Update: Ohio Primary on Tuesday

 

It is likely at this point that either Nina Turner or Shontel Brown, both Democrats, will win the primary on Aug. 3 for the US House seat formerly held by Marcia Fudge in Ohio’s 11^th Congressional district.  John Sexton at Hot Air has

written a couple of times about the battle in Ohio between the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is supporting Nina Turner, and the more establishment wing which is supporting Shontel Brown. Today HuffPost reports that establishment money is pouring into the race now that Brown seems within striking distance:

Moderate Democratic groups, donors and even some Republicans are flooding Ohio’s 11th Congressional District with millions of dollars in a bid to elect Shontel Brown and defeat progressive favorite Nina Turner in Tuesday’s special primary election.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), along with Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) and Bennie Thompson (Miss.), are headlining a get-out-the-vote event for Brown this weekend as well.

I was aware that Jim Clyburn, the 3rd ranking Democrat in the House, was supporting Brown, but I hadn’t been aware of why he decided to get so involved in the race. According to HuffPost, Nina Turner made a big mistake last month when she appeared on a panel with well-known rapper named Killer Mike. (Killer Mike had some interesting things to say to rioters and to CNN last summer).

Speaking on a panel with rapper “Killer” Mike Render, Turner appeared to express agreement when Render said it was “incredibly stupid” for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) to have endorsed Biden without demanding more in exchange.

Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress, endorsed Brown days later and was soon featured in one of her TV ads.

. . .

Bringing the heavy hitters off the bench to oppose your campaign seems, well, incredibly stupid. But this type of blunt talk about the Democratic Party is what Nina Turner is known for. In fact, there’s a new anti-Turner ad which basically argues that she’s not really a Democrat at all.

. . .

More at the link here, including some videos.

# # #

Ohio Special Election on August 3

 

Mark your calendar.  From Ballotpedia:

A special election to fill the seat representing Ohio's 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House will be held in 2021. Primaries are scheduled for August 3, 2021. The general election will be held November 2, 2021. The filing deadline was May 5, 2021.^[4]

The special election was called after Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) was confirmed as secretary of housing and urban development in President Joe Biden's (D) administration. The Senate voted 66-34 to confirm Fudge on March 10, 2021.^[5]

The primary will occur on August 3, 2021. The general election will occur on November 2, 2021. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

There are 10 candidates running in the Democrat Party primary.  According to Conservative Angle and OAN:

The special election in Ohio’s 11th district has heated up as Democrats duke it out for who will succeed recently confirmed Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.

Big names have stepped in to endorse either side of the Democrat campaign. Hilary Clinton has voiced her support for moderate Cuyahoga County Democrat Party Chair Shontel Brown. Where progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) have endorsed former co-chair of the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign Nina Turner.

The race has become a proxy battle for the future of the Democrat Party, however, whether it will trend progressive or hold its establishment roots in the years to come.

There are two Republican Party candidates running in the primary, Laverne Gore and Felicia Ross.  Cuyahoga County always votes blue, so neither (R) candidate probably stands a chance.  Still, everyone needs to vote.

It’s too bad those of us in the 11^th District cannot vote for Ruth Edmonds in the 15^th district, but if you’re in Columbus, you can.  This household watched a brief interview with her on (sorry) Fox, and she was a refreshing conservative, all for faith, family, and community.

# # #

Vacancy: Marcia Fudge's former seat

 

Collin Anderson at Washington Free Beacon reports on the House seat left vacant by Marcia Fudge:

President Joe Biden's decision to appoint former Ohio congresswoman Marcia Fudge to his cabinet has Democrats poised to send another self-described socialist to Congress.

Liberal firebrand Nina Turner holds a sizable polling and fundraising lead in the crowded primary race to succeed Fudge. The former state senator is backed by a who's who of congressional progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.).

Should Turner maintain her advantage and win the August primary, she would fit right in with the so-called Squad members. The former national co-chair of Sanders's presidential campaign, Turner has pledged to pass the Green New Deal, eliminate private health insurance through a government-run Medicare for All system, cancel student debt, and "completely reimagine" law enforcement—in part by defunding police.

Turner's frontrunner status reflects the growing influence of the Democratic Party's progressive wing. Just months ago, Ocasio-Cortez and company welcomed two new Squad members after Reps. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) ousted longstanding Democratic incumbents in 2020. Bush and Bowman's freshman class also includes fellow liberal representatives Mondaire Jones (D., N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.), and Marie Newman (D., Ill.), all of whom replaced veteran party members in January.

Turner's campaign on Tuesday used a Tulchin Research poll to declare the progressive "the favorite to serve as OH-11's next Congressperson." According to the poll, Turner enjoys a 35-point lead over her closest competitor, with 21 percent undecided. Ohio State University political scientist Paul Beck said that while the poll's accuracy is difficult to assess, Turner is the "most visible candidate" and has "emerged as the frontrunner in the campaign."

"My bet would be right now that [Turner is] the person who is going to get the nomination—and win the contest in November," he said.

. . .

Read the full report here.

# # #

Democrats & Black Pastors in Cleveland Misleading Voters on Early Voting in Ohio

Well they say there is always a first!  

This must be the first time we have ever agreed with the one time chief mouthpiece & propagandist of the limousine liberals running Cuyahoga County - former Plain Dealer Editorial Director Brett Larkin.

Below Larkin rightfully takes the Democrats, the black Pastors, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and State Senator & OH SoS candidate Nina Turner, Cuyahoga County Executive & Democrat candidate for Governor Ed FitzGerald to task for their crocodile tears regarding the changes to early voting in Ohio and the removal of Sunday voting. 

Larkin points out some of the facts that are getting washed out by the river of crocodile tears they are crying....

• 32 states have early absentee voting with an average starting time of 22 days before the election.  LESS days than Ohio's 28 days of voting before the election.

• 20 states require an excuse for absentee voting. A registered voter in Ohio can vote absentee with no excuse required.

• Removing Sunday Voting: In five days of early voting in Cuyahoga County prior to the 2012 presidential election, fewer people voted on Sunday than any other day. Early voting turnout was 46 percent higher on Friday and 23 percent higher on Saturday than it was Sunday.

• Of the 32 states that allow it, the length of the in-person early voting period varies by state from four days to 45. The average is 19 days. Ohio has 20 days of in-person voting.

• Ohio Democrat Rep. Marci Kaptur and civil rights leaders Rep. John Lewis, are promoting a bill that would require all states only offer 15 days of early voting and would not mandate early voting the Sunday before the election.

Also adding to what Larkin points out above is the fact that a voting bill that removed the "Golden Week" and reduced early voting to 21 days passed the Democrat controlled OH House in 2009.

While it is to be expected that political party machine's and politicians will put a "spin" on issues.  And it is pretty much a given that politicians like those listed above will knowingly & willfully misrepresent the truth (lie) to fire up their base.  

But one has to ask about the black pastors!?!? 

At best, the black pastors participating in this misleading political charade of half-truths either refuse to educate themselves with the whole truth & facts, or at worse - they are willing participants in sowing discord by spreading lies & deception regarding early voting in Ohio.  

Either way these black pastors should be ashamed as they are doing a great disservice and owe more to their congregation.  Maybe a quick read of Proverbs 6:16-19 and a review of the Ninth Commandment (Thou shall not lie) is in order for these pastors. 

From The PD --

Democrats have lots of legitimate issues to raise in this year’s election for governor and other statewide offices.

Early voting isn’t one of them.

Noisemaking about voter suppression is, for the most part, utter nonsense.

Access to the ballot in Ohio is better than the national average and light years better than it is in the bluest states in nation. In fact, many Democratic states have laws governing voting so archaic one would think they were drafted by Fox News.

But Jim Crow-type voting laws in places like New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut never seem to get the attention of MSNBC and the Huffington Post. And when Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted adopted the early voting recommendations of a 20-member panel of elections officials that consists of 10 Democratic loyalists, the Husted-bashing returned with a vengeance.

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, advocated defying state law by having the county send out its own absentee ballot applications.

State Sen. Nina Turner, Husted’s Democratic challenger in this year’s election for secretary of state, declared herself “absolutely disgusted” with Husted’s early voting schedule.

And Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s leading Democrat, described (to MSNBC) the early voting edict as more evidence of Republican “mean spiritedness.”

The 2014 election in Ohio offers an ideal opportunity for meaningful debate on the policies of Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-run legislature.

Any partial list of those policies should include tax policy, job creation, educational attainment, deep cuts made to local governments in 2011 and laws aimed at women.

But angry rhetoric about early voting has a better chance of riling up the base than a thoughtful discussion of Ohio’s future.

For a moment, however, it’s worth tuning out the noise and considering, courtesy of the National Conference of State Legislatures and other sources, some of those stubborn little facts that get in the way of the voter suppression argument.

Thirty-two states have various forms of early absentee voting. The average starting time for early voting is 22 days before the election. Early absentee voting in Ohio this year starts 28 days before the election.

Twenty states require an excuse for absentee voting, including the three Democratic states I listed earlier and the all-important swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In Ohio, a registered voter can cast a ballot from the comfort of home, any time, day or night, nearly a month before the election — no excuse required.

Democrats, black ministers and other critics focus particularly on the lack of Sunday voting in Husted’s schedule (there will be Sunday voting in the 2016 presidential election).

But in five days of early voting in Cuyahoga County prior to the 2012 presidential election, fewer people voted on Sunday than any other day. Early voting turnout was 46 percent higher on Friday and 23 percent higher on Saturday than it was Sunday.

Of the 32 states that allow it, the length of the in-person early voting period varies by state from four days to 45. The average is 19 days.

There will be 20 days of in-person early voting in Ohio this year.

For more than a year some of the most prominent and liberal members of the U.S. House, including Rep. Marci Kaptur and civil rights leaders such as Rep. John Lewis, have been promoting a bill that would require every state to offer early voting. The bill would require only 15 days of early voting and would not mandate early voting the Sunday before the election.

Again, there will, be 20 days of early voting in Ohio this year.

For the last half-century,the Akron Beacon Journal has been the state’s most consistently Democratic big-city newspaper.

In a Feb. 26 editorial headlined “Ample Time,” the Beacon Journal labeled Husted’s early voting edict “the product of Democrats and Republicans crafting a worthy compromise, putting aside the calculated outrage and hollow claims, finding a middle ground that works for all counties.”

FitzGerald and his colleagues face gale-force political headwinds in this campaign, not the least of which are a Democratic president with declining popularity and a gigantic Republican advantage in fundraising.

History doesn’t offer them much hope, either.

In the two decades beginning in 1970, Democrats won 81.5 percent of the elections for statewide executive offices. In the six statewide elections since 1990, they’ve won an abysmal 25.8 percent.

If Democrats think voter suppression claims can lead them to victory in 2014, that losing streak will get even longer.

Larkin was The Plain Dealer’s editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.