The Republican National Committee on Tuesday picked Cleveland to host the 2016 GOP convention. Some might be thinking that this is a suave move for the Republican Party. Ohio is one of the most important swing states, and no Republican has ever won the presidency without it. By holding their […] Read more »
In Governors’ Races This Year, Lessons for 2016
… [Scott] Walker is one of eight Republican governors facing re-election who swept into office in 2010 in states that President Obama won two years earlier, driven by the Tea Party at the height of its influence. … But perhaps the most closely watched races will be in four Northern […] Read more »
Middle America assails Washington machine as indifferent and ‘above us’
America has met the enemy, and it is Washington. That was the message from a focus group of 11 Cincinnati-area voters, who issued a scathing and impassioned indictment Wednesday of Washington, D.C., and everyone in it — from lawmakers to the president and, most strikingly, a political system that makes […] Read more »
Ohio marriage views shift
Ohioans’ sentiments have shifted dramatically since voters overwhelmingly supported the 2004 ban on same-sex marriage. The constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman passed with 62 percent support. But now, just days before the U.S. Supreme Court considers a pair of landmark gay-marriage cases, a […] Read more »
The auto bailout didn’t decide the election
In the wake of the first 2012 presidential debate, as former governor Mitt Romney gained ground in swing-state and especially national polls, a narrative took hold about the importance of the auto bailout. The Buckeye State was likely to decide the election, President Obama was over-performing in Ohio relative the […] Read more »
Can unions save the white working-class vote for Democrats?
Voters in union households provided a big boost to President Obama in Ohio and Wisconsin, where key battles over public sector unions have been waged. Their strong support helped him staunch big losses elsewhere among white working-class voters. White voters without college degrees made up nearly half of the total […] Read more »