JD Vance was asked about his chili preferences and his spokesman wasn't happy

JD Vance, an American venture capitalist, lawyer, and Republican Ohio Senate candidate, was asked what his favourite spaghetti was - and his spokesperson wasn't happy.

The Los Angeles Times reported on the Senate race between Vance, who was also endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the race, and his Democrat opponent Rep. Tim Ryan.

The outlet notes that given those circumstances, Vance would be ahead of Ryan as Ohio is a red state.

However, poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight suggests that there is still a chunk of undecided voters.

Vance and Ryan's backgrounds could also be a factor in the tight race, as they're from similar areas.

The Times reported that the two politicians are both from Ohio and centre their messages on the state's white working class.

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Vance and Ryan are from cities that have been hit economically and function on manufacturing firms.

Still, Vance's adult life took place outside of the state. After graduating from Ohio State University with a Bachelor's degree, he went to Yale Law School in Connecticut, receiving his Juris Doctor.

Ryan has continuously highlighted that in his campaign ads. Vance attempted to counter Ryan's economic message with cultural appeals.

He accused Ryan of wanting to defund the police, blaming Democrats, China, and border security failures for fentanyl overdoses and more.

Vance has also attacked the national media.

"You might be aware that they don't always love me; they have some issues with me," he said earlier this month, according to the Times.

The outlet also noted that Vance and his staff members have also been directly quarrelsome with the media.

Reportedly, Vance was asked if he prefers Skyline Chili or Gold Star Chili, two of Cincinnati's favourite chili over spaghetti restaurant chains.

Unfortunately, this question asked by a Times reporter seemed to ruffle feathers, and Vance's press secretary scolded him for not asking to ask the candidate a question.

Once the line about the chili spaghetti hit the internet, people couldn't help but joke that there's "politics" in the food.

"Oh no, we've opened the door to Cincinnati spaghetti politics. Let me off this ride," tweeted Henry J. Gomez, the senior national political reporter for NBC News.

In fairness, @JDVance1 wasn't sure if Trump or Thiel prefer Gold Star or Skyline, so he wasn't able to answer," another quipped.

A third wrote: "Actually, let's refocus on this. This needs to be the debate that frames media attention in the last month of the campaign... does JD Vance prefer Skyline or Gold Star, and what is his regular order?"

Check out other reactions below.

The Times also reported that Ryan has tried to prevent himself from losing ground on cultural questions by focusing his campaign on economics. He believes that neither the Democrat nor Republican parties have bad reputations in Ohio and that the country needs to enter a "new era of politics."

"There may have been Democrats who went for Trump, and Republicans who went for Trump but don't want to go and support an insurrection, and they're kind of looking for a home," he told The Times.

Read the full report here.

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