COLUMBUS – As expected, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has joined forces with his chief rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in hopes of marshaling their resources for a general election showdown with former state treasurer and Attorney General Richard Cordray, a possible Democratic nominee.
DeWine announced Thursday that Secretary of State Jon Husted was giving up his own bid for the state’s top job in 2018 to join DeWine’s ticket as his running mate. By teaming up, the powerhouse duo combines statewide grassroots operations and combined campaign coffers totaling about $9 million.
“Jon Husted shares my vision for the future of Ohio,” DeWine said in a fundraising email to supporters. “He shares the same passion and love for our state. He shares the same commitment to protecting our families. He shares the same goals. And, he shares the same optimism about tomorrow.
Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor says the merger of the two well-known, well-funded fellow Republicans onto a single ticket won’t drive her from the race for governor.
Taylor said Thursday that Ohioans want “a governor who will challenge the status quo, not accede to it.”
“The election of Donald Trump sent a message to career politicians everywhere – if you continue to go along to get along we will replace you. Replace you with women and men who are capable of the bold, decisive action this state needs to realize the future it deserves,” she said in a statement follow the announcement by DeWine.
Taylor has served two terms as lieutenant governor to Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is term-limited.
She said the 70-year-old DeWine “is the past” and her campaign represents the future. The 51-year-old is the only Republican woman running for a statewide office.
Congressman Jim Renacci is also still in the race for the GOP nod.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic ballot in the May primary, TV talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer has decided to stay out of the race.
WLWT-TV reports Springer announced his decision in his weekly podcast Wednesday in northern Kentucky. The 73-year-old former news anchorman has hosted “The Jerry Springer Show” for 26 years. It’s a raucous show with public airings of guests’ personal dramas.
He says as “a husband, father and grandfather,” he wasn’t ready for a five-year commitment of campaigning and serving. A half-dozen other Democrats are running or considering runs for the 2018 nomination.
Springer was a Cincinnati councilman and survived a prostitution scandal to become mayor in the 1970s.
He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic governor nomination in 1982 and has contemplated other statewide runs in more recent years.
The Democratic field already includes state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, former state Rep. Connie Pillich and Ohio Supreme Court Justice William M. O’Neill.