I would love to see Ohio turn blue once again. And winning the governor race with Jack Gilligan in 1970 began the hard climb to winning control of the General Assembly in 1972; the State Senate, the Lt. Governor Dick Celeste and U.S. Senator John Glenn in 1974; and U.S Senator Howard Metzenbaum and President Jimmy Carter in 1976.
And what drove those victories were election statistics, not polling numbers. We, because I was there back then, studied those stats and projected turnout. Sure, we put resources into television and radio ads. But we also put resources behind computerized lists, walking and knocking, and organizing ethnic outreach efforts.
But the key was Jack Gilligan. Even as a gubernatorial candidate, he shrewdly pulled together a regionally balanced statewide ticket. As governor, he helped recruit sixty young state reps (Sherrod was one of the) and twenty youngish state senators. He appointed Metzenbaum to the Senate. And he chose Celeste as his running mate.
That’s all ancient history. But the role of a gubernatorial candidate is a lesson worth re-learning. It is more than simply getting yourself elected. It is bringing along an entirely new generation of activists and building a pyramid of political power from, literally, the ground up.
Jack Gilligan won by 342,901 votes in 1970. He lost by 11,488 in 1974. That was then. Now, in the last gubernatorial election, the margin was -1,034,000 votes.
So there’s a lot of work to do over the next eight months. It is eminently doable.
I have my doubts that Sherrod Brown will go against the party line on "trans issues" (the erasure of women's sex-based rights) and "gender-affirming" care (medicalization and mutilation) for kids. That's why he lost last time and probably why he will lose again. Ask a typical Ohioan if she thinks 12-year-old girls should be in bathrooms with grown men or if boys should be on girls' swimming teams and she will passionately reply in the negative. But mainstream Democrats in power won't budge. As for non-mainstream news for lesbian, gay, bisexual folks, all Central Ohio has is the trans-promoting misogynistic Buckeye Flame. It is difficult to fond critical, nuanced thinking on either front these days.
I would love to see Ohio turn blue once again. And winning the governor race with Jack Gilligan in 1970 began the hard climb to winning control of the General Assembly in 1972; the State Senate, the Lt. Governor Dick Celeste and U.S. Senator John Glenn in 1974; and U.S Senator Howard Metzenbaum and President Jimmy Carter in 1976.
And what drove those victories were election statistics, not polling numbers. We, because I was there back then, studied those stats and projected turnout. Sure, we put resources into television and radio ads. But we also put resources behind computerized lists, walking and knocking, and organizing ethnic outreach efforts.
But the key was Jack Gilligan. Even as a gubernatorial candidate, he shrewdly pulled together a regionally balanced statewide ticket. As governor, he helped recruit sixty young state reps (Sherrod was one of the) and twenty youngish state senators. He appointed Metzenbaum to the Senate. And he chose Celeste as his running mate.
That’s all ancient history. But the role of a gubernatorial candidate is a lesson worth re-learning. It is more than simply getting yourself elected. It is bringing along an entirely new generation of activists and building a pyramid of political power from, literally, the ground up.
Jack Gilligan won by 342,901 votes in 1970. He lost by 11,488 in 1974. That was then. Now, in the last gubernatorial election, the margin was -1,034,000 votes.
So there’s a lot of work to do over the next eight months. It is eminently doable.
Check out Brian Poindexter, the union ironworker, running in Ohio 7! https://poindexterforcongress.com/
Dems need to campaign fiercely in Ohio with a worker support agenda.
Thanks, Mike and Will. Great post. Go, Sherrod Brown! We urgently need you back in the Senate!
I have my doubts that Sherrod Brown will go against the party line on "trans issues" (the erasure of women's sex-based rights) and "gender-affirming" care (medicalization and mutilation) for kids. That's why he lost last time and probably why he will lose again. Ask a typical Ohioan if she thinks 12-year-old girls should be in bathrooms with grown men or if boys should be on girls' swimming teams and she will passionately reply in the negative. But mainstream Democrats in power won't budge. As for non-mainstream news for lesbian, gay, bisexual folks, all Central Ohio has is the trans-promoting misogynistic Buckeye Flame. It is difficult to fond critical, nuanced thinking on either front these days.