JD Vance calls Big Tech 'the biggest threat to American democracy today'
GOP Senate candidate JD Vance slams tech companies 'in bed' with China at the Fox News town hall
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance took aim at Big Tech during Fox News' town hall on Tuesday, just one week before the 2022 midterms.
Vance was asked about his past comments calling the 2020 presidential election "stolen," something he told the Ohio audience he "won't run away from."
The GOP hopeful first pointed to a lower court decision in Pennsylvania that critics say did not follow the state's own constitution regarding election changes that were made due to the coronavirus pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He then pivoted to the national discussion over "threats to our democracy."
"I happen to think the biggest threat to American democracy today is Big Technology companies in bed with the communist Chinese who are censoring information about American politics," Vance said, which was welcomed by applause from the audience.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance participates in the Fox News Town Hall on November 1, 2022. (Fox News Channel)
"This is really, really important because look, Facebook, Twitter, you know, all these companies are now the digital public square. If those companies, which some of them have financial stakes in Communist China, if those companies are censoring information in a way that helps one political party or hurts another political party, I don’t care if it’s my political party being helped or hurt, I don’t want these companies interfering in our elections and I think that happened in 2020," Vance added.
Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar, File)
Vance also took a swipe at the media for describing Republicans like himself as "election deniers" for supporting election reform efforts like implementing voter ID laws.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think advocating those common sense measures does not mean, as some folks in the media say, that you are somehow an election denier. I want our elections to be as good as they possibly can be. Ohio is a great model, but I think other states could do a lot better," Vance said.
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A town hall attendee asked Vance if he believed in the integrity of Ohio's elections and what his message would be if he lost his race. Vance responded by giving full-throated praise for Ohio's elections and said he would accept the results if does not win.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JD Vance speaks on stage during CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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The Ohio Senate race is one of the most-watched contests in the country. The RealClearPolitics average of polls has Vance two points ahead of his Democratic opponent, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who also participated in the Fox News town hall.
Fox News' final Power Rankings analysis shows the Ohio Senate race as "Lean Republican."