Photo via U.S. House of Representatives
The total sum was propped up by nearly 90,000 donors who gave to his campaign for the first time. The Ryan camp was keen to point out that 97% of these contributions were for $100 or less, a sign that he's receiving support from everyday folks, not just wealthy donors. That's a distinction, between him and his Republican opponent, JD Vance, that Ryan can be counted upon to continue exploiting.
“As Tim crushes fundraising records and polls show him overtaking serial fraud and San Francisco millionaire JD Vance, there should be no doubt who has the momentum in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race,” spokesperson Jordan Fuja lashed out in a statement. “While JD Vance relies on Big Tech Billionaires to prop up his campaign, we’re proud to have grassroots support from Ohioans in all 88 counties who know Tim is the only candidate who will fight for them in the Senate.”
Ryan's record-breaking haul may be explained, in part, by Ohioans' fears about Vance, the shape-shifting Trump endorsed Republican and puppet for billionaire Peter Thiel. It also undoubtedly has much to do with increasing support for Democratic candidates in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But the big fundraising numbers will be read, at least in Ryan's own camp, as positive reinforcement for his campaign strategy, which has been to pursue what the Ohio Capital Journal this week called "the exhausted majority," a play for working -class voters who Ryan believes have been ostracized by both major parties.
"Instead of simply distancing himself from an unpopular Biden administration, Ryan appears to be going a step further, distancing himself from the party as well," the story by Nick Evans observed. "He’s aiming to establish himself in the minds of voters as a singular figure whose personal politics, or record, or brand supersede party designation."
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