Photo credit: Janet Donovan & Misc.
Are all states created equal? Not according to the laws of politics. Ohio is the big one as far as Presidential Elections are concerned – as Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Last October at a dinner at Cafe Milano, we asked Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro how things looked for Governor John Kasich who was running for President at the time. Despite being a Democrat, Cafaro had only good things to say. Here is what she told Hollywood on the Potomac.
“I’ve worked very closely with Governor Kasich on a number of issues including revamping the Economic Development Department, creating some changes in regard to how we finance our infrastructure programs, as well as Medicaid expansion. I do believe that he is honest and balanced. As a Democrat I don’t necessarily agree with everything that he has to say, but I certainly respect the fact that he is a straight shooter. He speaks his mind. He’s willing to compromise. A recent poll just came out just a few days ago indicating that this is the highest approval rating that he has had in his entire tenure, over 60-some percent currently as the sitting Governor.”
Lisa Salibello, Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro and CEO Corporation for Public Broadcasting Patricia de Stacy Harrison at Cafe Milano
He sounded like someone that can actually work with Congress. Now there’s a novel idea. “That’s right. He spent 18 years as a member of Congress, as the former Chairman of the House Committee. Now over six years as the sitting Governor of the swing State of Ohio he is turning it around economically. I think he stands alone as far as his level of experience. I think that he’s probably the biggest threat to whatever Democrat wins the nomination,” she explained. As we know, that ‘threat’ no longer exists and Trump will battle Clinton……….which keeps us in Ohio.
We caught up with Capri this week, nearly a year later, again at Cafe Milano where she described the demise of Kasich and the importance of a swing state. “The long and short of it is that I believe that John Kasich was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think this election cycle – no surprise to anyone – is different than any other election cycle we have ever seen. Kasich is the perfect candidate for the Republican ticket; someone that can appeal to moderates; someone that has worked very closely on social service issues; someone that is relatable. It’s just a shame for Ohio that this just was an unique circumstance where I think the electorate has been frustrated and they just want to start all over again.”
Capri Cafaro with John Kasich – Photo courtesy of cleveland.com
“What’s really funny about Kasich,” she noted, “is when he first announced he and Chris Christy both, everyone was like,’Oh my god, they’re never going to be able to give a message. They’re bombastic. Crazy things come out of their mouths. They say what they think. There’s no filter.’ Then all of a sudden Donald Trump came around. Their version of a filter suddenly became commonplace and lame. For John Kasich I think both his personal faith and his public service guided his narrative, for better or worse, as someone who wanted to rise above it, not get in the gutter, not get into arguments, but try to talk about issues.” Clearly that didn’t work.
Photo credit: Courtesy of WHBC
Ohio is a swing state: A US state where the two major political parties have similar levels of support among voters, viewed as important in determining the overall result of a presidential election. This years swing States are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump recently held events in Cleveland: “I went to get my car washed near where Trump was at the Canfield Fair. People were lined up, camped out and there were huge Trump signs on the back of trailers. The media was camped out and if you Google it on YouTube there is some footage of our local affiliates who were live through the entire thing and showed everything from the motorcade to the throngs of people at the Canfield fair. Now I don’t know whether or not the folks that were there were looking for a celebrity or if they were really supportive for him as a candidate for President of the United States. Probably a little bit of both. Unfortunately, for better or worse, politics and celebrity at this point go hand in hand in the United States.”
Currently, the race is pretty close in Ohio, separated by just a small margin. “Well I’ll tell you right now neither side can take anything for granted. Donald Trump has momentum. Hillary Clinton has infrastructure on the ground game and both of them are running ads in Ohio. Hillary is probably running 3 to 1 ads. But I’m not really sure how much the traditional political campaign ad is going to have in this election. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are very well known by the electorate. People have an opinion one way or the other on both of them. I think this is probably historically one of the smallest percentages of independent or undecided voters we have seen in modern history. Because both sides of the equation are very well know in quantities.”
“Then of course we have Gary Johnson,” she added, “who actually got on the ballet in Ohio. He’s pulling from both D’s and R’s. That’s going to contribute to how close it is. I think it’s going to be a down to the wire race. Ohio has always been perceived, and rightly so, as a state that needs to be won, as a true swing state. I don’t think that Ohio’s going to disappoint in this election cycle.”
