Ohio is no longer a swing state to watch in national politics, but Ohio’s Democratic delegation has some ideas on how to change that.
Speech by Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Cincinnati Mayor Pureval said Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have taken action to repair the Brent Spence Bridge.
Ohio is no longer a swing state to watch in national politics.
This is evident from the latest election results. Former President Donald Trump won the state twice, easily. Republicans control most state-level offices and have a veto-proof majority in both houses of the Ohio Legislature. Vice President Kamala Harris took out ads in Toledo and Youngstown to win over voters from neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania, but not Ohio residents.
But it was also felt in subtle ways at the Democratic National Convention. Many of the national party’s rising stars made sure to attend the Ohio delegation’s breakfast. Only a few Ohio politicians – and a social media influencer who lost two elections in central Ohio – were chosen to give speeches at the convention. The Ohio delegation’s seats at the United Center in Chicago are not exactly prime spots.
What do Ohio Democrats need to do to get the state back in the game? The state’s delegation in Chicago had some ideas.
With popular issues on the ballot
In 2023, Ohioans voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, protect access to abortion, and reject Republican attempts to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments.
Democrats see this result as an opportunity. Voters in southeast Ohio who supported Trump by 50 percentage points also voted for the legalization of marijuana, an issue that many Democrats support and that many Republicans have fought against for years.
The abortion rights amendment was passed in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, whose majority Trump had no longer ceded to the Democratic authorities in the last election.
“If the abortion issue were on the ballot now in 2024, Ohio would vote Democrat,” said Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid). “I believe that 100%.”
But Democrats must bridge the gap between Democratic policies that many voters support and Democratic candidates at the state level who are not supported by voters.
It’s up to the Democrats to tell voters where they stand, said former Youngstown representative Bob Hagan. “We all have to pull together and we have to achieve this together.” Until then, “Ohio doesn’t matter.”
Attract national money
Polls suggest Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown has a lead over Republican Bernie Moreno in a state Trump is expected to win. Democrats attribute that to Brown’s long-standing standing with voters. But a bundle of money from national donors helping him win re-election doesn’t hurt, either.
The race in Ohio is one of the most closely watched in the country and could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
As Axios recently reported, the Senate election campaign in Ohio is also one of the most expensive in the country: $310 million has been spent on it so far.
In contrast, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan was a prolific fundraiser in 2022 but received little outside help against Republican JD Vance, who won the Senate election and is now Trump’s running mate.
This national money can make all the difference, said Liz Walters, chairwoman of the Ohio Democratic Party. But national donors are no longer automatically flocking to the Buckeye State.
“You take it one year at a time. You figure it out as you go along,” Walters told the USA TODAY Network’s Ohio Bureau. “An important part of my job as chairman is to remind people that we can’t solve the problem in a six-month cycle.”
Adopt the amendment “Citizens instead of politicians” this autumn
In November, Ohioans will vote on whether to ban politicians from redistricting in Congress and the state legislature. The Ohio Democratic Party has collected signatures and supported the initiative, and national progressive groups are funding the redistricting campaign.
Senator Hearcel Craig, Democrat of Columbus, said passing the measure was “of paramount importance.” Patrick Houlihan, president of the Ohio College Democrats, said the change would give Democrats a better seat at the negotiating table to work with Republicans. “In theory, it could give Democrats a few extra seats.”
The Ohio Republican Party opposes the measure, saying it would give Democrats an unfair advantage by predetermining the results. Republican Governor Mike DeWine says the measure would encourage gerrymandering.
Democratic Rep. Dani Isaacsohn of Cincinnati believes this will improve voter turnout.
“When you have districts that are drawn in a way that politicians like, that aren’t competitive, that are biased, that give one party complete control, that actually weakens faith in democracy,” Isaacsohn said during an Ohio Democrats press conference on redistricting during the DNC. “That tells voters, ‘We don’t really care about your preferences.’ And when you insult voters, they stop voting in such large numbers.”
Wait until the enthusiasm for MAGA dies down
Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, the last Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in 2006, predicted that enthusiasm for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign would one day fade. Harris could accelerate that process if she wins in November; polls show it’s a close race.
In the last election, Trump’s support was the benchmark for Republicans in Ohio and across the country, helping to propel the Senate candidacies of Vance and Moreno. But Strickland said that shine will fade.
“The question is what will happen to the MAGA movement when Trump is no longer relevant,” said Strickland, who lost re-election to Republican Governor John Kasich in 2010. “I think that gives us a chance to be an equal competitor to the Republicans in Ohio again. … I don’t think Ohio will be a MAGA state permanently.”
However, Strickland said that won’t happen in this election. “I’m not predicting that Donald Trump will lose Ohio, but I am predicting that he won’t win Ohio by 8 percentage points.”
Nominate more candidates who will appeal to young, black, working-class voters
When President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris, Democrats experienced a dramatic shift in sentiment. Suddenly, young, black and female voters were following the campaign much more closely.
Ohio could do that too, said Columbus delegate Morgan Harper.
“The ambassador is important,” said Harper, a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully against Representatives Joyce Beatty for Congress and Ryan for the Senate. “You need people who both talk about the future, who want to be part of it, and who understand the pain that many people in Ohio have felt over the last 40 years of really bad economic policy.”
Protect voting rights
In 2023, Ohio Republicans passed a series of election changes they said were necessary to curb voter fraud, which accounts for only a small portion of votes cast. The changes require voters to show photo identification when casting their ballot in person, either early or on Election Day. The measure also changed the rules for absentee voting, drop boxes and the schedule for provisional ballots.
These changes and the long-standing practice of removing voters from the voter rolls if they did not vote in the last election are not helpful, say Democrats.
Craig, the senator from Columbus, would like to see voting access go in the opposite direction – even if that is unlikely in the Republican-controlled legislature.
“We need to expand our polling places. We need to expand the opportunities to vote on weekdays and Saturdays and Sundays,” Craig said. “That’s a good thing. We shouldn’t fear that.”
Compete outside the 3 Cs
Democrats in Ohio need to win outside the biggest cities – or at least keep the races there more exciting.
“The Democrats are hitting the towns and cities. That’s where a lot of voters live and a lot of voters are receptive to our values,” said Houlihan, who is also president of the Miami University College Democrats. “To stay relevant, we basically have to invest everywhere and make sure we’re educating people about who we are, what we stand for and how we can best help.”
Nelsonville Auditor Taylor Sappington, who ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in 2022, said the Democrats’ path to victory goes through Appalachia. The party is investing in eastern and southern Ohio, he said, but it will take time to see the fruits of that labor.
“We have to win the cities. We have to keep the progress going in the suburbs and the exurbs,” Sappington said. “But until we fix some of those margins in Appalachian, let’s put it this way: We have to fix those margins in Appalachian.”
Reporter Haley BeMiller contributed to this article.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
