Two Ohio GOP Senate Candidates Get in Altercation During Friday Debate

An on-stage altercation between the two leading candidates in the Ohio GOP U.S. Senate race unfolded during a forum Friday evening. Josh Mandel, the former Ohio State Treasurer, and Ohio State Representative who for months was the front-runner in the campaign to replace retiring GOP Senator Rob Portman, has directed his attention on the 69-year-old Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland investment banker who surpassed Mandel and claimed the top position in two recent independent polls. Organized by FreedomWorks and held in the Columbus suburb of Gahanna, the debate featured Gibbons, Mandel, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance, former Ohio Republican Party chairperson Jane Timken, and Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan. After each candidate delivered opening remarks, the moderator asked the first question centered around Russia and China, how Congress approved billions in aid for Ukraine, and the ban of Russian oil and imports. Mandel claimed that Gibbons made “billions …