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Ohioans face an incredibly important decision as they consider the race for U.S. Senate Nov. 8.
Given his performance in recent debates and the message he's told across Ohio, J.D. Vance stands out as the clear choice to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate.
It's taken the course of this campaign for Vance's positions to become clear. At this point he appears to be prioritizing clearly the issues most important to Ohio -- the economy, inflation, energy and the border.
"The borrowing and spending added to an energy-constrained economy just drives inflation through the roof," Vance said during a recent newspaper interview. "I think the combination of those two policies have really made it hard for average people to just afford the basic necessities."
Vance is focusing on American energy independence, as Ohio is one of the world's top producers of natural gas and oil.
Vance has placed issues with the border and illegal drugs -- particularly fentanyl -- as national priorities that are impacting Ohio.
"If you don't get control over this, you're going to have a huge, huge problem with fentanyl deaths, which we already have, and they're going to keep getting worse," Vance said, noting his mother struggled with addiction while he was growing up in Middletown, Ohio.
Vance's story resonates with Ohioans. He enlisted as a Marine and served in Iraq. He sought his fortunes in Silicon Valley before he elected to come home (this time to Cincinnati) and build an Ohio business.
He would take that can-do attitude to Washington to be a strong voice for Ohio.
It's important to keep a strong conservative voice in Washington -- particularly as the national Democratic Party is going after the oil and gas sector that is so important to Ohio's economy.
We endorse J.D. Vance for U.S. Senate because he will continue Sen. Portman's responsible, conservative approach to government that all Ohioans understand.