Ohio Democrats

Donate

Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes

DeWine Debate Watch: Day 17

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 17, 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 Dispatch Opinion here and below: 

The Columbus Dispatch: Why isn’t Mike DeWine debating Nan Whaley for governor?
Jill Zimon
September 13, 2022 

  • According to a new USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll, voters overwhelmingly say the candidates for governor and U.S. Senate should debate. In fact, 84 percent of them say the candidates should debate.
  • We agree with the majority of Ohioans, and we remain ready to sit down with both sides of each race and help them respond to the electorate.
  • How did these candidates get to the middle of September without sitting down to talk with each other about debates?
  • Maybe candidates and campaigns are out of practice and are taking advantage of the break the pandemic gave in-person demands. Nevertheless, this survey shows that the public believes the leaders who want to serve them should get in shape and show up for in-person experiences.
  • They often point to joint appearances at editorial interviews where editorial boards have their own agenda as they consider who to endorse. These are worthwhile endeavors, but they’re not televised debates.
  • Other critiques say debates don’t offer new information about candidates, are only about entertainment, and don’t change people’s minds.
  • Now, eight out of 10 Ohioans have said they too know the reality, separate from the campaigns’ rationales: in Ohio, we expect our gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates to debate.
  • Incumbent gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine actually helped set this expectation. He debated all three times when he ran for the U.S. Senate, including when he had a big lead in 1994 over Joel Hyatt, going on to win 53-39%, and in 2000, when he debated Ted Celeste and won 60-36%.
  • And with the governor’s office, only once in Ohio’s last 10 gubernatorial races has there not been a general election debate, even when the candidates were not close.
  • Those candidates and campaigns didn’t wait for a poll to tell them the right thing to do and the best way for one candidate to show how they contrast with another. They did what candidates do in strong democracies: show up, stand up, and speak out on a debate stage together.
  • This tradition may be at risk, but it is more important than ever: With an open senate seat that has drawn international attention because of its role in the balance of power in our nation’s capital, Ohio’s first-ever female nominee for governor, and tens of thousands of new registrants in Ohio, people want to see and hear for themselves.

###

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.

###

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.

###

DeWine Debate Watch: Day 15

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 15, 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 Dayton Daily News here and below: 

Dayton Daily News: Checking The Issues: Sharp Differences In Governor Candidates As Race Nears End
Jim Gaines
September 11, 2022 

  • The Ohio Debate Commission has scheduled a gubernatorial debate at 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. [Nan] Whaley has accepted, but [Mike] DeWine has not responded.
  • Jill Zimon, executive director of the Ohio Debate Commission, said the body has not heard from the DeWine campaign since May. The commission has not yet set a final date for acceptance, or decided what to do if he doesn’t participate, she said.
  • [Whaley Communications Director Courtney] Rice said Whaley not only agreed to the Ohio Debate Commission event, but has accepted an invitation from the Nexstar TV group and a joint forum at the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Nexstar has five Ohio stations, including WDTN in Dayton.
  • Rice said Whaley’s campaign is also talking with two other organizations that have not announced debates because they’re waiting for a response from DeWine.
  • “If Gov. DeWine isn’t willing to defend his record, why is he even running for reelection?” Rice said.

###

DeWine Debate Watch: Day 12

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 12, 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: 

Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion: Dan Sewell: Ohio Governor Might Sit Out Debates While Sitting On Poll Lead
Dan Sewell
September 7, 2022 

  • Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is sounding like a debate-dodger. The Republican incumbent hasn’t agreed so far to debating his Democratic challenger, former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley. He hasn’t ruled out formal debates, but he keeps talking about alternatives such as newspaper endorsement meetings.
  • Apparently, people should have taken the opportunity to ask the governor about Ohio infrastructure needs while he was eating a sauerkraut ball or admiring the 4-H Club members’ market lambs.
  • “I don’t think there’s been any governor that’s ever had more press conferences than me,” DeWine also said. That might be true, and DeWine has usually been accessible to the news media over the years.
  • But that’s not the point.
  • Debates are an opportunity for voters to compare and contrast candidates in real time; seeing how they answer each other’s challenges to their records, how quick they are thinking on their feet when hit with unexpected questions that go beyond their talking points, and how clear they are on their visions for the state.
  • And they can produce defining moments, such as the angry nose-to-nose confrontation this year between former state Treasurer Josh Mandel and businessman Mike Gibbons that made them look decidedly un-senatorial during a Republican primary debate for the Senate nomination.
  • So why is DeWine, who at 75 has been running in campaigns in Ohio since Whaley, now 46, was a baby, balking at debating? “If Mike DeWine is afraid to debate me and defend his record as governor, why is he even running for-election?” [Nan] Whaley asked in a Sept. 2 tweet.

###