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Ted Cruz to speak at annual Washington County GOP’s Reagan Dinner

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Aug. 5, 2022. (AP Photo)

MARIETTA — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will be in Marietta this month campaigning for a Senate candidate backed by Donald Trump.

Cruz will attend the annual Washington County Republican Party Reagan Dinner on Oct. 21 to campaign for J.D. Vance, 38, a lawyer and venture capitalist.

Tickets are $65 each for the event at the Dyson Baudo Center at Marietta College and are available at the Republican Party headquarters at 282 Front. St., Marietta, on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons or by emailing organizer Tonya Booth at tonyabooth59@gmail.com. Reservations must be made before Oct. 11.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Vance and Cruz will speak at the dinner.

“The thing we’re most excited about is the exposure this is bringing to Southeastern Ohio,” Washington County GOP Events Chairwoman Tonya Booth said. “For the longest time, this was an area ignored by lots of candidates and by the people in Columbus. But this will give us the kind of attention we need to bring more economic prosperity to this area, if Columbus sees that we are viewed as a vital partner.”

The Washington County Democratic Party may have a rally or other event on the day of the dinner, but that has yet to be determined, according to Willa O’Neill, chairman of the party. O’Neill said she will talk to other party representatives.

Vance is a native of Middletown, Ohio. He returned to Ohio in 2017 after living most of his life in San Francisco.

His book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” helped him become a conservative commentator.

Vance was endorsed by the ex-president in April several weeks before the May primary.

He is running against Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat.

The latest FiveThirtyEight poll on Sept. 30, shows Ryan and Vance in a dead heat with Ryan at 45 percent and Vance at 44 percent. Among other polls, Spectrum News/Siena College Poll on Sept. 27 puts Ryan ahead of Vance 46% to 43%, a difference within the margin of error.

Cruz at one time was at odds with Trump and called him a pathological liar in 2016. He has been in the Senate since 2013 and is a former solicitor general for the state of Texas.

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