Greetings!
The polls closed about half an hour ago. This year's first primary season seems to have come and gone with much less than the usual fervor, except in one race, where several purportedly grown men, and one hypocritical woman vied to see who could suck up the most to a man who would sell them all the down the river for less than a farthing to feed his own ego needs for attention. We're talking of course about the Grovelers Ball known as the Republican Primary for U. S. Senate, where J. D. Vance, Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons spent lavishly and Jane Timken was stripped of her bridesmaid bouquet. State Senator Matt Dolan of Chagrin Falls appeared almost Socratic by comparison to his fellow wingnuts, and we're most curious to see if there are enough reasonable folks in his party for him to eke out the nomination.
Other races we'll be watching tonight:
- which former mayor from southwest Ohio will win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination: Cincinnati's John Cranley or Dayton's Nan Whaley?
- will the result be any different in Brown vs. Turner II? Shontel Brown buttressed her basic campaign strategy of reciting well-rehearsed talking points while appearing cute and likable with the power of incumbency. Turner's campaign strategy was better this time around — how could it not have been — and the redrawn district may be slightly in her favor, but was it all enough to change the result in the 11th Congressional District?
- Morgan Harper has talent and a compelling life story, but running statewide for a US Senate nomination make sense right after you were blown out in a Congressional campaign hardly seems the best way to launch a political career. Will she do well enough against Congressman Tim Ryan in the Democratic Senatorial primary for the third time to be a charm?
- how abysmal will the turnout be for Democrats?
- will Gov. DeWine come close to 50% of the vote in his primary bid to be renominated?
- and finally, will there be any evidence that Ohio voters are even slightly disturbed by the ongoing largest scandal in the state's history?
The light turnout may mean we'll have answers to all these questions by 10p or so. Then we can turn our attention to the question of whether the Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission will be found in contempt by the Ohio Supreme Court for their flaunting of both the Court and the Constitution.
While you are awaiting answers to these vital questions, be sure and read Rev. McMickle's observations — Ebony and Ivy and Slavery … — in the wake of Harvard's acknowledgment that some portion of its privileged history has been made possible by slavery. It's the kind of truth that your children won't be able to learn in Ohio's public schools if the gerrymandered super-majorities in the Ohio General Assembly continue to dismantle our public education system.
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