Ohioans will be voting for a new governor in 2018 and already the race is filling up with candidates.
Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor formally announced that she will run and has formed a committee.
“We turned Ohio in a new direction, and we’ve seen what’s possible in our communities when we rein in government, put people first and ensure everyone has a fair shot at the American Dream,” Taylor said. “My priorities are jobs, strengthening families, fixing education and cutting red tape so government is accountable.”
Before she announced her candidacy, Kasich had already put his support behind her. Taylor filled in at many official functions for Kasich while he was on the campaign trail during the presidential election.
Taylor has also been criticized for her high turnover rate among staff members.
Former U.S. Representative Betty Sutton has also announced her intention to run for governor.
“I want to be someone who shifts the focus back to working families,” she said. “We need champions for ordinary Ohioans. They need someone who’s going to focus and make them a priority.”
Sutton, a member of the Democratic party, served three terms in Congress and eight years in the state legislature, where she was the youngest woman ever elected at age 29.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine accidentally let it slip that he was running for governor during a conversation with a Dayton charter school executive.
“I’d like your ideas,” DeWine said, extending his personal email address to Summit Academy Schools CEO Barbara Danforth. “There’s not much I can do about it now, but I’m going to run for governor in two years.”
A reporter overheard the conversation although DeWine said he told Danforth that confidentially. He has not made an official announcement thus far.
Actor Tom Arnold has put his support behind DeWine despite calling himself a “Hollywood liberal.”
“He’s tough but he cares,” Arnold said on Twitter. Arnold said he is holding a fundraiser for DeWine, but there is no scheduled date or time yet.
Republican U.S. Representative Jim Renacci is positioning himself as a political outsider, unlike the other candidates.
“Unlike other candidates, I’ve spent the vast majority of my career in the business world, not politics,” Renacci said in announcing his run. “I’m proud to have created over 1,500 jobs in our state and employed over 3,000 hardworking Ohioans. I believe deeply in the value of results, not rhetoric and I am committed to putting that brand of principled, conservative, business-based thinking to work on behalf of the people of our state.”
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper had strong words against Renacci calling him “the worst of Washington.”
Democrat Connie Pillich has received the first union endorsement out of all the candidates.
“I decided to run because I don’t like the things that I’ve seen — the loss of jobs, the education issues, the infrastructure issues — and I think we could do a whole world of difference better. I think we could provide every kid a good education. I believe that we have the ability to not have just maintained infrastructure but stellar infrastructure that can support a great economy,” Pillich said.
Secretary of State Jon Husted has not officially declared his entrance into the race, but he has been building up a large number of funds. He has about $2.5 million stored up.
“Today’s [January 31] filing further emphasizes the momentum and enthusiasm behind Jon Husted’s vision for Ohio’s future,” said Avi Zaffini, spokesman for Husted for Ohio. “From reducing spending so that his office can function for two years without using any taxpayer dollars to his optimistic vision for Ohio’s future, Jon Husted has earned the trust Ohioans have in him.”
Husted said that he will officially make his decision here in the next couple of months.
There are still rumors floating about several Democrats for governor, including Dayton mayor Nan Whaley.
Whaley said in March that she was considering a run, but was focused on being the mayor of Dayton.
If a woman were to be elected as governor of Ohio, they would make history as the first elected female governor of Ohio. Only Nancy Hollister has filled the office for 11 days in 1999 when George Voinovich was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Current Governor John Kasich, whose term expires in 2018, told CNN that he does not see himself getting back into politics for the 2020 presidential election after his term finishes.
Laina Yost
Managing Editor