Instead, the five Republican GOP Senate candidates quietly dined on pancakes with hundreds of Republicans in a suburban Cincinnati hotel conference room.
The belly-bumping confrontation between Gibbons and Mandel on the debate stage the night before had become the talk of political social media.
On Saturday, it only merited a brief joke from Gibbons.
“I brought in my old boxing coach and we went in a few rounds this morning,” Gibbons said.
Mandel stood by his actions in an interview with The Enquirer after the breakfast, which was hosted by the Northeast Hamilton County Republican Club.
“I’m a Marine, and I’m a fighter, and I’ll never back down from a fight,” Mandel said. “And I have no problem standing up to the squishy establishment Republicans.”
Would he do it again?
“Of course,” said Mandel, who is a former Ohio treasurer.
Gibbons, an investment banker from Cleveland, declined to be interviewed on Saturday. In a statement, his campaign spokesperson Samantha Cotten called Mandel “unhinged, unfit and flailing – because he’s losing.”
What happened Friday night
The anger boiled over Friday night on a debate stage in Gahanna, a Columbus suburb. Video footage showed Mandel standing up and approaching Gibbons while Gibbons was addressing the audience. They stood inches apart from each other, trading insults.
“You don’t know squat,” Gibbons said.
“Two tours in Iraq. Don’t tell me I haven’t worked,” Mandel said.
The two men had to be physically separated after threats of “you back off” and an expletive.
The faceoff didn’t seem to benefit Mandel or Gibbons. A straw poll from debate organizer FreedomWorks of the 400 people in the debate audience showed Mandel came in last out of five with 5%. Gibbons came in third with 16%.
The winner of the straw poll was “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance with 43%.
‘Embarrassing for the whole party’
The confrontation between Gibbons and Mandel doesn’t reflect well on the Republican Party, Vance told The Enquirer on Saturday.
“It was embarrassing, especially for those involved, ” Vance said “I think it was embarrassing for the whole party.”
Mandel came off looking the worst, Vance said.
Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, also running in the Senate primary, echoed Vance’s verdict, calling the event “embarrassing.” Matt Dolan, another GOP candidate, said Ohio voters deserved better.
“America is in crisis and we need adult leadership,” he said in a statement.
