Ohio newspaper accused of racism for political cartoon mocking JD Vance, his Indian American wife

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An Ohio newspaper is facing backlash for a political cartoon taking aim at Republican Senate candidate JD Vance at the expense of his wife. 

The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's major newspaper, published a cartoon last week depicting Democratic candidate Tim Ryan in the uniform of the Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Cleveland Indians, while Vance appears in a San Francisco Giants uniform with a quote bubble.

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"Only Indians name change I support is my wife's to 'Senator J.D. Vance's Spouse,'" Vance exclaimed in the cartoon on Wednesday.

Vance's wife, Usha Vance, is Indian American. Cleveland's baseball team had been known as the Indians for over a century until changing its name to the Guardians last year.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance wave to supporters after winning the primary on May 3, 2022, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"While the Cleveland Baseball team’s name change didn’t come up in the first debate between Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance, it had in a primary debate and Fox News interview when Vance hit former opponent Matt Dolan, whose family owns the team, over the name change. Vance had called out the Dolan’s for weakness giving into the ‘woke mob,'" political cartoonist Jeff Darcy explained in the article. 

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Darcy wrote, "So don’t expect to see J.D. Vance sporting any Cleveland Guardians garb. He’s more likely to be in San Francisco Giants gear. Vance had transplanted to the bay city where he made his $millions as a venture capitalist, wrote his bestselling memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,' met and married his wife, Usha, an attorney who works for a San Francisco-Washington D.C. law firm. Usha Chilukuri Vance is an Indian American."

The Plain Dealer endorsed Ryan on Sunday. 

The political cartoon faced backlash on social media. 

"The left’s embrace of blatant racism continues apace," columnist David Marcus tweeted. 

"Many of the political cartoonists used by newspapers have just become the worst people," journalist Jim Stinson wrote. 

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Republican Senate candidate JD Vance greets attendees during the Farm Science Review event in London, Ohio, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vance campaign for comment and was given a statement attributed to Vance's chief strategist Jai Chabria. 

"I’m a first generation Indian American and my immigrant parents taught me to love this country as much as they do, which is why I’ve never been one to bring race into the conversation. However, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s woke editors published a cartoon that explicitly encourages bigotry against Indian women by perpetuating a stereotype," Chabria said in the statement.  

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Chabria then leveraged the paper's endorsement of Ryan and challenged the Democrat to speak out against the political cartoon. 

"Tim should step up and condemn their actions immediately, or perhaps this racism is ok because it’s against a Republican," Chabria said. 

Rep. Tim Ryan, the Democratic Senate nominee, speaks with voters at a tailgate party at The Ohio State University football game, on Oct. 1, 2022, in Columbus. (Tim Ryan Senate campaign )

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The Plain Dealer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Ryan campaign. 

The Ohio Senate race is one of the most closely watched contests in the country. Vance has a two-point advantage over Ryan, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. The winner will succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.