Ohio’s ‘rightward drift’ might ease political-ad blitz

Here’s the proverbial good news and bad news about your screen time in the next 17 months:

The 2020 election cycle will feature 2.5 million more ads nationwide than in 2018 — a total of 8 million.

But Ohioans will see fewer ads than in recent presidential election years.

That’s per projections from Advertising Analytics, a data firm specializing in media ad spending.

The consultant joins those who predict that Ohio’s normally exalted status as a top presidential battleground will dip in 2020.

“Ohio will likely lose its standing as one of the preeminent swing states. We have it ranked 11th in spending, just ahead of Texas, due to its consistent rightward drift,” the analysis said.

The $39 million projected for Ohio during the general election campaign falls far short of totals for neighboring

states Pennsylvania ($288 million) and Michigan ($121 million) as President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent probably battle over what had been a “blue wall” for the donkey crowd.

Adding up all races, voters are expected to see $6 billion in political media spending in the 2019-2020 cycle, including $4.4 billion on traditional media (broadcast television, cable TV and radio), $1.6 billion on digital video (largely Facebook and Google), Advertising Analytics predicts.

Quite a catch

Gov. Mike Dewine caught a “big un” while casting a line Tuesday during “Fish Ohio Day” on Lake Erie.

And, it wasn’t a walleye — it was a drone.

One of Dewine’s casts happened to snag a drone being flown by an Ohio Department of Natural Resources videographer capturing aerial video of the fishing prowess of the governor and some of his grandkids.

A video recorded by a videographer/reporter for a Toledo TV station showed the ensnared drone then being flown to a media boat nearby, where it was grabbed by a video producer working for the American Fisheries Society.

Asked by Reporter Randy Ludlow why Dewine’s State Highway Patrol protection detail failed to tackle the menacing drone, Press Secretary Dan Tierney replied: “The Highway Patrol was aware of the drone, and the drone was not harmed during the incident.”

The weekday excursion, planned months in advance and including Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and a few lawmakers, was flagged by some wags as showing that Ohio leaders had literally gone fishin’ while the state was operating under an interim 17-day budget due to the lack of a legislative deal on a permanent plan.

Jordan touts Trump

As the top Republican on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Jim Jordan is often regarded as Trump’s top defender in the House.

Now, the Urbana Republican is making his affection for the president clear in the official podcast for Trump’s re-election campaign, notes Jessica Wehrman of The Dispatch’s Washington bureau.

Jordan and Trump’s son Donald Jr. were the first guests of the “Official Donald J. Trump Podcast,” launched, per its description on Google Play, so that listeners can “learn of the many accomplishments of President Trump that often go unreported by the Fake News Media as he continues to Make America Great Again.”

Jordan seems to have read the description. During his roughly 16-minute appearance on the podcast, he lambastes Democrats for their investigations of Trump and touts that the economy is growing, Trump has gotten the country out of the Iran deal and the Paris Climate Accords, he’s put two conservative justices on the Supreme Court, and he’s reduced taxes.

“That’s a good two-term president,” Jordan said. “But this president accomplished those things in two and a half years. So people in Ohio see that, they appreciate that, and what they most appreciate about this president is he is doing exactly what he told them he was going to do when they gave him the privilege of leading this country.”

drowland@dispatch.com @darreldrowland