Ohio isn’t a must-watch swing state in national politics anymore. But Ohio’s Democratic delegation has some ideas on how to change that
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Ohio isn’t a must-watch swing state in national politics anymore.
That’s clear from recent election results. Former President Donald Trump won the state easily, twice. Republicans control most statewide offices and have a veto-proof majority in both houses of the Ohio Legislature. Vice President Kamala Harris bought ads in Toledo and Youngstown to win over nearby Michigan and Pennsylvania voters, not Ohioans.
But it appeared in subtle ways at the Democratic National Convention, too. Many of the national party’s rising stars didn’t swing by the Ohio delegation’s breakfasts. Just a few Ohio politicians − and a social media influencer who lost two central Ohio races − were tapped to make convention floor speeches. The Ohio delegation’s seats in Chicago’s United Center aren’t front and center.
What do Ohio Democrats need to do to put the state back in play? The state’s delegation in Chicago had a few ideas.
Be on the ballot with popular issues
In 2023, Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana, protect abortion access and reject a GOP effort to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments.
Democrats see opportunity in these results. Voters in southeastern Ohio who backed Trump by 50 percentage points also voted to legalize marijuana, an issue that many Democrats have supported and many Republicans have fought against for years.
The abortion rights amendment passed in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, which Trump flipped from Democratic control in recent elections.
“If the abortion issue were on the ballot right now in 2024, Ohio would go blue,” said state Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid. “I believe that 100%.”
But Democrats need to tackle the disconnect between Democratic policies, which many voters support, and statewide Democratic candidates, which voters don’t.
That’s on Democrats to tell voters where they stand, former Youngstown lawmaker Bob Hagan said. “All of us have to be singing out of the same choir book, and we have to get that together.” Until then, “Ohio’s not in play.”
Attract national money
Polls suggest Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has an edge over Republican Bernie Moreno in a state that Trump is expected to win. Democrats attribute that to Brown’s longstanding history with voters. But a wad of cash from national donors helping his reelection bid doesn’t hurt either.
The race in Ohio is one of the closest watched in country and could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.
The Ohio Senate race is also one of the most expensive in the nation with $310 million spent so far, Axios recently reported.
Contrast that with 2022, when Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan was a prolific fundraiser but received little outside help against Republican JD Vance, who won that Senate race and is now Trump’s running mate.
That national money can make all the difference, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters said. But national donors aren’t automatically flocking to the Buckeye State anymore.
“You take it a year at a time. You make the case as you go,” Walters told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. “One of the things that is really an important part of my job as chair is to remind folks that we’re not going to fix it in a six-month cycle.”
Pass the Citizens Not Politicians amendment this fall
In November, Ohioans will vote on removing politicians from drawing congressional and state legislative maps. The Ohio Democratic Party collected signatures for this effort and endorsed it. National progressive groups are bankrolling the redistricting campaign.
Sen. Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, said passing this measure is “paramount.” Ohio College Democrats President Patrick Houlihan said the amendment would give Democrats a better seat at the table to work with Republicans. “It might net Democrats a few more seats, in theory.”
The Ohio Republican Party opposes the issue, saying it will give Democrats an unfair advantage by predetermining outcomes. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine says the measure will encourage gerrymandering.
Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, thinks it will improve voter participation.
“When you have districts that are drawn to please politicians, that are not competitive, that are skewed to one side, that give one party complete control, it actually weakens trust in democracy,” said Isaacsohn during a news conference Ohio Democrats held on redistricting during the DNC. “It says to voters, ‘We don’t really care about your preferences.’ And when you insult voters, they stop participating in as big of numbers.”
Wait for MAGA enthusiasm to die down
Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who in 2006 was the last Democrat to win a governor race, predicted that the Make America Great Again fervor over Trump will die down one day. Harris could expedite that if she wins in November; it’s a tight race, according to polls.
In recent elections, Trump’s endorsement has been the gold standard for Republicans in Ohio and across the nation, helping to propel the Senate bids of Vance and Moreno. But Strickland said that shine will wear off.
“The question is what will happen to the MAGA movement once (Trump)’s no longer relevant,” said Strickland, who lost a reelection bid in 2010 to GOP Gov. John Kasich. “I think that will give us an opportunity to reemerge as an equal competitor with the GOP in Ohio. … I don’t think Ohio is permanently a MAGA state.”
Strickland said that won’t happen this election, though. “I’m not predicting that Donald Trump’s going to lose Ohio but I am predicting that he’s not going to win Ohio by 8 percentage points.”
Run more candidates who excite young, Black, working-class voters
Democrats experienced a dramatic shift in enthusiasm when President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris. Suddenly, young, Black and female voters were paying much closer attention to the race.
Ohio could do that, too, Columbus delegate Morgan Harper said.
“The messenger does matter,” said Harper, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Joyce Beatty for Congress and Ryan for Senate. “You have to have people that both speak to the future that want to be a part of but also understand the pain that a lot of folks in Ohio have been feeling over the last 40 years of really bad economic policies.”
Protect voting rights
In 2023, Ohio Republicans passed a wave of voting changes they said were needed to curb voting fraud, which is a small fraction of votes cast. The changes require voters to present a photo ID if they cast in-person ballots, either early or on Election Day. The measure also changed rules for mail-in voting, drop boxes and the timeline for provisional ballots.
Democrats say those changes and a longstanding practice of removing voters from the rolls if they haven’t voted in recent elections aren’t helping.
Craig, the Columbus senator, would like to see voting access go in the opposite direction − even if that’s unlikely in the GOP-controlled Legislature.
“We need to expand our voting places. We need to expand opportunities on weeknights and Saturdays and Sundays to vote,” Craig said. “That’s a good thing. We ought not to fear that.”
Compete outside the 3 Cs
Ohio Democrats need to win outside the largest cities − or at least keep those races closer.
“Democrats are crushing it in the cities. It’s where a lot of the voters are and it’s where a lot of the voters are receptive to our values,” said Houlihan, who is also president of the Miami University College Democrats. “To stay relevant, generally, we need to invest everywhere and make sure that we’re informing people about who we are and what we stand for and how we can best help.”
Nelsonville Auditor Taylor Sappington, who ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in 2022, said Democrats’ path to victory runs through Appalachia. The party is investing in eastern and southern Ohio, he said, but it will take time to see the fruits of that labor.
“We’ve got to win the cities. We have to keep the suburbs and the exurbs progress going,” Sappington said. “But until we fix some of those margins in Appalachian, well, let’s just say we just have to fix those margins in Appalachia.”
Reporter Haley BeMiller contributed to this article.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio
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Publish date : 2024-08-22 15:16:00
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