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COLUMBUS - Mainstream politicians Mike DeWine and Richard Cordray prevailed Tuesday in the primaries for governor – returning Ohio to its establishment-voting tradition after the state backed outsider Donald Trump in 2016.
For DeWine and Cordray, the general election represents a rematch of a 2010 attorney general contest that DeWine narrowly won. That was a year when Republicans won up and down the ticket.
This year will be different nationally. Democrats hope they can turn people souring on President Trump into dedicated voters eager to topple Republicans in Washington and Ohio.
To do it, they will have to unite progressives, mainstream Democrats and working-class voters who backed Trump. And they'll have to overcome DeWine's status as one of the most recognized names in Ohio politics.
On Tuesday, DeWine, still serving as Ohio attorney general, defeated Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, 60 percent to 40 percent. Each had spent millions trying to prove they were the more conservative Republican, running brutal attack ads.
Cordray, former director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, won the Democratic primary over former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich had tried to carry the mantle of progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders – to limited effect – while Cordray attempted to downplay his history of support for gun rights.
Cordray had 63 percent of the vote, followed by Kucinich's 22 percent, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni's 9 percent and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill's 3 percent.
To defeat DeWine, Cordray must first unite the populists and progressives whom Kucinich had tried to gather. Cordray has the backing of noted populist Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, but perhaps not that of Kucinich.
Kucinich said Tuesday night he accepted the results of the election, but he was still trumpeting his campaign platform – not Cordray's.
“We move forward in the interest of what’s best for the people here in Ohio," Kucinich said: two years of free college, a $15 minimum wage and more. “People want Democrats who will stand for safer neighborhoods and for getting rid of these assault weapons, once and for all.”
Cordray doesn't support a ban on assault-style weapons. But he might be able to reach blue-collar Trump voters with issues such as his support for gun rights. He will try to reach people who oppose Trump by being different from him in almost every other way.
"Are you ready for change? Rich Cordray and I are going to bring it to Columbus – you better believe it," Cordray's running mate, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, told supporters Tuesday night.
In many ways, DeWine represents the opposite of change: His name recognition stems from more than 40 years in politics. "Mike DeWine is the most trusted official in Ohio," his running mate, Secretary of State Jon Husted, told supporters Tuesday night.
DeWine has a more conservative record than Cordray in a state that has leaned right in recent elections. He is likely to have the backing of most Ohio Republicans: Taylor backed him Tuesday night, despite having labeled him "D.C. DeWine."
She had attacked him for his sometimes-moderate votes in Congress and said he was endorsed by "swamp cronies." (Cordray threw shade at the GOP Tuesday by congratulating DeWine on winning "one of the ugliest campaigns I have ever seen.")
DeWine also could benefit with moderates from the distance he's kept from Trump, if not open rebellion against him. DeWine endorsed and voted for the president – after supporting Gov. John Kasich's primary bid – but hasn't appeared with Trump this election season.
Zach Tuggle of the Mansfield News Journal contributed.
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