Former Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, who was JD Vance‘s last opponent in the closely watched 2022 Senate race, offered some advice to Tim Walz as he prepares to face Donald Trump‘s running mate in the vice presidential debate Tuesday.
Speaking on Slate’s “What Next” podcast, Ryan, a Democrat who lost the 2022 Ohio Senate race to Vance by six points, stressed that preparation and composure will be key for the Minnesota governor, given that Vance is known as a combative and skilled debater.
Reflecting on his own experience, Ryan had a clear warning for Walz: underestimate your opponent at your own risk.
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“JD Vance is the kind of person who will say whatever he needs to say to advance himself, with very little regard to the truth,” Ryan said. Describing Vance’s style as aggressive and tactical, Ryan emphasized that Walz must stay on message and not allow Vance to control the debate.
“You have to stay on point,” Ryan added, advising Walz to focus on the issues important to voters and avoid being thrown off track by Vance’s aggressive style. “If you keep your cool and counterpunch hard, but in a way that’s decent, I think most people will listen.”
Ryan also emphasized that Walz must be ready for Vance’s ability to shift criticisms and steer the conversation to issues he prefers — a classic tactic of skilled debaters. He recounted a moment during the 2022 debate on abortion when Ryan and the moderators brought up the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had to travel out of state for an abortion after being raped.
Vance quickly shifted the discussion to immigration.
“The thing no one talks about with this abortion story is that the girl was raped by an illegal immigrant,” Vance said, pointing out that the perpetrator of the rape was a Guatemalan man who entered the U.S. illegally.
Reflecting on this tactic, Ryan said: “It’s frustrating to watch somebody do that, but it’s also skillful. He’s very good at getting back onto ground he’s comfortable with.” Ryan added that this was a recurring pattern in their debates. “You have to bring it back,” Ryan explained, emphasizing that it takes discipline and concentration not to get caught in Vance’s pivots.
“He’s much more skillful and disciplined than Trump in that regard.”
Yet, like Trump, Ryan said Vance is prone to overreact if you hit a nerve. For Ryan, that moment was the disjunction between Vance’s apparent endorsement of the “replacement theory,” that immigrants threaten to replace white Americans, and the fact that his wife, Usha Vance, comes from a family of Indian immigrants.
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Still, Ryan said Vance is good at emotional appeals, recalling how he brought up his biracial children and immigrant in-laws during their debates as a way to avoid difficult questions on race.
“He knew throwing up that emotional family thing was gonna allow him to wiggle out of what he had said,” according to Ryan. “It’s skillful, because it doesn’t have anything to do with answering the question or telling the truth. It’s about getting out of the hot spotlight.”
Despite Vance’s history as an aggressive and tactical debater, Ryan believes that Walz, with the right approach, can come out on top.
“I think Tim Walz is a good contrast to JD Vance. There’s an authenticity, a realness, and a likability there,” Ryan said, noting that Walz’s approachable, folksy demeanor could serve him well Tuesday night.
He urged the governor to remain calm and avoid being drawn into the heated exchanges Vance is known for provoking.
“Walz needs to approach this in a very human way,” Ryan said, particularly on sensitive issues like immigration—one of Vance’s favorite topics, which roared back into the national spotlight after he and Trump falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
“He’s much more skilled than people give him credit for, and you have to be prepared for that,” Ryan said of Vance. “But with the right preparation, Walz can definitely turn this to his advantage.”
