During the Ohio Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Forum on Friday, candidate Josh Mandel got out of his seat to make threatening remarks to his opponent, Mike Gibbons.
The argument started when Mandel accused his opponent of making “millions” off of Chinese petroleum stock, which Gibbons denied.
“You may not understand this because you’ve never worked in the private sector in your entire life,” Gibbons said.
Mandel immediately jumped out of his seat and angrily got in Gibbons’ face. “Two tours in Iraq, don’t tell me I haven’t worked,” he yelled.
“You don’t know squat,” Gibbons responded.
When the moderator directed Mandel back to his seat, tensions eased, but Gibbons repeated himself, “You don’t know squat”.
“Two tours in Iraq, don’t tell me I haven’t worked,” Mandel said again. “You back off. Watch, watch. You’re dealing with the wrong guy. You watch what happens, p*ssy. You watch what happens”.
Another candidate, J.D. Vance, said the exchange was ridiculous and told his two opponents to sit down.
The Daily Caller reported that Scott Guthrie, Mandel’s campaign manager, said “Mike Gibbons got upset tonight that he was called out for his investments in Chinese oil”. “He claims not to remember the investment, but it’s part of a pattern of Gibbon’s entire career making money by taking American companies and selling them to foreign interests”.
In a statement, Gibbons claimed “Josh Mandel is an unhinged, unfit, and flailing — because he’s losing”. “We can’t leave this race to child-like candidates. We need an adult in the room and Josh Mandel has proven that he is not capable of being that for Ohioans”.