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Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board Endorses Nan Whaley For Governor  

November 4, 2022

“Nan Whaley will do what DeWine won’t: stand up against those who would turn back the clock.”

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board endorsed Nan Whaley for governor, saying what Democrats have known all along: Ohio needs a governor that leads when times are tough, not one who caves to political pressure. 

The Dispatch editorial pointed out how DeWine has abdicated his duty as Ohio’s governor for the last four years, bending to Matt Huffman’s will and letting the extreme state legislature call the shots. The Dispatch contrasts that record with Whaley’s, who has shown she’s willing to stand up and fight for what’s best for working Ohioans. 

“DeWine has demonstrated a reluctance to lead by not standing up to extremists in his own party. By not doing so, he is failing the people of Ohio and is enabling those pushing divisive and dangerous agendas that can have dire economic and social repercussions. Ohio needs a balance of power in our state government to align to where the public stands. Nan Whaley understands the issues Ohioans face and is willing to fight to solve them. She will do what Mike DeWine refuses to do. She will stand up for all Ohioans. She will lead,” writes the Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board. 

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board here and below: 

  • Ultra-conservatives in the Ohio General Assembly are driving the state so far right past the will of the people that the state is becoming unrecognizable.
  • Despite the moral consequence and economic consequence, the current governor, Republican Mike DeWine, refused to use the power voters have given him to curtail those legislative efforts not supported by a majority of Ohioans.
  • Democrat Nan Whaley, his opponent and the former mayor of Dayton, is running on an agenda that puts Ohioans and our small businesses first. She recognizes the value of diversity, advocating for Ohio’s workers and quality education from the start.
  • Nan Whaley will do what DeWine won’t: stand up against those who would turn back the clock.
  • Instead, DeWine has played second or third fiddle to lawmakers who were not elected by voters statewide.
  • DeWine has not set Ohio’s tone or tamped down voices in his party who want to drive Ohio to the extreme when it comes to gun laws, gerrymandering and proposed legislation that would only deepen homophobia, racism, sexism, and transphobia (i.e. proposals that would outlaw classroom lessons about slavery and the evils of the Nazi party and on legislation that would require genital inspections for student athletes).
  • DeWine has been consistently run over or outshined by members of his own party — most notably State Senate President Matt Huffman.
  • “When we look at Mike DeWine, it’s not that he’s conservative or liberal. It is that he’s weak,” Whaley, said when she met with editorial board members from the Dispatch and other USA TODAY Network Ohio newspapers. “When John Kasich was the governor, John Kasich was in charge. When Mike DeWine becomes governor — the same party — Matt Huffman becomes in charge. So that’s not necessarily an issue of party. It’s an issue of leadership.”
  • DeWine was invited to the meeting but declined to attend. He has also refused to debate Whaley, marking only the second time since 1978 that Ohio did not have a gubernatorial debate.
  • DeWine owes it to the voters of Ohio to defend his record.
    • As a member of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, DeWine did not fight to ensure voting districts were drawn to represent the will of Ohioans who back in 2015 and 2018 overwhelmingly voted to break from partisan gerrymandering which gives one political party an advantage over the other.
    • He did not fight to maintain the state’s strong COVID-19 response, leaving small businesses and school board members to make calls about public safety that should have come from him.
    • Likewise, DeWine has not fought nearly hard enough when it comes to gun control measures, something he pledged to do following the Dayton mass shooting which left nine innocent people and the gunman dead just 20 miles from DeWine’s Greene County home.
  • Whaley was among the elected officials and community leaders on stage with DeWine at a vigil just hours after the shooting when the crowd drowned out the governor with chants of “do something.”
  • Whaley, the first woman to win a major party gubernatorial nomination in Ohio history, has made abortion rights central to her political platform that also includes clean energy jobs and “growing the jobs of the 21st century, supporting Ohio entrepreneurs, and raising wages for all Ohioans.”
  • Nearly 70% of likely Ohio voters who took part in a recent USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll opposed Ohio’s new abortion law. Exceptions for victims of rape or incest were supported by 84%.
  • The governor dodged a question about his support of a near total abortion ban during a recent meeting with the Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer editorial board, indicating that the ball would be in the Legislature’s hands in light of the fact that the issue can be taken to voters.
  • Times will be challenging for whomever Ohio chooses as governor.
  • DeWine has demonstrated a reluctance to lead by not standing up to extremists in his own party. By not doing so, he is failing the people of Ohio and is enabling those pushing divisive and dangerous agendas that can have dire economic and social repercussions. Ohio needs a balance of power in our state government to align to where the public stands. Nan Whaley understands the issues Ohioans face and is willing to fight to solve them. She will do what Mike DeWine refuses to do. She will stand up for all Ohioans. She will lead.
  • We urge you to vote for Nan Whaley for governor.

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