YOUNGSTOWN — In a debate that got heated at times, Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance, the two candidates for the U.S. Senate, argued that the other is too out of step with everyday Ohioans to be qualified for the job.

The two met Monday at Stambaugh Auditorium for what is the second and almost certainly the last debate.

In an intense exchange toward the end of the 21 WFMJ-TV-sponsored debate, the two were asked about the “great replacement theory,” which contends that whites are being replaced by minorities as a majority — including those who enter this country illegally — in a systematic approach.

Vance, a venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” said he doesn’t believe in the theory. He added “Democratic leadership” want “more and more immigration because if that happens they’ll ensure Republicans are never able to win another national election.”

Ryan, a 10-term U.S. House member from Howland, said the theory is “nonsense” and “is grounded in some of the most racially divisive writings in the history of the world, and this is who he’s running around with talking about replacement theory.”

Ryan specifically pointed to U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, two Republicans who have endorsed Vance.

“They want to stoke this racial violence,” Ryan said.

Vance, who had pointed out that his wife’s family is from southeast Asia, said Ryan’s comments were “disgusting. This is exactly what happens when the media and people like Tim Ryan accuse me of engaging in the great replacement theory. What happens is my own children, my biracial children, get attacked by scumbags online and in person because you are so desperate for political power, you’ll accuse me, the father of three beautiful biracial babies, of engaging in racism.”

Vance continued: “We are sick of it. You can believe in a (secure) border without being racist. You can believe in the country without being racist and this just shows you how desperate this guy is for political power. I know you’ve been in office for 20 years, Tim, and it’s a sweet gig, but you’re so desperate that you’ll slander me and slander my family. It’s disgraceful.”

Ryan responded: “I think I struck a nerve with this guy.”

Vance said, “You absolutely struck a nerve” when “you talk about my family, you absolutely struck a nerve.”

Ryan then said: “Don’t try to spin this. You don’t want to talk about the fact that you’re with these extremists” and the theory led to a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., of African-Americans by a white man.

After the debate, Ryan said Vance “talks about (replacement theory) all the time. I worry about like what happened in Buffalo. To me, that’s scary. It’s who he runs around with.”

Also after the debate, Vance said: “I don’t think I have an affiliation in the Republican Party with people who have racist views. People who have been accused of having racist views are very often, like me, people who just believe in a strong border, but have been accused by the media or by their Democratic opponents of having racist views.”

Most polls show the Senate race as a statistical tie.

Ryan also accused Vance of being out of touch with regular Ohioans and leaving the state for a period of time to live and work in San Francisco before returning to this state.

Vance said that Ryan has voted 100 percent of the time with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden, both Democrats, and he’s the one who’s out of touch.

Ryan said that Vance is so beholden to Donald Trump that he let the former president mock him at a Youngstown rally held last month to help Vance.

Vance said Ryan’s entire campaign is about “kissing up to national Democrats.”

The two also traded barbs on abortion, saying the other takes extremist views.

Vance criticized Ryan for not calling for restrictions on abortions while Ryan said Vance wants a national abortion ban.

Vance said Monday there should be exceptions, but “an incest exception looks different at three weeks of pregnancy than at 39 week of pregnancy.”

Vance said voters need to back him because “Tim Ryan has failed them, and Tim Ryan has failed to do his job. It’s really simple here. We need to go in a different direction in this country.”

Ryan said he’s worked hard to create an environment in the Mahoning Valley to “bring economic development back here and it’s shame that someone running for Senate wants to come to Youngstown and trash all the hard work we’ve done over the last 20 years.”