Senate race shaping up to be dog fight

Like Ohio’s governor’s race, a statewide race for the U.S. Senate is shaping up to be a dogfight this year. That had long been the forecast, but now the fighters are a bit different.

While latecomers are still possible, for Republicans, the first round will likely be decided in the May when Jim Renacci, currently a U.S. representative, takes on businessman Mike Gibbons, of Cleveland.

If Gibbons remains in the race, which he has given every indication he will, Republican voters will have a choice between a political insider (Renacci) and a self-funded Cleveland investor (Gibbons) who is entering the political ring for the first time.

Many had predicted the 2018 Senate race would come down to battle in November between Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican Josh Mandel, the current state treasurer.

Both Brown and Mandel have amassed huge campaign war chests to renew a battle that Brown won in 2012.

But in an unexpected move, Mandel changed the lineup last week when he announced he was withdrawing from the race due to unexplained health issues involving his wife.

That development led Renacci, who had been among the GOP candidates for Ohio governor, to switch to the Senate race.

Melissa Ackison, a Columbus business woman, is also planning to run on the Republican ticket and J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist who wrote the best-selling “Hillbilly Elegy,” is said to be considering a run, as well. They, and others, have until Feb. 7 to decide.

Reports suggest President Trump’s advisers had helped convince Renacci to make the jump, and suggest his support of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign could benefit him in the Senate race.

Gibbons’ candidacy, though, should make for a interesting choice for voters, especially those who are looking for a candidate without Washington connections or a long political resume.

Late last week Gibbons vowed to stay in the race and has said he would add another $5 million to his campaign fund. Renacci, a former mayor, is a four-term Congressman, and someone Gibbons has referred to as a career politician. It remains to be seen how much Trump’s backing will help him.

Gibbons announced his candidacy last summer and hit the ground running. Yesterday he held his sixth town hall meeting of the campaign and already has earned the support of numerous county and township officials around the state.

Such a grassroots effort, while impressive, may not be enough if the national and state Republican Party rally around Renacci . ...

Read the full editorial from the Findlay Courier at bit. ly/2DfSn4T