Don’t sell Kucinich short in governor’s race

Before anyone scoffs at Dennis Kucinich’s bid to become Ohio’s next governor, a few sobering facts come to mind for those who assume that, if Kucinich does make May 8’s Democratic primary ballot, his candidacy would only be a sideshow to the main event.

(At this writing, other Democrats seeking to land their party’s gubernatorial nomination in May are former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray, of Columbus; Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill, of Chagrin Falls; former state Rep. Connie Pillich, of Cincinnati; and state Sen. Joseph Schiavoni, of suburban Youngstown. Late last week, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who has also been seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, appeared poised to endorse Cordray.)

First off, for all Kucinich’s quirks and faults, he is more politically experienced than anyone else seeking to become Ohio’s next governor. Republican candidate Mike DeWine is a close runner-up in the campaign-experience department.

Second, American, and Ohio, politics these days is the era of the Rattled Cage. If you doubt that, then you’ve never heard of Donald Trump. The combination of immersive media and (very genuine) popular grievances mean that he or she who agitates best, may run best.

Finally, Kucinich has repeatedly shown a capacity to rebound from political setbacks that would have doomed other Ohio politicians and officeholders. Exhibit One: Cleveland’s 1978 default, during Kucinich’s mayoralty.

Here’s the glass-halfempty on that: Kucinich fought the utilities and the banks. And the utilities and the banks won. As they almost always do.

But here’s the glasshalf-full: Kucinich fought the utilities and the banks – and that’s something an Ohio politician almost never does, a fact brought home to Ohioans every month when they pay utility bills and bank fees. Maybe, in an era of voter insurgency, a Democrat who talks the Old Time Religion – a Democrat such as Kucinich – can attract a mega-church of fellow believers.

In that connection, Kucinich’s 1982 bid for that year’s Democratic nomination for Ohio secretary of state is maybe telling. (To jump ahead, fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown won the nomination, and that November’s election, and became secretary of state – and, 36 years later, he’s U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.)

As close as 1982 was to Cleveland’s default, Kucinich was hardly damaged goods. He, Brown and fellow Democrats Anthony O. Calabrese and Francis E. (Frank) Gaul competed for the 1982 nomination for secretary of state. Brown drew 34 percent of the statewide vote, Kucinich, 27 percent, Calabrese, 24 percent, and Gaul, 15 percent. And Kucinich led the field in Lake, Lorain, Ashtabula, Trumbull, Stark, Fairfield and Athens counties.

True, on the consumer protection front, Cordray has a resume that’s hard to beat. And some of Kucinich’s quirks and wrong-headed foreign policy statements over the years are plenty embarrassing. But he wouldn’t be running for class president at a charm school. He’d be seeking votes in a state that is, at best, economically stagnant.

A week from now, Ohio’s potential May primary ballot, Democratic as well as Republican, will likely yet again have been sifted. The one certainty: If Dennis Kucinich remains part of the mix, Ohio Democrats will have an ... interesting ... spring.

For all Kucinich’s quirks and faults, he is more politically experienced than anyone else seeking to become Ohio’s next governor. Republican candidate Mike DeWine is a close runner-up in the campaign-experience department.