COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s largest police union has endorsed a bipartisan slate of state candidates in fall elections, including challengers to Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine.
RELATED STORY: Kasich leads FitzGerald in new poll
The 25,000-member Ohio Fraternal Order of Police announced endorsements Tuesday. They include four Democrats: Cuyahoga County executive Ed FitzGerald for governor, Cincinnati attorney David Pepper for attorney general, and state Reps. John Patrick Carney of Columbus and Connie Pillich for auditor and treasurer, respectively.
The group also backed three Republicans: Secretary of State Jon Husted and Supreme Court Justices Sharon Kennedy and Judith French.
The FOP president cited FitzGerald’s support of police during the 2011 collective-bargaining fight as a factor in backing him over Kasich.
A Quinnipiac University poll shows that the battle over collective bargaining is still important to 80 percent of Ohio voters and that 31 percent of them say it makes them less likely to vote for Kasich, though 45 percent say it will make no difference.
A Kasich campaign spokeswoman says the governor has built a strong partnership with local law enforcement that continues.