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ICYMI: Columbus Dispatch: Up for grabs: Poll shows close races for 3 Ohio Supreme Court seats

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, a poll released from USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University shows Ohio Supreme Court races are ‘too close to call.’ Justice Jennifer Brunner, Judge Terri Jamison and Judge Marilyn Zayas are all polling within three points of their Republican opponents. Ohio is one of only four states in the country with the opportunity to flip its state Supreme Court, and the only one that could flip from GOP control to Democratic. That’s especially noteworthy with so much on the line for Ohio in the coming months – from abortion rights to redistricting. 

“Ohioans have an opportunity this year to reject the extremism of Republicans on the bench and put the Court back in the hands of justices who believe in the rule of law. For too long, we’ve seen the GOP-led court use the bench to play politics, and it’s time to restore integrity and justice back to the Supreme Court,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more from the Dispatch HERE and below: 

Columbus Dispatch: Up for grabs: Poll shows close races for 3 Ohio Supreme Court seats
Laura Bischoff 
September 14, 2022 

  • All three races for the Ohio Supreme Court are too close to call but about one in six voters has yet to make up their minds, a new USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll shows.
  • The survey of likely voters showed Justice Sharon Kennedy, a Republican, at 42.2% and Justice Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, at 41.8% in the race for chief justice − well within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
  • Justices Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer, both Cincinnati Republicans, are facing 1st District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas and 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Terri Jamison, respectively. DeWine leads Zayas 43.4% to 41% and Fischer leads Jamison 42.2% to 40.6%, the poll found.
  • Brunner, Jamison and Zayas lead among voters who are women, minorities or younger than 35.
  • Supreme Court decisions impact how much Ohioans pay in taxes, whether utility companies can add fees to ratepayers’ bills, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, what government records will be available to the public and more. Justices serve six-year terms.
  • Ohioans typically pay little attention to state supreme court races and often skip casting votes for judicial candidates. But this year could be different for three reasons:
    • Supreme court candidates will have their party affiliations listed on the ballot for the first time.
    • Current justices made high-profile redistricting decisions on Ohio legislative and congressional districts that likely voters followed.
    • The U.S. Supreme Court overturning Americans’ right to abortion may spike interest in state supreme court races.

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Ohio Democrats Bring the “Not-So-Strong Ohio” Tour to Dayton

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democrats brought their “Not-So-Strong Ohio” tour to Dayton as they travel across the state to lay out how Mike DeWine’s weakness is taking our state backward. 

For four years, DeWine has been too weak to stand up to extremists in his own party and the special interests fueling his campaign, instead serving as a rubber stamp for policies that hurt working families while failing to provide the leadership Ohioans expect from their governor. 

“On issues ranging from abortion rights to gun violence to redistricting to the largest public corruption scandal in state history, Mike DeWine’s weakness is costing Ohioans big time and taking our state backward,” said Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims, Jr.

Key examples of DeWine’s weakness include:

  • Abortion Rights – Mike DeWine told an anti-abortion special interest group that he wants ‘to go as far as he can’ to rip away reproductive rights in Ohio. 
  • Gun Violence – Despite promising to ‘do something’ to combat gun violence, DeWine caved to the gun lobby and signed gun bills that are opposed by Ohio law enforcement because they make Ohioans less safe. 
  • FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal – ‘State Official 1’ has been dodging questions since October about what he knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in state history, a scandal that continues to cost Ohioans $287,000 every single day. 
  • Redistricting – Even as he knew the maps he was passing were likely unconstitutional, DeWine ignored voters, caved to his own party and rubber stamped seven illegal, GOP-gerrymandered maps. 

With this kind of record, it’s no wonder Mike DeWine is scared to debate Nan Whaley. He’s spent his whole time as governor selling out to the wealthy and well-connected and leaving Ohio workers to pay the price. 

“Ohio deserves better. We need a governor who will stand up to the bad guys, not do their bidding. We need Nan Whaley,” said Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington.

Ohio Democrats, like former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, are offering a better way forward: moving our state forward by investing in working families and putting kitchen-table, economic issues front and center. 

“Under Mike DeWine, we’ll have extremists in the legislature running the show, pushing radical agendas that keep businesses away from our state and taking our economy backward,” said Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Chelsea Clark. 

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ODP Statement On Senate Republicans’ Proposed National Abortion Ban 

Columbus, OH – Following the news that Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a national abortion ban today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement: 

“Ohioans’ freedom to choose is on the line in this year’s election. While Tim Ryan would protect Ohioans’ most personal and fundamental rights, J.D. Vance would be another ‘Yes’ vote for Republicans’ extreme agenda of banning abortion nationwide. Ohioans have already seen the consequences of Mike DeWine and Ohio Republicans’ dangerous anti-abortion agenda with the cruel stories of rape survivors denied the healthcare they need, and when they go to the polls this fall they will make it clear that they don’t want to see more politicians insert themselves into these critical healthcare decisions.” 

BACKGROUND: 

  • J.D. Vance Said He “Would Like Abortion To Be Illegal Nationally.” According to Heartland Signal, “Vance has seemed to shift positions from earlier this year, when he told the political podcast ‘What’s Left?’ that he ‘would like abortion to be illegal nationally.’” [Heartland Signal, 7/26/22]
  • Headline: Gov. Mike Dewine Says He Wants To ‘Go As Far As We Can’ To Prohibit Abortions In Ohio [Columbus Dispatch, 6/17/22]
  • Headline: Arrest Prompts Criticism Of Republicans Like AG Dave Yost Who Questioned Story Of 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Who Left Ohio To Get An Abortion [Cleveland.com, 7/13/22]
  • Commentary: Ohio Republicans’ Attempted Erasure Of A 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Is Incredibly Sick And Disturbed [Ohio Capital Journal, 7/13/22]
  • Republican State Rep. Jean Schmidt Said That Her Bill That Would Ban Nearly All Abortions Is Likely To Pass In The Legislative Session After The November Elections. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, “The sponsor of legislation that would ban nearly all abortions in Ohio said babies conceived via rape or incest still have a right to life. Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Cincinnati area Republican, said on conservative talk radio earlier this week that her bill is likely to pass in the legislative session after the November elections. ‘I do believe we have the votes in both chambers, and we have the full support of the governor on this bill,’ she said.” [Ohio Capital Journal, 7/1/22]

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Vance And His Campaign To Counterprogram This Saturday’s OSU-Toledo Game

Columbus, OH – J.D. Vance and his campaign continue to promote their counterprogramming of the Ohio State-University of Toledo game, showing how out-of-touch their campaign really is with Ohioans. Having a campaign event on a fall Saturday night is already a cardinal sin in Ohio – something out-of-state fraud J.D. Vance has forgotten after spending most of his adult life on the coasts. 

As the Toledo Blade’s David Briggs put it, “In Ohio, it’s one thing to talk religion and politics at the dinner table. It’s quite another to mix church and (Ohio) State after dinnertime.” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Vance counterprogramming the OSU game “goes against all the rules and conventions.”

It’s no secret Vance really hates spending time in Ohio. He’s already said himself that he feels “out of place” here. His ideal San Franciscan Saturday consists of “tasty brunches, day trips to wine country, art-gallery tours.” And the word is out that Vance prefers to keep a light schedule on the weekends. 

When J.D. Vance hits the rally stage 173 miles northeast of Ohio Stadium this weekend for his  largest Ohio campaign event since his narrow primary win, it’ll be the worst of both worlds: ruining a light weekend for a lazy campaigner while shining a bright spotlight on the authenticity problem that has dogged his campaign from the very start.

Even Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville – and former Auburn coach – panned Vance’s counterprogramming, saying, “I need to call him and tell him he needs to watch what he’s doing.” 

“After moving from Ohio to California and admitting he feels ‘out of place’ in the Buckeye State, J.D. Vance must have forgotten how we spend fall Saturdays here. We encourage all Ohioans to watch the Ohio State-Toledo game with your family and friends and pay out-of-state fraud J.D. Vance’s counterprogramming no mind,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters.

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DeWine Debate Watch: Day 16

Columbus, OH — As debate season starts to ramp up in the closing weeks and days of the election cycle, Mike DeWine has continued to duck committing to debates across Ohio with Mayor Nan Whaley, even as the Mayor has already publicly agreed and challenged DeWine to a number of debates. DeWine also dodged a debate with his primary opponents earlier this year, signaling that he is scared to defend his record to Ohioans, especially since he’s debated political opponents in the past. It’s ‘DeWine Debate Watch’ Day 16, reminding Ohioans that DeWine won’t even try to make his case to them as he seeks re-election to the highest statewide executive office. 

“Mike DeWine clearly knows his record over the last four years of selling out working families in favor of the wealthy and well-connected is not going to be popular with Ohio voters. If DeWine can’t even muster the political courage to tell Ohioans why they should re-elect him, he doesn’t deserve the job and should be held publicly accountable for his cowardice,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Ohioans deserve answers from DeWine on a number of key issues, including his promise to ‘go as far as we can’ to rip away reproductive rights, his broken promise to ‘do something’ to combat gun violence in Ohio, his connections to the largest public corruption scandal in state history and his role in the failed redistricting process that produced GOP-gerrymandered maps and cost Ohioans millions of dollars. 

Read more from the Cincinnati Enquirer here and below: 

The Cincinnati Enquirer: Poll: 84% of Ohioans want governor, U.S. Senate candidates to debate
Jessie Balmert
September 13, 2022 

  • Ohioans overwhelmingly want candidates for the state’s top political posts to face off in one-on-one debates, according to a new USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll.
  • About 84% of likely Ohio voters said candidates for Ohio governor and U.S. Senate should debate each other.
  • Strong support for debates spanned across age, gender and political party, according to the new poll.
  • U.S. Senate hopefuls J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan are expected to debate, but they haven’t yet agreed to the same time and place.
  • In contrast, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has all but said he won’t debate Democratic challenger Nan Whaley, a former Dayton mayor.
  • “In the ideal world, there would be debates with both candidates appearing on the same stage, answering the same questions, so Ohioans could compare and contrast their ideas,” said Herb Asher, a professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University.
  • For DeWine, there could be more risk than reward, Asher said. Whaley would try to hammer DeWine over his signature on Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, the scandal-ridden nuclear bailout in House Bill 6 and the lack of action on gun reform since the Dayton mass shooting in 2019.

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