In their gubernatorial campaigns, former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley and former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley have been cordial, but that's changing. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about how the democratic primary is heating up as election day approaches.
The Trump Seal of Approval
The former President has officially endorsed the former never-Trumper. Trump’s statement reads "Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades. He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race."
Many Ohio Republicans were upset at the endorsement. Vance's opponents had more measured public responses.
Josh Mandel said, “I continue to be a proud supporter of President Trump and the America First agenda. I look forward to earning his endorsement in the general election and working with him to defeat Tim Ryan in November.”
Jane Timken pointed out that Trump endorsed her first as Ohio Republican Chair.
Mike Gibbons said, "I would have loved the endorsement, I’m in a strong position because I have been an America First champion."
Matt Dolan, who never wanted the Trump nod, said, “Rather than focusing on Ohio, Jane Timken, Josh Mandel, Mike Gibbons & JD Vance embraced lies & undermined the Constitution to go all-in for one endorsement.”
Fighting words in Democratic primary
We’ve complained about former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley and former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley being too nice to each other. Not anymore. Cranley recently released an ad that is not too complimentary of Dayton, the city his opponent used to lead.
Cranley’s ad touts recent population growth in Cincinnati and declines in Dayton. It ends by saying "Who's the best Democrat to beat DeWine and lead Ohio's comeback? The mayor whose city is getting worse?"
Whaley didn’t let it slide. She sent out a statement, saying “The story of Dayton and its people is the story of Ohio’s resilience in the face of hardship. Attacking a major Ohio city and its residents is one ‘strategy’ for attempting to gain relevance in a primary you’re clearly losing. Voters know better than to fall for these self-serving attacks from a desperate millionaire who is focused on himself, not Ohio families.”
Snollygoster of the week
Savvy Democrats used the high holy holiday of 4/20 to throw their support behind an initiated statute seeking to make the devil’s lettuce legal.
Democratic state reps Cedric Denson, Casey Weinstein, and Terrance Upchurch got some pot-related headlines Wednesday as they announced their support for the legalization effort.
The GOP-controlled House and Senate almost certainly won’t pass it, and Governor DeWine has vowed to veto it even if they did. So they’ll presumably let that deadline pass, after which backers have another four months to gather about 130,000 valid petition signatures to put it before voters in November.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.