil, chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa tried to tell viewers that Tim Ryan, a liberal Congressman (and frequent guest host on the long-since axed Ed Show), has a real chance to win in the Buckeye State against Republican J.D. Vance.
Costa began to fluff his team’s pillows after Vance and his team refused to agree to an interview.
Dokoupil teased that “Tempers flare at high-stakes Senate debate in Ohio where there’s a very close race.”
Dokoupil later tossed the matter to Costa and said that the debate was “hot-tempered” because the race is “tight” as “[a]ccording a]ccording a average of recent polls this is how close it is. Vance holds a slight edge with three weeks to Election Day.
Costa exclaimed, “Ohio has been a key battleground for many years and this year it is no exception. But the Senate race is much closer than strategists anticipated. The big question is whether Tim Ryan’s message to the working-class will suffice.
Highlights from the debate on immigration and abortion were shown. Ryan didn’t accuse Vance — a woman of color married to a woman with three biracial kids — of being racist. Costa continued to play Ryan campaign hand, using narratives about him being “an independence voice” and trying to “galvaniz[e] voter…alarmed about…abortion right” (click “expand”).
COSTA: Ryan has been a strong independent voice throughout the race and kept President Biden, who lost Ohio in 2020 by eight percentage points, at bay. [TO RYAN] Do YOU want President Biden to visit Ohio?
RYAN: No. I want to be the face and voice of the campaign. I want to be the one who delivers the messages and gives the speeches.
COSTA: Ryan insists that he can win his own race. He has rallied voters who are concerned about abortion rights’ future and won over working-class voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2020. [TO RYAN] Ohio is experiencing economic pain. What is your message to them in the final stretch?
RYAN: I get it. It’s there, you see. I can understand what you are going through. I agree with you that workers need immediate tax cuts. You can help people in the short-term by giving them more money.
Costa acknowledged that CBS polling had shown that voters are becoming more pessimistic about their economy, and that former President Donald Trump’s support “might be enough” for Vance.
Costa hyping Ryan was his next move, just as he returned to reality.
COSTA: However, Democrats claim that some Trump voters are still in play.
RYAN SUPPORTER – Trump supporters were just looking for new leadership in the past. This didn’t work out for the country very well.
On ABC’s Good Morning America, Rachel Scott, a congressional correspondent, mentioned Ryan’s smear but made Ryan’s chances look positive (click “expand”).
SCOTT: Just three weeks remain before election day, the attacks are turning personal. A bitter clash between Republican venture capitalist J.D. and Democratic congressman Tim Ryan in Ohio’s Senate debate. Vance.
RYAN: This explains why J.D. Vance is, with all due respect, a fraud.
SCOTT: He accused him of propagating racist beliefs in a heated exchange.
VANCE: You are so desperate to get political power, you’ll accuse my father, the father of three beautiful, biracial children, of engaging in racism. You don’t have to be racist to believe in a border.
RYAN: I wasn’t talking about your family. You don’t have to spin it because you don’t want people to talk about the fact that you are with extremists in this belief.
SCOTT: These stakes are so high. Let’s discuss where things stand. FiveThirtyEight, our friends, says that Democrats are more likely to retain the Senate. Their chances of flipping the Senate increase to 64 percent if they win in Georgia. If they win the Ohio senate race, it increases to 73 percent. Every race is important when margins are this close.
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Click “expand” to see the relevant CBS transcripts from October 18.
CBS Mornings
October 18, 2022
7:01 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE] Fiery Ohio Debate
TONY DOKOUPIL – Tendencies flare at a high stakes debate for the Senate of Ohio, where there’s a very close race.
J.D. VANCE (R).: Inflicting their families can cause a problem with normal people.
CONGRESSMAN, TIM RYAN (D–OH): No. I didn’t speak about you. JD, I wouldn’t talk about your family. I was not raised in this way.
(….)
7:10 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE] Candidates Face-Off In Ohio Senate Race; Rep. Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance Holds Fiery Debate in Crucial Senate Race]
DOKOUPIL Vance. This is the average of recent polls. Vance holds a slight edge, with three weeks to go before Election Day. Our Robert Costa is in Ohio, where he has been speaking to concerned voters about the economy. Good morning Bob.
COSTA: Good Morning, Tony. Ohio has been a key battleground for decades. This year, however, the Senate race is closer than expected. The big question is whether Tim Ryan’s message to the working-class will be enough.
VANCE: This is a clear indication of how desperate this man is for political power.
RYAN: I believe I struck a chord with this man.
COSTA: Last night was a showdown in one of the nation’s closest Senate races, with tensions over abortion.
RYAN: This man is not ready to defend the rights of women.
VANCE: I believe that it is essential to protect the life of all citizens in this country.
COSTA: And about immigration.
VANCE: If you have voted against funding for the border wall multiple times, it is impossible to claim that you are a defender or border security.
RYAN: This man has invested in dozens of companies that employed foreign workers. [SCREEN WIPE] It has been Democrats and Republicans.
COSTA: Ryan has been a strong independent voice throughout the race and kept President Biden, who lost Ohio in 2020 by eight percentage points, at bay. [TO RYAN] Do YOU want President Biden to visit Ohio?
RYAN: No. I want to be the face and voice of the campaign. I want to be the one who delivers the messages and gives the speeches.
COSTA: Ryan insists that he can win his own race. He has rallied voters who are concerned about abortion rights’ future and won over working-class voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2020. [TO RYAN] Ohio is experiencing economic pain. What is your message to them in the final stretch?
RYAN: I get it. It’s there, you see. I can understand what you are going through. I agree with you that workers need immediate tax cuts. You can help people in the short-term by giving them more money.
COSTA: CBS News’s most recent polling shows that national views of the economy are worsening due to ongoing inflation, and that voters are feeling it personally. More people now feel that their financial situation is dire.
OHIO VOTER : I am tired of the direction that the country is heading. It’s time to make a change. The previous President had a great presidency. I don’t know how Joe Biden won.
COSTA: Trump’s endorsement may be enough for Hillbilly Elegy author Jim Renacci, county GOP chairman.
FORMER CONGRESSMAN JIMRENACCI (R),: The Trump endorsement in Ohio will definitely help and it’s definitely going be a key. J.D. has to make it clear that he is not a career politician. He is someone who comes from the outside and that’s what Ohioans are looking for.
COSTA: However, Democrats claim that some Trump voters are still in play.
RYAN SUPPORTER – Trump supporters were just looking for new leadership in the past. This didn’t work out for the country very well.
COSTA: Vance was unable to give an interview but will rally with Senators Tim Scott (conservative Trump allies) later this week. This underscores how Vance wants Trump voters to vote in November. Gayle?
GAYLE KING (All right. The clock is ticking. Bob, thank you so much.
(….)
8:01 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Ohio Senate Race]
DOKOUPIL: The heat is on in a crucial Ohio Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan (Republican J.D.) Vance.
RYAN: This man is not ready to defend the rights of women.
VANCE: We must protect life in this country.
