FILE - Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, speaks, May 3, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

Top donors — namely national Democratic establishment groups —are refraining from pouring money into the highly competitive Ohio Senate race. 

Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance are nearly tied in the polls less than one month before the election. But tech billionaire Peter Thiel, one of Vance’s main fundraisers, signaled earlier this month that he is done focusing on the Ohio race, instead putting his money toward Arizona’s Republican candidate Blake Masters. Thiel told guests at a Masters fundraising event that he believes Vance is on track to win Ohio and no longer needs the boost he required during the GOP primary, CNBC reported on Oct. 3.

On the other side, national establishment Democrats aren’t putting money into Ryan’s campaign, making his supporters worry that the party will regret not doing more to try to pull him ahead of Vance, NBC News reported. Dave Chase, Ryan’s campaign manager, tweeted earlier this month about tight polling numbers, noting that Ryan has “defended his lead with no outside spending from national Dem groups.”

The Democratic establishment is ignoring Ohio as Vance and Ryan lock into a statistical dead heat, according to the latest Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of Ohio voters. The poll showed that 46% said they plan to vote for Vance and 45% plan to vote for Ryan, with 9% undecided. 

Up to this point, Vance’s campaign has attracted an “unprecedented amount of outside spending,” his campaign media strategist Justin Barasky told NBC News. 

Though Vance has struggled to raise money compared to Ryan — bringing in just over $3.6 million compared to Ryan’s $21 million, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets — national groups have helped him catch up with more than $30 million worth of advertising, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, Ryan set fundraising records in Ohio, reporting raising $17.2 million in the third quarter, double what he raised in the quarter prior, the Warren Tribune Chronicle reported. But he’s spending money almost as fast as he can raise it, with much of it going toward advertising. 

Despite the recent press from this month’s two debates, Democrats are concerned they will fall behind in a high-stakes election that will play a key role in determining which party controls the Senate.

“If we lose this race by a few points and the Senate majority,” a Democratic strategist told NBC News, “blame should squarely fall on the D.C. forces who unfairly wrote off Ohio.”