Let’s take a look back at 2022 and see this year’s top political news for Ohio and Kentucky. read and cry Or clap, depending on your point of view.
Mayor Aftab and the power of the Democratic slate card
On a bitterly cold but sunny morning in Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine, in early January, a crowd of Cincinnati bundled up in parkas, sock hats and the then 39-year-old son of an immigrant from India. I was watching over Aftab Purval. Tibet — I took the oath of office as the new mayor of Cincinnati.
Purevall delivered a short acceptance speech and hurried off the stage to announce that nine members of the Cincinnati City Council (the top nine vote-getters in a historically large field of 35 council members in the November 2021 election) We have made it possible for you to take the oath one by one. .
It was a notable election. Suffice it to say that Pureval, who was then a Hamilton County Court Clerk, won David His Mann, a fellow Democrat with a political career dating back to the 1970s, with his 66% share of the vote. It was impressive. But the strength of the Democratic Party in Cincinnati politics was not as evident as that election, in which eight of his nine congressional candidates supported by the Cincinnati Democratic Committee were elected.
In fact, in November 2021, it seemed as if Pureval won two elections (mayoral and city council). No Cincinnati mayor in the days of direct mayoral elections had a more friendly council.
Landsmann ends the Chabot era
Going into the 2022 election cycle, Westwood Republican Steve Chabot held the number one seat in Ohio.st All but two congressional districts in the last 28 years.
But hard-headed conservative Chabot had to know he was in big trouble this time.
RELATED: Analysis: Steve Chabot lost a race he shouldn’t have run in the first place
The only time Chabot lost support in Ohio-1 was in 2008, when Price Hill Democratic State Rep. Steve Driehaus rode Barack Obama’s wave into the House seat.
But in 2010 — the midterm elections when Obama wasn’t on the ballot — Chabot challenged Driehaus and won.
Since then, he has retained his seat with the help of Republican friends in the Ohio State Capitol, which gave him Republican Warren County after the 2010 census.
But this year, a federal lawsuit led to the use of a district map that was previously rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court. That includes all of the bright blue Cincinnati, going from a district that gave Donald Trump a three-percentage-point margin in 2020 to one that gave Joe Biden a nine-percentage-point margin.
That was enough to result in Chabot’s long career being sidelined.
Even Warren County wasn’t enough to save Chabot this time.
Kentucky ruling on abortion ban was shocking
Kentucky’s state constitutional amendment to ban abortion in November’s ballot caught the attention of both sides of the national abortion debate.
Republicans, who hold a majority in Congress, put the constitutional amendment to the ballot, no doubt their very conservative voters came out on November 8 and thought it would pass easily.
They were shocked by the results. His 52% of Kentuckians who voted voted against abortion bans. It seemed almost counterintuitive in the bright red state, but there it was.
It caught the attention of activists on both sides of the state across the country. Across the river in Ohio, in particular, Republican lawmakers were pondering just such a constitutional amendment, and abortion rights groups were in the early stages of planning a ballot issue to codify. Law vs Wade in the Ohio Constitution.
Ohio Republicans run out of time on redistricting
How Ohio Redistricted
The task of drawing new districts for state legislative and legislative seats didn’t seem so daunting. explained in detail in the Constitutional Amendment.
But Republican lawmakers in Ohio have made it their job to chart a path through the constitutional convention in the Ohio Supreme Court, until the end of 2022, when they’re on the verge of getting exactly what they wanted. I kept kicking cans. All along—a map that blocks their authority over state legislatures.
They abused the system — giving Republicans the Ohio Supreme Court in November, with a little help from Ohio voters.
Republicans in Ohio Legislature ‘fix’ unbroken electoral system
One of the last things the Republican supermajority did in the Ohio legislature this month was to pass sweeping “election reform” bills. Ohio voting rights groups say they only aim to make it harder for minorities, senior citizens, military personnel and overseas voters to vote.
Ohioans must show photo ID, such as a driver’s license or state ID card, when voting. Removed provision to allow people without photo ID to use alternative forms of identification, such as utility bills, bank statements and paychecks with home address will be
The new law also:
- Electoral Commission to limit absentee ballot drop-boxes to one.
- Eliminate early in-person voting on the Monday before the election, one of the busiest days of the early voting period.
- Change the absentee ballot application deadline from three days before the current deadline to seven days before Election Day.
- Reduce the grace period for vote-by-mail ballots from 10 days to 4 days after the election, as long as the ballot is postmarked before Election Day.
RELATED: Ohio Republicans rush to change election laws despite opposition
Voting rights groups opposed the change, saying Republicans were trying to solve a problem that didn’t really exist.
Sittenfeld found guilty in bribery trial
In July, a jury found former Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld guilty of one count of bribery and one count of attempted extortion. He was found not guilty to both the fair service wire fraud count and the attempted bribery and extortion count.
A jury found Sittenfeld guilty of attempted extortion and bribery charges related to a deal with former Cincinnati Bengal-turned-property developer Chinedam Ndukwe.
RELATED: Sittenfeld conviction closes big chapter of ‘culture of corruption’ at city hall
Sittenfield was considered the frontrunner for the 2021 Cincinnati mayoral election before being indicted in a major public corruption investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In fact, he was raising money for the campaign when I met with his FBI agent posing as a developer.
More than five months have passed since then, and Sittenfeld has not yet been sentenced. In December, a hearing was held in U.S. District Court, where Sittenfeld’s attorneys debated whether to vacate his conviction or allow the former city council member to retry. Look forward to seeing you early in the new year.
JD Vance keeps Ohio Senate seat in Republican hands
The battle between Middletown author and venture capitalist JD Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan for a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate can determine which party wins each Senate election. It’s one of the country’s most watched election cycles. get control.
Vance survived a crowded and tumultuous Republican primary with the help of last-minute endorsements from Donald Trump and a quick infusion of campaign funds from billionaire Peter Thiel.
In the general election, Vance tried to distance himself from Trump, campaigning to claim that Ryan, a 20-year congressman, was just a mouthpiece for President Biden and Democratic congressional leaders.
RELATED: Which J.D. Vance Will Appear in the US Senate?
Ryan directly pursued independent voters and Republicans who didn’t support Vance in the primary, portraying himself as a boss-unbothered candidate, and portraying Vance as a candidate who spent most of his adulthood in San Francisco or San Francisco on the carpet. I drew it as a badger. New York.
At least $110 million was spent on this campaign. Ultimately Vance won, but it wasn’t enough for the Republicans to regain control of the Senate.
DeWine hides in plain sight to win re-election
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine won 63% of the vote for the Democrats of former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who was unable to compete with the incumbent in funding, visibility, or flying ability, leading Ohio to Rounding out his 46-year career in politics was his public position distributing money to local governments around the state.
And he did it without ever facing Whaley or his main Republican opponent in a face-to-face debate.
Commentary: How Mike DeWine Defiled What Could Be His Final Victory
He clearly feared being attacked from the right by Republican opponents like Jim Lenatch and Joe Brystone. And he ignored Whaley’s repeated calls, even in one debate. I didn’t want to give him the chance to smack him for his role in the fiasco.
It worked for DeWine. But the concern of many was that DeWine’s sidestepping of political opponents could hasten the conclusion of meaningful debate in the Ohio election.