Springer testing run for governor
TV talk-show host Jerry Springer is seriously assessing a run for the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor and soon will decide, said two state legislators who met with him last Thursday.
Springer met at the Cleveland Heights home of Democratic state Rep. Janine Boyd, she said Wednesday. Also present were Sen. Sandra Williams and Rep. Stephanie Howse, both Cleveland Democrats.
The former Cincinnati mayor has been holding meetings around Ohio to discuss a possible run in 2018, Williams said.
Springer, 73, has flirted in the past with running for governor. His national celebrity status generated by his show makes him easily identifiable to the public, and his wealth enables him to partly fund a campaign.
In the past, a show such as his that sometimes features cheating spouses and other controversial fare had been seen as a possible drawback to a political campaign, but that might be less of an issue now that former reality-TV star Donald Trump is in the White House.
Springer’s “problem last time was that his TV program was a bit extreme,” Williams said. “Jerry Springer extreme may be the norm of today.”
Springer said he had been working with consultants and has done polling that puts him ahead of other Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Williams said.
“He’s gotten a signoff from his family,” Williams said. “The only thing he has to do is decide if he’s running.”
If Springer does run, he’ll join a Democratic field that includes state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Boardman; Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley; former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton and former state Rep. Connie Pillich. Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general who is director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, might enter the race; he would have to step down from his federal post to announce a run.
Williams said she doesn’t have a favorite in such a crowded field.
House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, also is waiting to pick a horse to back. “We want to see them go through their paces first,” Strahorn said Wednesday.
Strahorn and Williams said that the next election cycle is critical to Democrats and that it’s important for the party to coalesce around the right candidate.
“The middle-class working person has been taking it on the chin,” Strahorn said. “It’s got to be about them.”
Boyd said that although she has connections to other candidates in the field, she would back Springer if he jumps into the race, and the reason is not his celebrity.
“I’m not a fan,” she said of his show. “I’m interested in people who care about this state.”
On the Republican side, Attorney General Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Secretary of State Jon Husted and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci have announced bids for governor. All are seeking to replace Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is term-limited and leaves office in January 2019.