Top Ohio Democrat endorses Whaley for governor
Ohio’s highest-profile COLUMBUS — Democrat, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, on Monday threw his support behind Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley for governor nearly seven months out from the primary election.
Whaley hopes to replace Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who had once been an ally of hers on some issues such as stemming gun violence. But first she has to face a fellow mayor, Cincinnati’s John Cranley, the only other announced candidate to date.
Brown made the endorsement via a video accompanying a fund-raising email from Whaley’s campaign.
“I’ve seen her deal with some of the toughest problems that any mayor can deal with — KKK rallies, tornadoes, mass shooting, and now a pandemic,” he said. “Dayton has been strong with good strong leadership provided by Nan Whaley through it all, not just leading but bringing the community together.”
The senator’s endorsement is a coveted one among Democrats. He is the only non-judicial Democrat to be elected statewide in Ohio since President Barack Obama in 2012. The thirdterm Democrat defeated then U.S. Sen. DeWine in 2006. Last week he also weighed in on the contest for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Republican Rob Portman. He backed Youngstown area U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan over Morgan Harper, a Columbus consumer protection attorney and community organizer.
Whaley hopes to become Ohio’s second female governor and first elected female governor, challenging DeWine, who is seeking a second term. She and DeWine had stood together multiple times on some issues, particularly in the wake of the 2019 mass shooting in a downtown Dayton entertainment district that killed nine people.
But she has since criticized the governor for not working hard enough to enact gun reforms in the face of opposition from fellow Republicans. More recently, she has gone after Republicans in general in Columbus in the wake of the nuclear bailout scandal.
“She puts workers at the center of her policy, of her work, and she will put workers at the center of the economy when she’s governor of this state,” Brown said. “She’s ready to build a stronger, more prosperous Ohio where one job should be enough to provide for your family, an Ohio where your kids don’t have to leave town, don’t have to leave the state to get a good education, to find a job, and an Ohio where everyone, no matter your zip code, has a real shot to get ahead and join the middle class.”
Whaley is in her second and final term as mayor. She has headed the Ohio Mayors’ Alliance and currently heads the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
She and Cranley, colleagues in the Ohio Mayors Alliance, have so far not criticized each other during the campaign.
Cranley’s campaign issued a statement in which it said it respects Brown’s decision while predicting that Ohio Democrats will ultimately choose him.
“Primary voters will have a clear choice in May,” it said. “John Cranley has a record of turning Cincinnati around. Unlike Dayton, Cincinnati is growing in population, adding more jobs and more opportunity, and becoming the first major comeback city in Ohio, with a $15 (hourly) wage for city workers and the country’s largest municipal solar farm.”
Whaley ran for governor four years ago, but ultimately dropped out and endorsed Richard Cordray. He went on to lose to DeWine.
Meanwhile, DeWine faces challenges for the GOP nomination from the party’s right — former northeast Ohio congressman Rep. Jim Renacci and central Ohio farmer and businessman Joe Blystone.