by Pat Murray, CCPC Steering Committee Member
With the midterms behind us, I think it is time to consider how to move forward in the electoral arena in Ohio in the coming years in light of the very poor performance of the Democratic party in our state.
In a recent American Prospect article entitled The Rural Turnaround, Robert Kutter laid out a path forward for Democrats to compete in rural areas highlighting our neighbors in Pennsylviania and John Fettermans “Every County, Every Vote” strategy. I think that it is time that we as a progressive caucus in Ohio begin to think about more than our own neighborhoods and begin to think about how to influence those parts of our county and our state where large majorities of voters have been lost to the Democratic party. I think we have to think about how CCPC can participate with people outside Cuyahoga County to affect statewide elections.
I would suggest that we make efforts to listen to the people in the communities where the Republicans are winning by hefty majorities first in our county and then in the surrounding counties that make up our metropolitan area. Only two of the counties in the Cleveland metro area (Lorain and Cuyahoga) had a majority vote for Tim Ryan. Only Cuyahoga had a majority vote for Nan Whaley. And I think we need to listen not just to progressive friends in these areas, but to mainline Democrats who are still working in those communities.
A lot has been made about voter turnout, especially in Cleveland. For the last three cycles (2018, 2020, and 2022) I have heard that part of the solution to the statewide losses is to increase turnout in the Metro areas to offset the losses in the rural parts of Ohio. While this may be part of the answer, I personally think that the voter apathy that is rampant in parts of our city and county is the result of a widespread view that those in power (from either party) don’t make a difference in most people’s lives. I am not sure that any amount of canvassing and GOTV will overcome that apathy. I suspect that tangible improvements in people’s lives can slowly begin to make a difference. I think we need to think about how our local government can begin to be seen as one that can make such improvements.
I think there are at least three things to consider:
Should CCPC affiliate with or try to create a statewide organization that would begin such work?
Is Our Revolution Ohio such an organization?
Is the Working Families Party Ohio such an organization?
Are there other groups that we haven’t considered?
What role do ballot initiatives play in building support in areas that vote heavily Republican?
How do you convert support for popular initiatives like $15 dollar minimum wage or reproductive rights to support for Democrats in general elections in such places?
What are efforts that could be supported at the Cuyahoga county level that would be seen as examples of how a progressive government can work?
What is a progressive issue that parallels what the above article describes in Chattanooga?
How do we move from focusing on opposition to what we don’t want and begin supporting what we do?
If others in CCPC share these concerns maybe a small group might come together to discuss the questions above and other possible paths to figure out what we might do to make our state competitive again. Let me know your thoughts by sending an email to pkm3@case.edu.
