YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The race for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat is close. 

Republican candidate JD Vance is ahead of his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan by just a few percentage points, according to a recent poll released by Emerson College. 

The Turning Point Action political action committee is hoping to expand the GOP nominee’s lead by bringing a well-known member of the party to energize supporters.

A standing-room only crowd packed the Metroplex Expo Center on Friday to show support for Vance at the Unite & Win rally. 

“Thank you for being patriotic enough to care about this country enough to come out and fight for it,” Vance said. 

The event brought Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to the stage to voice his endorsement of Vance’s run for office to unite the party behind Vance. 

“Let’s do our part and let’s get him there,” DeSantis said. 

During the event, DeSantis highlighted some conservative policies he’s put in place as leader of the Sunshine State, and backed some of Vance’s campaign talking points like border security. 

“We need to have people in Congress who are going to be willing to support a wall and support everything that we need to do,” DeSantis said. 

“This has nothing to do with hating people south of the border,” Vance said. “We want a secure border because we love the people north of the border. We love the children in our own communities.”

Policies supporters like Karen Carbone, from Toledo, stand behind. 

“So we don’t have this fentanyl continually coming over and poisoning not just our young people, but people of all ages,” she said. 

Carbone was one of a long line of supporters who waited outside the venue for hours, looking forward to hearing DeSantis speak. 

“He listens to what people are asking for and he tries to implement the things that will make their lives easier,” she said. 

“He’s a fighter like Trump is,” she said. “Better at the game and more polished.”

Carbone said she’s hoping DeSantis’s stamp of approval helps Vance with votes come Election Day. She said she plans to cast her vote for her family’s future. 

“I want them to have a country they can be proud of,” Carbone said. “I don’t want them living in a weak country. I don’t want them looking over their shoulders that they’re gonna be politically persecuted. I want them to have all the freedoms that I enjoyed and everyone around me enjoyed.”

The Mahoning Valley rally was the third and final stop in the Republican governor’s tour supporting conservative candidates across the country this week. Previous rallies were held in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Election Day is November 8.