Trump-inspired candidates across the country are gearing up for this year’s mid-term elections and that includes challenging GOP governors. What happens in these early primary contests may signal just where the Republican Party is headed come the fall’s mid-term elections and in 2024.
In Ohio’s GOP primary slated for May 3, Gov. Mike DeWine’s re-election bid faces opponents who strongly identify with the former president and clearly hope to attract voters who see themselves to the right of the governor.
The Ohio battle could signal early on the strength of mid-term candidates who actively align themselves with Trump, whether or not they receive his endorsement.
DeWine, who has represented Ohio for decades as a U.S. congressman, senator, and attorney general, is facing off against former congressman Jim Renacci and farmer Joe Blystone, a political newcomer.
One other candidate, former state representative Ron Hood, is also running but according to one poll, has the support of less than one percent of likely voters.
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DeWine has a big lead according to the Ohio governor poll by WKBN-TV.
DeWine has a strong lead in several polls. In late February, a survey conducted by Emerson College in partnership with NBC4 and the Hill showed DeWine with 34 percent of likely voters compared to 30 percent for Blystone and 9 percent for Renacci. It also showed 36 percent undecided.
In early February, a Trafalgar Group poll found DeWine far ahead with 40 percent compared to 22 percent for Renacci and 20 percent for Blystone with 16 percent indicating they were undecided or planned not to vote.
CBN News sat down for an interview with DeWine and Blystone to talk about the campaign and also conducted a Skype interview with Renacci.
DeWine said that jobs will be one of the top issues for voters.
“If you go back a decade or five decades the issue has always been about jobs,” he said. “We’ve created an environment in this state that is very friendly for business to create jobs.”
Case in point: Intel. One of the world’s largest computer chip makers, it announced in December that it will invest $20 billion in two new semiconductor fabrication plants outside of Columbus and employ 3,000 workers.
DeWine said it sends a strong signal to other companies looking to grow.
“If you’re thinking about moving, if you’re thinking about expanding, you need to look at Ohio,” he said.
DeWine also has a fundraising advantage, well ahead of his opponents with more than $9 million in the bank as of last month, compared to Renacci with $4 million and Blystone with $214,000.
But Renacci and Blystone see an opening and are preparing for an upset.
Blystone is touting his newcomer credentials.
“People are tired. They’re looking for someone on the outside,” he said.
Renacci calls DeWine the “worst governor in the country.” In an interview with CBN News, he said “I see a state in Ohio that does not have strong leadership, that is failing miserably and that’s one of the reasons why I jumped back in.”
Both men are hoping for a Trump endorsement and counting on primary voters who support the former president.
Renacci said education is the top issue for voters right now but contends that election integrity is also key.
“I believe that Ohio is better than many other states but it still has issues,” he said. “We need a voter ID system and we do need forensic audits.”
Renacci is also pushing back against DeWine’s COVID restrictions. In early 2020, Ohio attracted national attention as it became the first state to cancel a large event and close schools. DeWine has since faced criticism at home for mask orders and for shutting down businesses.
“Ohioans do not want to be told that they have to be vaccinated,” said Renacci. “They do not want to be told that they have to wear masks.”
Blystone, who met CBN News in the RV he’s used to travel the state, also said the DeWine administration got it wrong on COVID.
“They picked winners. They picked losers when it came to running businesses,” he said. “They’ve masked our children for two years for what?”
Blystone, who owns a restaurant, said the state’s COVID rules forced him to shut down his businesses for eight weeks.
“My employees rely on me to receive a paycheck so they can take care of their families,” he said. “So when we have to shut down and we can’t carry them through that bothers me a lot.”
DeWine says that he would welcome a Trump endorsement even though he’s not been afraid to call him out.
In mid-November 2020, as the president began to question the election, the governor urged him to begin to transition to President-elect Biden. Shortly after, Trump called for someone to challenge DeWine in 2022.
On Jan. 7, 2021, DeWine said the president’s refusal to accept election results had started a “fire” that threatened to burn down the democracy. He also blamed him for inciting the mob that broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“This incendiary speech yesterday…served only to fan those flames,” he said during a press conference.
Renacci has targeted those remarks in his ads, calling the governor “the ultimate never Trumper” although the governor co-chaired Trump’s re-election campaign in Ohio and accepted his endorsement when he ran in 2018.
The three candidates do share similar views on Republican priorities like schools, immigration, abortion, and gun laws.
They’re also very aware that in the current political climate, politics as usual will not suffice when it comes to governing.
Blystone said the conversation will be the key to bringing people together again.
“It used to be at least if you were right or left or middle we could at least sit down and have a cup of coffee and have a conversation,” he said. “We have to get out of what I call our safe zone, our bubbles. We have to get out there and we need to have the hard conversation.”
Renacci, who calls Ohio a “Trump state,” says people need to be cautious and work together. “We can have our primary battles and our general election battles but in the end, we’re all Americans. We’re all Ohioans. We’ve got to be able to work together towards the betterment of the cause without giving up our values and principles,” he said.
DeWine said Republicans should look forward and focus on what unites.
“We are a resilient people. We are a strong people. So we’re going to be ok, we just have to continue to remind ourselves that what pulls us together as a people is much, much more than what divides us,” he said.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN
