The midterms segment on Tuesday’s CBS Mornings descended into what’s almost certainly a tall tale as the co-host Tony Dokoupil and chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa attempted to tell viewers that liberal Congressman (and frequent guest on the long-since axed Ed Show) Tim Ryan has a real shot to triumph in the Buckeye State over Republican J.D. Vance.
And with Vance and his team not agreeing to an interview, Costa proceeded to make it all about Ryan and fluffing his team’s pillows.
“Tempers flare at a high-stakes debate for the Senate in Ohio where there's an extremely close race,” Dokoupil said in a tease.
Tossing later to Costa, Dokoupil added that the debate was “hot-tempered” since the race is “tight” and “[a]ccording to an average of recent polls, this is how close the campaign is. Vance has a small edge, which is three weeks until Election Day.”
An enthused Costa boasted: “Ohio has long been a crucial battleground and this year is no exception, but the Senate race is much, much closer than strategists expected. The big question is whether Tim Ryan's working-class message will be enough.”
Showing highlights from the debate on abortion and immigration (which ignored Ryan accusing Vance — married to a woman of color with three biracial children — of being a racist), Costa continued to play Ryan campaign hand with narratives about him being “an independent voice” and hoping to “galvaniz[e] voters...alarmed about...abortion rights” (click “expand”):
COSTA: Throughout the race, Ryan has cast himself as an independent voice, keeping President Biden, who lost Ohio by eight percentage points in 2020, at bay. [TO RYAN] Do you want President Biden to come to Ohio?
RYAN: No. I want to be the face of the campaign. I want to be the guy who delivers the messages, gives the speeches.
COSTA: It's been an uphill climb, but Ryan insists he can run his own race, galvanizing voters who are alarmed about the future of abortion rights and winning over working-class voters who went for Donald Trump in 2020. [TO RYAN] A lot of people in Ohio are feeling economic pain. What’s your message to them in this closing stretch?
RYAN: I get it. I see it, you know. I understand what you're going through. Like, I think workers need a tax cut immediately. The only way to help people early on right now in the short term is put some more money in their pocket.
Costa did concede that CBS polling has found voters are growing even more pessimistic about the economy and that former President Donald Trump’s backing “might be enough for” Vance.
But just as he moved back to reality (and when he could have cited a recent poll giving Vance a five-point edge), Costa pivoted back to hyping Ryan:
COSTA: But Democrats say some Trump voters remain in play.
RYAN SUPPORTER: Trump supporters in the past just were looking for new leadership. That didn't quite work out very well for the country at all.
On ABC’s Good Morning America, congressional correspondent Rachel Scott mentioned Ryan’s smear, but similarly made Ryan’s chances seem positive (click “expand”):
SCOTT: With just three weeks until election day the attacks turning personal. An Ohio Senate debate a bitter clash between Democratic congressman Tim Ryan and Republican venture capitalist J.D. Vance.
RYAN: This is why J.D. Vance with all due respect is a fraud.
SCOTT: In a tense exchange he accused him of pushing racist beliefs.
VANCE: You are so desperate for political power that you'll accuse me, the father of three beautiful biracial babies, in engaging in racism. You can believe in a border without being racist.
RYAN: I was never talking about your family. Don't try to spin this because you don't want to talk about the fact you're with the extremists in that belief.
SCOTT: The stakes here are so high. Let's talk about where things stand. Our friends at FiveThirtyEight say Democrats are more favored to hang on to the Senate. If they win in Georgia, their odds of flipping the Senate go up to 64 percent. nd if they win that Ohio senate race as well it goes up to 73 percent. With margins this close, every single race matters[.]
CBS’s liberal cheerleading was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Chewy and Progressive. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from October 18, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
October 18, 2022
7:01 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Fiery Ohio Debate]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Tempers flare at a high-stakes debate for the Senate in Ohio where there's an extremely close race.
J.D. VANCE (R): When you insult their families, you strike a nerve with normal people.
CONGRESSMAN TIM RYAN (D-OH): I didn’t. I didn’t talk about you. I would never talk about your family, JD. I wasn't raised that way.
(....)
7:10 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Candidates Face-Off in Ohio Senate Race; Rep. Tim Ryan & J.D. Vance Hold Fiery Debate in Crucial Senate Race]
DOKOUPIL: Turning now to Ohio and a hot-tempered debate last night in a tight U.S. Senate race between Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance. According to an average of recent polls, this is how close the campaign is. Vance has a small edge, which is three weeks until Election Day. We've got our Robert Costa in Ohio where he’s been talking to voters concerned about the economy. Bob, good morning.
COSTA: Good morning, Tony. Ohio has long been a crucial battleground and this year is no exception, but the Senate race is much, much closer than strategists expected. The big question is whether Tim Ryan's working-class message will be enough.
VANCE: This just shows how desperate this guy is for political power.
RYAN: I think I struck a nerve with this guy.
COSTA: It was a showdown last night in one of the nation's closest Senate races with tense exchanges on abortion.
RYAN: This is not a guy who's ready to protect the rights of women.
VANCE: My basic view here is that we need to protect life in this country.
COSTA: And on immigration.
VANCE: You cannot pretend to be a defender of border security when you have voted against border wall funding multiple times.
RYAN: This guy has invested into dozens of companies that used foreign workers. [SCREEN WIPE] And it has been Democrats, and it has been Republicans.
COSTA: Throughout the race, Ryan has cast himself as an independent voice, keeping President Biden, who lost Ohio by eight percentage points in 2020, at bay. [TO RYAN] Do you want President Biden to come to Ohio?
RYAN: No. I want to be the face of the campaign. I want to be the guy who delivers the messages, gives the speeches.
COSTA: It's been an uphill climb, but Ryan insists he can run his own race, galvanizing voters who are alarmed about the future of abortion rights and winning over working-class voters who went for Donald Trump in 2020. [TO RYAN] A lot of people in Ohio are feeling economic pain. What’s your message to them in this closing stretch?
RYAN: I get it. I see it, you know. I understand what you're going through. Like, I think workers need a tax cut immediately. The only way to help people early on right now in the short term is put some more money in their pocket.
COSTA: CBS News’s latest polling shows that, nationally, views of the economy have gotten worse amid continuing inflation and voters are feeling it personally. More now say their own financial situation is bad.
OHIO VOTER: And I'm just tired of the direction the country is going. And it's time for a change. Things were going so great under the previous President. I don't understand how Joe Biden won.
COSTA: Trump’s endorsement might be enough for author of Hillbilly Elegy, says county GOP chairman Jim Renacci.
FORMER CONGRESSMAN JIM RENACCI (R): In Ohio, the Trump endorsement will definitely help and it’s definitely going to be a big key. J.D.’s just got to put that message out there that he's not a career politician. He's somebody who is from the outside, and that's what Ohioans want to see.
COSTA: But Democrats say some Trump voters remain in play.
RYAN SUPPORTER: Trump supporters in the past just were looking for new leadership. That didn't quite work out very well for the country at all.
COSTA: Vance, who was unavailable for an interview, will rally later this week with Senators Tim Scott and Tom Cotton, who conservative Trump allies, underscoring how Vance wants that Trump voter to make sure they come out in November. Gayle?
GAYLE KING: All right. The clock is ticking. Thank you very much, Bob.
(....)
8:01 a.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Ohio Senate Race]
DOKOUPIL: A high stakes debate turns up the heat in a crucial Ohio Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance.
RYAN: This is not a guy who's ready to protect the rights of women.
VANCE: We need to protect life in this country.
