Centrist Democrats' last stand will be fought in Ohio

[Valin]

The Washington Examiner

Salena Zito, National Political Reporter

June 12, 2022

NILES, Ohio — Not all that long ago if you were a Republican in Trumbull County — in truth, there weren’t that many Republicans around here not that long ago — you likely cast your vote for Tim Ryan for Congress every time he was up for reelection for his congressional seat.

Just four years ago, and two years after former President Donald Trump shockingly won his home county in the 2016 presidential election, Ryan still managed to coast to victory for a ninth term in the House, winning his home county by just shy of 60 percentage points. That number, however, had fallen from the over 70% he used to enjoy in previous cycles.

It wasn’t really the 10-point shift Ryan should have paid attention to — it was that it happened in the “Valley.” Things were changing in the Buckeye State.

(Snip)

“Without those voters, the Democrats have little hope to defeat J.D. Vance. Vance, like Ryan, can claim working-class bona fides. *

* I suspect this is also true in other races.If you talk to Democrats in areas like Mahoning County, they will often tell you that they didn’t leave the Democratic Party — the Democratic Party left them. So to win back these voters, and win Ohio, Ryan has to convince these voters that, unlike his party, he didn’t leave them,” Sracic said.

(Snip)

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* I suspect you will find this true in other races.