Liz Cheney says she will vote for Democrat Tim Ryan over Trump-backed Republican JD Vance in Ohio midterms

Liz Cheney has said she would rather vote for Democrat candidate Tim Ryan instead of Donald Trump-backed Republican JD Vance in Ohio’s Senate race.

The Ohio Senate race has become a neck-and-neck battle between Congressman Tim Ryan, a centrist Democratic member of the House, and author JD Vance, who wrote the book Hillbilly Ellegy, which was adapted into a Netflix movie by Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard.

Mr Vance subsequently launched his political career and was endorsed by one-time president Mr Trump.

“I would not vote for JD Vance,” Ms Cheney, the Republican representative for Wyoming, said in an interview with PBS NewsHour on Tuesday.

When asked if she would vote for Mr Ryan if she were a Buckeye State voter, Ms Cheney said: “I would.”

This is not the first time that Ms Cheney has pledged support for a Democrat candidate.

Ms Cheney crossed party lines last week after she announced her endorsement of Democratic representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

Ms Cheney also stated last week that she will no longer be a Republican if Mr Trump is made the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

Were Mr Trump to successfully win the nomination, the party would “shatter”, she said.

Ms Cheney was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump for his role in the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol.

She has also led the House Select Committee probing the riots.

In August, she was defeated in Wyoming’s Republican primary by Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman.

The Ohio Senate race is being closely watched as it would solidify the Democrats hold to some degree while a Republican hold on the seat will be crucial for them to have any chance of retaking the upper house.

At present, Republicans hold the seat in the form of Rob Portman, the state’s junior senator.