Democratic rep to Sen. Vance on Ohio picket line: ‘First time here?’

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) appeared to make a slight dig at her Ohio delegation colleague Sen. J.D. Vance (R) during an interaction on a United Auto Workers (UAW) picket line in their home state.

“First time here?” Kaptur asked Vance, according to a video from local station WTVG 13 Action News.

“First time here, yeah,” Vance responded.

“Thank you for coming,” she then said.

The brief conversation followed an awkward interaction during which Kaptur held out a fist as Vance extended an open hand for a shake. Vance then attempted to extend his hand for a fist bump as Kaptur drew her hand back.

The two Ohio politicians were on a picket line at the Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio, according to a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter by 13Action News. The plant appears to be aligned with Stellantis, one of the Big Three auto companies UAW workers are striking against.

Vance has said that UAW members should compel President Joe Biden and the Biden administration to end the subsidization of the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

“Those who have claimed there will be a ‘just transition’ to EVs should visit Northeast Ohio for a glimpse into the industry’s bleak future,” Vance wrote in an op-ed for the Toledo Blade in September.

He also called on UAW leadership to act, arguing this is “an opportunity they cannot let slip through their grasp.”

“Rather than relenting to the Biden administration’s unjust transition to EVs, the UAW should use their leverage and force the President to stop subsidizing an industry that benefits Communist China more than it does American workers,” he continued.