Dems eyeing 2022 runs have tough row to hoe
Ohio’s bench of political candidates eyeing a statewide run will have to write a new playbook to lay the groundwork for their 2022 campaigns.
The breakfasts, bars and side meetings at a traditional political convention that have served for years as launch pads for local politicians to introduce themselves to a statewide audience are another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, delegates will watch speeches from home on their computer screens and tablets. That means no elbow-rubbing and no hob-knobbing.
“There’s no shaking hands. There’s no slapping backs. There’s no elbows. There’s no eye-to-eye contact in person. There’s no dinners. There’s none of that,” said former Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, who launched a run for governor in 2004 that he abandoned the following year. “It’s all about how strong are you technology-wise and how do you get exposure virtually.”
At past conventions, Democrats eyeing a statewide run could sponsor a breakfast or bar for the state’s delegation. That put their name front-andcenter, and it gave them an opportunity to speak. But the digital convention offers few such opportunities.
The Ohio Democratic Party is still having daily events for delegates that are open to the media. But instead of gathering for a group breakfast, they’ll be on a lunch-time Zoom call.
Three local officeholders rumored to be eyeing a 2020 statewide run are holding lunches. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley are co-sponsoring one lunch, and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley is sponsoring another.
Sponsoring an event also gives them the chance to speak to delegates from around the state.
“Obviously there’s a lot more opportunities had we been live because I literally have events form 7:30 in the morning to 3 in the morning, and I’d have a lot more people sponsoring them. This is the best i can do since we’re not actually physically there,” said Bill Demora, who handles convention logistics for the state party.
Whaley spent about six months running for governor in 2017 before dropping out of the Democratic primary. She has gotten national exposure following the mass shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District in 2019. She has penned opeds in USA TODAY and The New York Times, and she has cultivated more than 36,000 followers on Twitter.
She also drew the most support in a Dispatch survey of Democratic delegates. Asked who they believed was the strongest Democratic challenger to Gov. Mike Dewine, more than a third of respondents picked Whaley.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles launched his name nationally last year during a presidential run that landed him on the far flanks of the primary debate stage. Ryan has been in Congress since 2003, but Ohio is expected to lose a seat after the U.S. Census and he could be drawn out of a district when the state adopts new lines next year.
That could position Ryan for a longrumored statewide run. More than 4 in 10 delegates in the Dispatch’s survey said Ryan was the best option to run against U.S. Sen. Rob Portman in 2022.
Klein and Cranley perhaps have the most work to do to establish their names outside the locales where they have cut their teeth in politics. Cranely already has said he is considering a run for governor, but Klein has a re-election campaign to consider in 2021 before making a decision about 2022.
Both received a handful of votes as the strongest Democratic contenders for governor or senator in 2022.
Klein already has established himself as a strong fundraiser, running a million-dollar campaign for Franklin County prosecutor that he narrowly lost in 2016, and he had started touring the state to meet with county parties before the pandemic.
His biggest platform, though, could be his connection to former Vice President
Joe Biden. Klein worked for Biden in the White House and was an early supporter of his presidential bid. Two of Klein’s staff members in the city attorney’s office also are taking leave to work on Biden’s campaign in Ohio.
“As far as elections are concerned, I’m focused on electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Ohio Democrats up and down the ticket in 2020. We all have important work to do this November and beyond in order to make our communities fairer and more just so that everyone has a real opportunity to succeed,” Klein said.
Portage County Commissioner Kathleen Clyde, a former state representative and 2018 candidate for secretary of state, also got a big platform at the convention. She was part of a group of 17 “rising stars” in the Democratic Party who were tabbed to speak on Tuesday.
Coleman said the candidates who can master technology will be in the best position to run in 2022. That wasn’t as big a concern for the former mayor, who left office in 2015.
He recalled working the floor and meeting delegates at past conventions after sitting in national committee meetings and delivering floor speeches.
“There’s this intangible in politics that is hard to communicate in today’s environment,” he said.
Meeting activists, county party chairs and potential contributors who could help with a future campaign is harder without the convention, but all of the 2022 hopefuls have the same disadvantage, said Rep. David Leland, former state party chairman who ran the convention for Ohio Democrats in 1992 and 1996.
“This is a relationship business. You really establish your relationships at the events after the gatherings,” he said. “That’s when you really get to know who this union president is or who this party chair of a county is.”
Franklin County Commissioner John O’grady, a veteran of four conventions, said candidates who want to run statewide have to find a way to connect with people in small counties, not just focus on the state’s urban areas where Democrats try to run up the score.
“Your ability to be able to pull somebody aside and have a chat, hob knob with folks … any candidate for any office, local, statewide, anybody’s ability to do that is diminished right now. It’s difficult,” he said. rrouan@dispatch.com @Rickrouan