John Kasich campaigns at Joe's Deli
Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks to supporters Thursday at Joe's Deli in Rocky River.
(Mark Duncan, The Associated Press)
FAIRLAWN, Ohio – Ohio's Republican officeholders joined forces Thursday, mostly confident in their own re-election prospects but pushing for a big sweep that includes far-down-the-ballot races for Supreme Court and Cuyahoga County executive.
Gov. John Kasich is headlining this three-day bus tour, which kicked off near Mansfield and will finish Saturday with what's expected to be a large Columbus rally.
But with the woes of Kasich challenger Ed FitzGerald threatening to weigh down the entire Democratic ticket, it was Justice Judi French who stole the show.
French, whom Kasich nominated to the court to fill a vacancy, is a Republican. However, Supreme Court candidates are not identified by party affiliation on general election ballots. French also faces a strong opponent in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell, whose familiar name – Republican Terrence O'Donnell already sits on the high court – could carry him to victory in a low-information race.
"I know some of you might not like the French, but I bet a lot of you here like 'Judge Judy,' said French, referring to the famous television personality, at each of her four speeches Thursday. "So if you can remember her, you can remember me."
Other Republicans, from Kasich on down, on the statewide ticket showed as much enthusiasm – if not more – for French's candidacy than they did their own.
"Keep French on the bench!" State Auditor Dave Yost implored crowds at each stop.
The "Ohio Works" tour seems designed to motivate grassroots activists to keep the GOP's turnout operation humming through Election Day, but to also earn local TV coverage that will help introduce French and sear her name into voters' minds.
"Judi has outworked all of us," Secretary of State Jon Husted said in an interview aboard the bus, between stops in Richland County and Rocky River.
French's campaign has upset Democrats in recent days by emphasizing her Republican affiliation and characterizing herself as a "backstop" for conservatism.
"Since being handpicked by Gov. Kasich just last year, Justice French has quickly built a reputation of making outrageous partisan remarks and receiving questionably timed donations that show a disturbing disregard for judicial ethics," Brian Hester, the Ohio Democratic Party's deputy communications director, said in an email.
"Voters deserve a fair and impartial Supreme Court justice who will work on behalf of all Ohioans, which is why they'll elect Judge John P. O'Donnell this November."
French made the backstop remark in every speech Thursday. Asked during an interview to elaborate, she said she is speaking philosophically, not politically.
"It's really about how I define my role on the court," French said. "I conserve my power. I conserve the power of the court. I am not an activist."
Justice Sharon Kennedy, also a Republican up for a new term this year, did not participate in any of Thursday's events. She's believed to have a much easier race.
While French is antagonizing Democrats, many of whom see hers as the one seat they might yet snag in a year of misfortunes, she is reuniting Republicans.
Kasich observed at Thursday's first event, held at an Ontario manufacturing firm, that it was the first time the ticket has been on the road together this cycle.
The last four years have brought intraparty squabbles small and large. Kasich engineered a takeover of the Ohio GOP – a feud that exposed divisions between his allies and Husted's. Yost tangled with Kasich over the right to inspect the books at JobsOhio, the governor's privatized development agency.
Treasurer Josh Mandel tangled with Kasich in public over Medicaid expansion and a fracking tax. Then Kasich vetoed money for one of Mandel's pet projects.
And Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine already are signaling interest in succeeding Kasich in 2018 – posturing that doesn't factor in the possible ascension of Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor if Kasich finds himself in national office before then. (He's been mentioned more frequently of late as a possible presidential candidate in 2016.)
All of the Republicans played nicely Thursday, at least amongst each other.
George Voinovich, the former Cleveland mayor, U.S. senator and Ohio governor, joined the Republicans for a lunch-hour stop at Joe's Deli in Rocky River. He was the only Republican all day to mention the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful by name.
"This year we're going to have, I think, one of the greatest victories the Republican Party ever had, and it's not because of the fact that Fitzpatrick's – FitzGerald's campaign imploded," said Voinovich, mocking FitzGerald's low name-recognition. "It's because of the fact that our candidate did something told me a long time ago: 'Do a good job with the job you have, George, and the future will take care of itself.'"
Voinovich and others offered enthusiastic endorsements of Cuyahoga County Councilman Jack Schron, the GOP candidate to succeed FitzGerald.
"There's no more important thing we can do on Tuesday than to get out there and make sure our family members, our friends, our neighbors, everyone we know, helps draft Jack Schron," Mandel, a county resident, said during his remarks at Joe's.
From Rocky River, the bus tour literally rolled on to a factory floor in Youngstown. There, at Dearing Compressor and Pump Co., Kasich deviated from his script for the day and stumped for crossover votes in the heavily Democratic Mahoning County. Then-Gov. Ted Strickland clobbered Kasich there by 35 points in 2010.
"I get Youngstown. I get the Mahoning Valley," said Kasich, who grew up in McKees Rocks, Pa., a suburb of nearby Pittsburgh. "My dad was a Democrat."
The tour ended the night at a church here in Summit County, where loud polka music and the smells of bratwurst and sauerkraut greeted Kasich and his compatriots.
It was a lively end for the first day. Friday's leg of the tour picks up in Toledo and then continues on to Lima, Moraine and Cincinnati. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a top Republican star, is scheduled to attend the Saturday finale in Columbus.