Ohio is an election hotbed this year. You have congressional races that are shaping up to be competitive, a toss up Governor’s races, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D. OH) running for re-election, down ballot state races are also competitive and Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan (R. OH-14) embroiled in a huge scandal. But there’s one Ohio race we shouldn’t overlook and that’s the upcoming special election in Ohio to fill outgoing Rep. Pat Tiberi’s (R. OH-12) seat. As CNN points out, Democrats see this a great opportunity for Democrats to pull off another Conor Lamb-style win. This is a race between Danny O’Connor (D. OH-12) and Troy Balderson (R. OH-12):
Lamb's unexpected victory was a shot of adrenaline for Democrats in red districts that have long been out of reach, proving that a moderate Democrat who pledges to work with Republicans and calls for new leadership in the Democratic Party could win in the Trump era by feeding off the acrimony the President has caused with suburban voters.Though they have different backgrounds, O'Connor, who is currently the Franklin County Recorder, is looking to do just that.Young, eager and moderate, O'Connor has turned his upbringing as a Democrat in rural and red Ohio into a pragmatism that has positioned him squarely outside the fiery rhetoric and heated acrimony that has defined Washington for years.He is pledging to focus on health care, bringing back jobs to the district through infrastructure reform and working with the President if it helps. He is also looking to nationalize the race, hoping for a Lamb-like boost by attention."We are used to having the eyes of America on Ohio. We are used to that. Well, they are back," he told supporters at one of his campaign offices. "And a win could send a hell of a message."But he hopes to win by largely avoiding the issues that are animating the leftward flank of the party. While he called the family separations at the border "problematic," he disagrees with abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and says it is important to "strictly enforce those immigration laws." And while he spends time talking about health care, he is noncommittal on universal coverage.One issue that he is focusing on is replacing Pelosi as the top of Democratic politics, even putting the issue in his first TV ad of the cycle.O'Connor derisively refers to Congress as a "debate society" when asked about the infighting and suggests that if he wins in August, he will happily work with Republicans in Ohio and Washington on issues."I think we are a much better country than we have let on over the last few years," O'Connor said. "When we look at our current political system, we just need to be a little more cooperative. We need to sit down and say this is where I am, this is where you are, why can't we work together?"As much as O'Connor's special election will be a test of the blue wave Democrats hope is about to crash, it will also be a test of whether his is a brand of liberalism, one that has worried many in the progressive wing of the party, is palatable for the left of the party.As O'Connor prepared for his final month-long push of the campaign, he watched voters in New York back Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the upstart 28-year old Democratic Socialist who upset powerful Rep. Joe Crowley in their primary.O'Connor shares more in common with Kasich than Ocasio Cortez and even released an ad on Thursday that touts his ties to the Republican."I voted for John Kasich the last 3 times, I voted for Trump because I didn't like the way things were going in Washington, and now I'm supporting Danny O'Connor," Shannon Ward, a 40-year old mother of two from Delaware, Ohio says in the spot. "John Kasich and Danny O'Connor both don't worry about the labels of Democrat or Republican, they're going to get things done either way."But over a Coors Lite at Old Bag of Nails Pub in suburban Columbus, O'Connor argued that the party is big enough for both of them."We are country that is comprised of so many different types of people and regions," he said. "Here in the heartland, things may be a little different than they are on the coasts."
Winning this special election would not be a huge victory for Democrats, it’s also a great way to make it a referendum on Trump:
Since 1920, the 12th District, albeit with varying boundaries, has only sent two Democrats to Congress. For four terms (1931 through 1938) during the Great Depression, the district's voters elected Democrat Arthur Lamneck, once a Columbus City Council member, to the U.S. House. For one term (1981-1982), the district's voters elected the late Robert N. Shamansky, a Columbus Democrat. The Republican who unseated Shamansky in 1982 was an up-and-coming state senator named John Kasich. When Kasich left Congress, Tiberi succeeded him.
According to census data, the median age of the 12th District's residents is 38.9 years. That's slightly younger than Ohio's statewide median age, which is 39.3 years. In terms of median household income, the 12th Congressional District appears to be better off than Ohio as a whole. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that median household income in the 12th District is $67,415; Ohio's statewide median household income is $50,674. And 41 percent of the congressional district's residents age 25 or over have earned a bachelor's degree or higher; in contrast, the comparable statewide proportion is 26.7 percent.
Special elections don't necessarily signal trends. Turnout is iffy, and early in August, many voters may be vacationing. But if Democrat O'Connor defeats Republican Balderson in what has been a GOP preserve for 88 of the last 98 years, Donald Trump has problems in Ohio.
Still, the Balderson-O'Connor race is just one of 2018's pageants. Ohio politicos' army will keep marching till early November, when voters will elect Democrat Richard Cordray or Republican Mike DeWine governor; fill all other statewide elected executive offices; elect two Supreme Court justices; give Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown another Senate term or pick Republican challenger Jim Renacci to replace Brown; fill the Ohio House's 99 seats; and fill 17 of the state Senate's 33 seats.
And O’Connor has picked up the endorsement of the Columbus Dispatch:
O’Connor calls for new leadership in Congress. “We need change on both sides of the aisle,” he says, and sees his youth and “fresher perspective” as a way to break the influence of special interests that are “dictating the conversation.” It’s why his campaign is not taking contributions from corporate PACs.
He favors rebuilding roads and bridges instead of a border wall (although he favors strong border security through enforcement), would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and work to assure access to health care. “If you’re willing to work 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t live in poverty.” He views Medicare and Social Security as earned social contracts and would not raise eligibility ages.
Calling for common-sense solutions to gun violence, O’Connor would support a “red flag” law to take guns away from those judged to be a threat, which Balderson rejects. O’Connor advocates applying the federal no-fly list to deny guns to those deemed too dangerous to board airplanes.
Balderson unabashedly supports President Donald Trump and declines to criticize other than to acknowledge not liking his tweets. He supports building Trump’s wall for border security, sees the tax cuts enacted this year as a “huge” positive and says, “I don’t have any heartache over his policy.”
A strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Balderson would not take guns even temporarily from licensed carriers in mental distress, although he calls for more mental-health services and would keep those who are mentally ill from acquiring guns in the first place.
On entitlements, Balderson did not support Ohio’s Medicaid expansion and would raise the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security. He favors repealing and replacing the federal health reform Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, which he says has caused southeast Ohio to lose physicians. He would retain a requirement, though, for health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions.
Both candidates favor a pathway to citizenship for the Dreamers brought to this country illegally as children and would like another look at the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By all accounts, both O’Connor and Balderson are decent, successful men who would work hard for voters of the 12th District.
But one supports a reasonable, thoughtful approach to addressing the important issues facing Congress and our country, and the other supports a president who uses tactics and pushes policies that this Editorial Board has denounced. Our endorsement goes to Danny O’Connor.
Let’s get an early start on that Blue Wave. Click here to donate and get involved with O’Connor’s campaign.