Ohio Dem did 3 points better in rural than Biden, but lost; Dem group cites party's image and lack of rural investment

Rep. Tim Ryan (D) and J.D. Vance (R) debate. (Cleveland.com)

Two Democratic candidates seeking open Senate seats in adjoining states had similar approaches but different outcomes Tuesday. In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman actively campaigned in rural areas of the state and won, while Tim Ryan did the same in Ohio and lost. Pennsylvania is more Democratic than Ohio, but Ryan "was weighed down by the party’s image and its refusal to show up and invest election resources in rural counties," said Chris Gibbs, board president of Rural Voices USA, a Democratic group that calls itself "a nationwide network of rural leaders working to ensure rural Americans have a voice in policies that impact their livelihoods."

"This election was a reminder that the Democratic brand continues to suffer in rural America," Gibbs said in a press release. "In Pennsylvania, where Rural Voices USA’s Pennsylvania steering committee got the message out on President Biden’s work to invest in broadband and other infrastructure, we saw real gains in rural votes that contributed to Senator-elect Fetterman’s victory."

In his race with Republican J.D. tord=place shpowhVance, Ryan actually improved more on President Biden's support among rural voters in Ohio than Fetterman did against the GOP's Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, report Tim Marema and Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder: "Ryan earned 30.5% of the rural vote, an improvement of nearly 3 points compared to Biden’s performance in 2020," while Fetterman got 29%, which was 2.4 points better than Biden.

"Fetterman’s percentage-point increase, which came from managing turnout compared to 2020, provided the Democratic candidate with his largest gain in any county type in the Daily Yonder’s categorization system," Marema and Melotte write. "Ryan had smaller drops in turnout in most parts of the state than Vance did compared to 2020, but the advantage was not big enough to make a difference in the bottom-line results."

UPDATE: After Fetterman impressed former Gov. Ed Rendell with his third-place showing in the 2016 primary, he asked for $100,000 for a car and driver so he could campaign in rural counties for Hillary Clinton, and Rendell said he begged the Clinton campaign to do it, but they said no, Al Weaver of The Hill reports. She lost Pennsylvania, the second-biggest state that swung to Donald Trump.