'Hillbilly Elegy' Author J.D. Vance Defeats Democrat Tim Ryan in Ohio Senate Race, Preserving Republican Seat

Drew Angerer/Getty JD Vance and Donald Trump shake hands at a rally

Democrat Tim Ryan has lost the race for Ohio Senate to Republican J.D. Vance, in a tight race to determine who would fill the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

Ryan, 49, is a former Presidential candidate and Ohio Representative who announced his candidacy for the Senate in April 2021.

Vance, 38, a venture capitalist and author of the bestselling memoir-turned-movie Hillbilly Elegy, won the Republican primary in Ohio largely due to an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, whom he previously criticized.

The Ohio Senate race was closely watched, given the state's historic swing-state status and the 50-50 split in the Senate. The seat was one of Democrats' best shots at gaining ground in Senate.

RELATED: Tim Ryan Calls Out J.D. Vance in Fiery Ohio Senate Debate: Trump 'Took His Dignity'

Ryan launched a long-shot bid for the presidency in 2020 but left the race months before the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. He also unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the House in 2017.

The Democrat has been a staunch critic of Trump and blasted Republicans for their response to the 2021 Capitol riots, saying those against investigating the events of that day are either "pretending to ignore what's happening or they're living in a world of delusion."

Vance, meanwhile, fashioned himself in the style of Trump during the campaign, despite earlier criticizing the former President.

"I'm a Never Trump guy," Vance said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016, according to Politico. "I never liked him."

Vance had also called Trump "unfit for our nation's highest office," "an idiot," "noxious" and "reprehensible," saying his policies ranged from "immoral to absurd."

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But after Vance launched a Republican campaign for office, he changed his position on Trump, ultimately receiving the former president's coveted endorsement.

"Like some others J.D. Vance may have said some not-so-great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades," Trump said in April. "He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race."