The Race to the Right In Ohio

Despite Donald Trump losing the Presidential election by more than 7 million votes, Republicans across the country are moving full speed ahead aboard the Trump Train. CPAC 2021 is currently underway in Orlando, Florida and based on the pictures, you’d have no idea Trump has abysmal approval ratings and was just kicked out of office by the majority of the American populace, hindering him from serving a second term. Nationally, the GOP lacks clear leadership at the top of the party and their party is now ran by right-wing cultural and economic extremists who are consumed by a cult-of-personality leader known as Donald Trump. A cult-of-personality is when an individual uses the techniques of mass media, propaganda, the big lie, patriotism and government-organized demonstrations and rallies to create an idealized, heroic, and worshipful image of a leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise according to Wikipedia. That definition fits Donald Trump to a tee and despite his ban from social media, he’s still captivating the minds of die-hard Republicans by occasionally showing up on Fox News to ramble incoherently about literal nonsense. 

In Ohio specifically, Jane Timken stepped down as the Chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party in order to run for the Senate in 2022. Timken seems to be respected by the Republican establishment but now she’s taking a brief detour to the far-right to appease the butt-hurt Trump supporters here in Ohio. Sadly, our state continues to trend redder primarily thanks to rural areas refusing to vote for and support Democrats. The only rural county in Ohio that actually votes for and elects Democrats reliably is the liberal stronghold of Athens County. The urban areas have gotten a bluer, but the rural counties have gotten much redder, much faster to make up for any state-wide gains for Democrats here in Ohio.  

Timken’s main primary opponent appears to be native grifter, Josh Mandel. Like many of the Republican statewide leaders, Mandel was seasoned in the Ohio State House where blatant corruption and disregard for human decency is the norm, thanks in large part to extreme gerrymandering. After his brief tenure at the State House, Mandel was elected the Ohio Treasurer in 2010 and then ran for US Senate in 2012, losing to Sherrod Brown by 6 points. Because Mandel appears to be a glutton for punishment, he attempted to run again against Sherrod Brown in 2018 but then dropped out in January of 2018, just one month before Ohio’s filing deadline. This left Ohio Republicans scrambling to find a new candidate and Mandel angered many establishment Republicans by his sudden withdrawal from the race. Naturally, the Ohio GOP ended up running a literal used car salesman in Jim Renacci, who also lost to Sherrod Brown but by 7 points.  

Both Mandel and Timken have launched their 2022 Senate Campaigns and they want all voters to know they’re both die-hard Trump supporters who want to push an “America First Agenda.” As we learned from Trump’s train wreck of a presidency, an “America First Agenda” is just code-word for a pro-corporate, anti-labor and anti-regulation agenda that’s peppered with subtle racist dog whistles to attract the white supremacists. If you want a real “America First” agenda, look no further than what Sherrod Brown believes in and advocates for as Ohio’s Senator. He is a pro-worker and pro-labor public servant who is actually relatable to regular Ohioans. He has a pristine reputation for fighting for working-class Ohioans and never sells them out to big corporations. Brown’s reputation and message also does moderately well in rural Ohio, something most state-wide Democrats have struggled with lately.

Finding a candidate that has integrity and can connect with the average Ohioan is what Ohio Democrats need to tap into when considering potential Senate candidates for 2022. Although Ohio is a Trump state, it’s very possible someone like Amy Acton could upend everything and win due to her stellar reputation, high name recognition and public service to Ohio during a global health pandemic. She’s also from the Mahoning Valley which has taken a sharp turn to the right in the last decade. Making ground there would definitely help put Democrats over the top in 2022. Democrats need someone who is authentic and actually cares about the average Ohioan, unlike artificial people like Timken and Mandel. Amy Acton is the Democrat’s best shot at somehow sending two Senators to Washington DC. For some reason, I have a feeling a try-hard politician with an inflated ego looking to advance their burgeoning political career will primary Acton and mess this up for all of us. I suspect it’ll be Timken representing the Republicans in the general election, because what self-respecting Ohioan would actually vote for a guy like Josh Mandel who appears on TV with a fake southern accent, yet is from the Cleveland suburbs? To fellow Democrats, it’s time to rally around Acton for the betterment of our state and our party.