Another GOP running for Portman’s Senate Seat in Ohio

 

Andrew J. Tobias at cleveland.com reports:

Republican Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan has changed his campaign materials from saying he’s exploring running for the U.S. Senate to actually doing it..

. . .

Dolan would enter a crowded field of five other well-funded, established contenders, including three from Cuyahoga County, plus several more lower-profile candidates. Dolan would be unique as the only candidate to have created daylight between himself and former President Donald Trump, who continues to hold a dominating presence over Republican politics despite losing the November election. Following the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, Dolan tweeted that the event was a “failure of leadership starting with @realdonaldtrump.”

He’s just lost me.

“Too many so called leaders perpetuated lies about the outcome of the November 2020 election. And the people who trust their leadership believes them. Real leaders lead not manipulate. Truth matters,” Dolan said in the January tweet.

. . .

Only one other Republican candidate, former state treasurer Josh Mandel, has previously held office. Three higher-profile candidates -- author and venture capitalist JD Vance, former Ohio Republican Party chairman Jane Timken and car dealer Bernie Moreno -- are first-time candidates. And Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons has never held office, but ran and lost in the 2018 U.S. Senate primary.

The field may be crowded, but the declared candidates are mostly wannabees who pretend to be Trump supporters.  So far, I am still looking at Mike Gibbons.  It is too bad he does not have better name recognition.

Full article by Tobias is here.

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Verifying signatures on absentee ballots: a win in Ohio

 

Andrew J. Tobias reports at cleveland.com:

A group of voting-rights activists has suffered a legal defeat
in their attempt to challenge Ohio's system of verifying signatures
on absentee ballot applications.

A federal judge has ruled Ohio’s system of verifying signatures on absentee ballot applications is not burdensome enough to be struck down as illegal, rejecting arguments made by a coalition of voting-rights groups that sued the state.

U.S. District Judge Michael Watson wrote that while Ohio’s signature-matching requirements impose a “moderate" burden on voters, they have other options to cast a ballot if their vote is improperly rejected, including casting a provisional ballot on Election Day. He agreed with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting an orderly and secure election, justifying that burden.

. . .

Watson’s ruling is technically just an early loss for the voting-rights groups, which could continue to seek a trial or appeal to a higher court. But it makes it significantly less likely their case will succeed, especially given that the election is only 37 days away.

Read the full report here.

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Debate scheduled: Sherrod Brown vs Jim Renacci

art credit: digitaltrends.com

From Andrew J. Tobias at cleveland.com (posted yesterday):

The two major candidates for this year's Ohio Senate race will debate in Cleveland next month, organizers for the event announced Monday.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and his Republican challenger, Rep. Jim Renacci, have agreed to debate at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14 in Cleveland, about three weeks before the November election.

The debate will be held at the Westfield Insurance studio theater at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square, according to the nonpartisan Ohio Debate Commission, which is organizing the event.

Two veteran journalists -- Ann Fisher, of WOSU public radio in Columbus and Russ Mitchell, anchor at WKYC-TV in Cleveland -- will serve as moderators. Tickets for the event are free, and organizers say more information about how to attend will be posted on their website, www.ohiodebatecommission.org, on Tuesday.

Stay tuned.

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