Countdown to Year-End – 2nd Stop Ohio for 2022 Midterms
We are looking back on this year to see why different states have become priorities for us. For the 2022 mid-terms, we will focus on electing Democratic candidates in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida by calling low-propensity Democrats to increase turnout, and by supporting voter access to the polls through our free-to-voters rides to the polls program.
Our first primary state will be Texas – and shortly after we finish driving voters there in March, we will be moving on to Ohio’s May 3, 2022, Election Day. While Texas may have been more in the national news with its awful voter suppression & anti-abortion laws, Ohio also has some local races that have drawn national attention. As 2021 comes to a close, I’d like to continue telling you a bit about each of these target states, why we are prioritizing these locations in the coming months, and why we are asking for support of our efforts. There is so much at stake nationwide, but success in these states can make a difference for all of us.
Ohio is the second state on our 2022 calendar – early voting begins March 18, less than 3 months from now. Ohio has long been considered to be the bell-weather for national voting trends, and in 2022 the Buckeye State is electing 15 congressional representatives, a full executive branch, both houses of the state government, and judges at a variety of levels of the judicial. But Ohio is also saying goodbye to Republican Senator Rob Portman, who indicated he would not seek re-election due to frustration with “partisan gridlock” which, hypocritically, he did nothing to mitigate as he consistently voted in support of the Trump agenda. The likely leading GOP candidate for Portman’s job is Josh Mandel, formerly the Ohio treasurer (2011 – 2019). Currently leading the pack among Dems is US Rep. Tim Ryan, whose congressional district has been chopped up in the GOP-led redistricting effort.
The primary will be vital but costly in the contest for Portman’s senate seat, and Rideshare2Vote will be calling thousands of voters statewide to support Democratic candidates in all primary races. Ohio also has one very special incumbent congressman who has garnered national attention. Jim Jordon is an infamous Trump enabler who will do anything or say anything to support Trump’s agenda and lies. He fueled the “big lie” about election fraud that led to the January 6 insurrection, but that’s only his most recent conspiracy-mongering.
Jordon was also knee-deep in the denial of the pandemic, he spread false accusations about Joe and Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential election, and he has stoked violence against Democrats by suggesting they are the successors to the “evilsof Nazis and slavery.“ Meanwhile, hypocrite Jordan has been courting the votes and admiration of Proud Boys and skinheads. He is clearly in lockstep with Trump and could potentially serve in a leadership role in our next congress if Democrats cannot maintain their majority.
Jeffrey Sites, a warehouse manager, and Army veteran is leading the Democratic field to take Jordan’s seat. Jordan’s defeat would be a success with national significance as we prioritize removing Trump apologists from office. We are supporting Ohio Democrats as they seek to reclaim seats currently belonging to sycophants to the right-wing Trumpist agenda.
Please donate today to help us turn out the 2022 vote for Democratic candidates in Ohio beginning in late March, with voting to follow Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
by Sarah Kovich
