transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Support for 89.7 NPR News comes from The James at Ohio State. The best outcomes for treating cancer come from early detection. The James Cancer Diagnostic Center is designed to provide rapid evaluation and a clear diagnosis to those who suspect they have cancer. Learn more at cancer.osu.edu/diagnosticcenter.

Speaker 2:
[00:23] This podcast was recorded Thursday, April 23rd at 10 17 a.m. Things may have changed by the time you hear this. Yeah, like Vivek Ramaswamy will announce record fundraising that does not include money he's given to himself. Let's talk politics. This is Snollygoster, WOSU Public Media's weekly look at Ohio politics and all those snollygosters, those shrewd politicians who self-fund their own campaigns through loans, at least at first, and then ask private donors to pay off that debt. I'm Mike Thompson. Coming up in the podcast, The Columbus Way gets our Snollygoster of the Week award. But first, the race for Ohio governor has gotten personal in recent weeks. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is out with a new ad where his wife shows off their new baby. In another ad, he goes after Democrat Amy Acton for her role in the COVID-19 shutdowns. Acton has been left to explain an incident at her home in 2019. NBC was first to report that Bexley Police responded to a report of a domestic dispute between Acton and her husband. The report said the couple had a verbal argument and a mirror fell from the wall and shattered. There was no evidence of physical violence and no charges were filed, according to the police report. Acton said it was an argument over her long work hours. Also, Acton's campaign has criticized Ramaswamy's campaign for making an issue of her seeking counseling for sexual abuse she suffered as a child. To get a look at where this race stands and where the race for US Senate stands, return to WOSU TV's Columbus On The Record panel. Reporter Jesse Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network, Republican strategist Terry Casey, and Democratic strategist Stanley Gates. Stanley Gates, this has gotten ugly kind of fast. What's going on? Politics is always personal, but this has gotten pretty personal pretty quickly.

Speaker 3:
[02:32] Yeah, and you know what's crazy is, this is really a good thing for Amy Acton in the case that she doesn't have a primary opponent. This could be much messier if she had a primary opponent and then had to go into the November election. And so I think what's happening is, this is a part of the modern politics. However, what you can see is that these elbows are getting thrown very early, which means that someone's feeling some pressure. And I think the Vivek camp is starting to see that. I was thinking about it earlier this week, and this is kind of like the Rocky movie. When Rocky finally hits Apollo and Apollo realizes, this is somebody I can't mess with. And I think Vivek is in that moment right now.

Speaker 2:
[03:08] So, the incident at Acton's house, Terry, was serious enough where police were called, so there was not nothing. But how big an issue should that be in the campaign?

Speaker 4:
[03:17] It isn't gonna be the big issue, but it raises questions as far as the judgment. She rolled out her husband to tell Channel 4 here in Columbus that I was drinking more than my wife was drinking, so she didn't really have a drinking problem. But these are secondary issues. The big thing is both sides do opposition research. They look and see what's most salient. In some cases, they test it. So you're gonna have these kind of things. Some will be important, some won't be important, but as I remember Sherrod Brown, when he tried to get re-elected secretary of state, he was gonna take a trip over to Japan, and sayonara, Sherrod became the magic word that really locked in. So at some point, some of these personal issues, either way, could become effective and important.

Speaker 2:
[03:59] And the commonality between these two candidates, Jesse, is they're new to politics. And I know Ramaswamy ran for president briefly, but he's been a private business person. Amy Acton had her role during the DeWine administration, but she's largely been a private person. So this is new to them, this hardball politics.

Speaker 5:
[04:17] It's true. And I think that's exactly why you're seeing some of this, is because both candidates are trying to define who their opponent is before their opponent has the chance to do it for themselves. And so unfortunately, you're seeing this pretty early in the race. But I think to Stanley's point, it shows that this could be a pretty competitive one in Ohio, perhaps even more competitive than I would have thought last year.

Speaker 2:
[04:39] Now Stanley, Ramaswamy's campaign is accusing Acton of taking comments out of context where he said that Acton has no vision other to complain about what someone else did to her. Acton said that he's mocking my report that I had suffered sexual abuse. And is this game being played both ways?

Speaker 3:
[05:00] I think it's getting to play both ways. And again, I think that this is just the start of it. I mean, they are not officially challengers and also the nominees from each party. And I think it's just going to get more and more messy as we get.

Speaker 4:
[05:13] And I think you summarized it well. Things being taken out of context in politics, so what else is new? But in reality, if you're smart, if you throw an issue that's too complicated and too confusing, it ends up falling nowhere. But it's finding that thing that's understandable, and the best thing is if it reinforces something, they've already seen news coverage about it.

Speaker 2:
[05:35] So he did write a book, Ramaswamy did write a book called A Nation of Victims where he says we're all playing the victim card. So it doesn't take a huge leap to say he was equating her victimhood to this complaint.

Speaker 4:
[05:48] Right. But sooner or later, we're going to shift back to what I think is going to be the key issue is she's proposed a lot of new programs, things for child care, things for schools, more funding. But it's going to have to answer, where do you get the money? Where does it come from? And both candidates are going to talk about property taxes, but where are they really at? Where do you cut? Where do you save money? But ultimately, it's the wallet, it's the economy and taxes. That's what drives voters.

Speaker 2:
[06:13] One, that was my next question. By focusing on these sort of salacious, maybe personal issues, this tit-for-tat stuff, it hurts Amy Acton because she just wants to hammer affordability and the cost of everything, right?

Speaker 3:
[06:26] No, I don't think it does. But what I do think hurts is that the fact that voters just want to hear about the issues, folks don't want to hear about the petty politics. People want to understand, how are you going to make my bills more affordable? How are you going to make sure that this economy does not take me out of the home that I've had? And how can I age in place? That's what people care about. People do not care about all the messy and petty politics right now.

Speaker 2:
[06:48] One issue that has come up in the campaign, Jessie, and it's a legitimate issue, is the role that Amy Acton played in the earliest days of the COVID shutdowns. And the ad blames Acton for closing the polls or canceling the election in March of 2020. And Governor DeWine came to her defense this week.

Speaker 5:
[07:06] Yeah, I think this is going to be really interesting because Amy Acton's signature might be on a lot of these orders, but it was made as kind of a collaborative conversation with Governor Mike DeWine, obviously a Republican saying that these were my calls, these were my decisions. In the case of the election, you had sign off from both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party at the time. You had the Secretary of State also a Republican saying, we have to do this for the health of our citizens. And so by attacking Amy Acton on this issue, you're kind of attacking some Republicans as well.

Speaker 2:
[07:38] That's my question, Terry. Everyone sort of, Amy Acton made her name, became very high-profile because of COVID. She got rave reviews from most people. Now there were some people on the far right that didn't want anything shut down that hated her. They still do. But I just wonder how this play is going forward. She had a lot of goodwill. She was well thought of. People don't want to talk about the pandemic start, but I mean, this could cut both ways.

Speaker 4:
[08:02] Well, going back to 21, in the spring, the real dividing point between the legislature and a lot of other people was in the spring, she did not want the fairs, county fairs across Ohio, in the rural areas in the summer and the fall to reopen. And other people, including the legislature said, wait a minute, this is a killer. The fairs are open, they're outdoors. We can't continue being shut down too long. So there was a tension that developed, including involving the governor, who wanted to reopen sooner than what she wanted to open. So there is an issue of when did you reopen, what did you keep closed down, that'll come back and be discussed some more.

Speaker 2:
[08:39] All right. In the race for US Senate, former Senator and now Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown, has a big lead in fundraising over John Huston. Brown raised nearly $10 million in the first three months of this year. That's more than triple the amount raised by John Huston. Brown has $16.5 million on hand, which is double what Huston's campaign has. Huston, however, has gotten promises from the National GOP Senate Campaign Organization that it will spend up to $80 million to help the Republican incumbent. Terry Casey, why is John Huston having a hard time raising money, at least keeping up with Sherrod Brown?

Speaker 4:
[09:15] Well, Sherrod Brown's got an established national base, including people from California, the East Coast and everywhere, who was on his list because he, I think, raised or put together about a quarter billion dollars when he ran in 24. So, it's natural he'd have an advantage, but ultimately, they're both going to have a lot of money. I think the bigger thing to watch in this Senate race is John Huston's almost pitching himself as the challenger, the outsider. I haven't been in DC for three or four decades. I'm the new guy, and right now, against these and ours, the public's not happy with incumbent officeholders and want some change. So, watching that challenger versus incumbent positioning will, I think, be the key thing in this race.

Speaker 2:
[09:59] But Stanley Sherwood Brown is tying John Huston to Donald Trump and Donald Trump's policies in Iran, which has led to higher gas prices and tariffs, which have led to higher prices in other areas.

Speaker 3:
[10:11] Yeah, and I think that that's exactly what he and also Amy Acton. I mean, I think we're going to see a wave of folks. I hope that it's a blue wave, but I think at the end of the day, what people are seeing is they're tired of what's happening in Washington, and I think Sherwood's playing on that. He's playing on it very well. And I think that's something that we can't get away from. He's making a statement with that fundraising dollars, and I think that we are going to see, to Terry's point, a lot more dollars coming to this race. This is not going to be something that just ends where we are right now. In April and October, we're going to see much more of this gap closing.

Speaker 2:
[10:43] So John Huston faces the same headwinds that a lot of Republicans said of Canada. They said, look at around the country, John Cornyn in Texas has raised just $2.5 million, Susan Collins $2.9 million, same as John Huston. Those are established Republican incumbents that are still lagging Democrats in their fundraiser.

Speaker 5:
[11:01] Yeah, I'd say what's interesting about John Huston is despite being in politics for decades in Ohio, he's been Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, the former Ohio House Speaker. He's maybe not a name that the average Ohioan has heard of. These are not positions where maybe you're in the on the headlines every day. You're kind of number two to Mike DeWine for the past several years. And so being able to define himself once again, whether that be tying himself to Trump and Trump's policies or as his own person, he is going to have to introduce himself a bit to the Ohio voter.

Speaker 2:
[11:34] Yeah, that was the question I had for you, Terry. Does John Huston have a Rob Portman problem? Very well known, capable politician, long career, but the average person, it's not the most exciting guy. The average person doesn't know who he is.

Speaker 4:
[11:50] Well, there will be a contrast of the newer, younger, fresher face versus the guy that was there forever. And again, if they don't, nothing else, a lot of people are itching for some change. And then on the whole Trump thing, obviously the good news for John Huston and Republicans is the election is not in early May. It's six and a half months away. And in today's news cycle and today's political cycle, things can change dramatically in a month, but six and a half months is an eternity.

Speaker 2:
[12:19] So that's the question for you, Stanley. Does Sherrod Brown have a Sherrod Brown problem in that people do know him very well? He's been here a long time. He's not that fresh face. He's coming off a loss. It's hard to bounce back from that. How does he overcome that?

Speaker 3:
[12:32] I think he overcomes it pretty well. I mean, I think that two years ago was very unique in the fact that Trump was at the top of the ticket. I think he has a unique advantage right now with the economy, albeit six months from now, much later. But at the end of the day, you know, I think that he has an advantage. One thing I think that's going to be something that he's going to have to be mindful of is he ran two years ago, he's running now, and if he wins, he'll be running again in two more years. And so that'll be under another presidential election. And so we'll see how tough he is, but Sherrod's always been someone that's been battle tested through the state.

Speaker 2:
[13:04] And Sherrod Brown's latest battle is just beginning. That was Democratic strategist Stanley Gates, our thanks to him, as well as Republican strategist Terry Casey, and reporter Jesse Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network. If you want to see more, you can catch Every Columbus on the Record on the WOSU News YouTube channel. Just go to YouTube, search WOSU News, and there you'll find Columbus on the Record, along with a lot of other stuff from WOSU News. We'll be right back.

Speaker 6:
[13:35] You know, every day on Up First, NPR's Golden Globe-nominated morning news podcast, we bring you three essential stories. At the heart of each story are questions. What really happened? What really mattered? What happens next? At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious and to follow the facts. Follow Up First wherever you get your podcasts and start your day knowing what matters and why.

Speaker 2:
[14:01] Welcome back to Snollygoster, a reminder and a request. If you like what you hear, please give us a good review on Apple Podcasts, whatever platform you are using, and don't forget to tap that follow button so you get to hear every episode. All right, time now for our Snollygoster of the Week segment where we honor the shrewdest politician or political move of the past week. And it goes to the National Women's Soccer League, a first for this podcast, a professional sports league. Anyway, the NWSL announced this week it would put an expansion team in Columbus. It was very dramatic. It sounded like for Columbus to land the team, the Columbus City Council and Franklin County Commissioners had to chip in $50 million total. It was very contentious whether to give billionaire owners public money for their team. It went right down to the wire. Columbus City Council voted Monday night to award its share. The Franklin County Commissioners voted Tuesday morning to award their share. And then just a couple of hours later, there they all were. League officials, Mayor Ginther, local politicians, team owners, all on a stage, announcing that Columbus got its team. Here is NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.

Speaker 7:
[15:21] This is a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer. A community that understands the power of sport and the power of community. From Save the Crew, to multiple MLS Cups, to hosting 13 US. Women's National Team matches, Columbus has shown what's possible.

Speaker 2:
[15:42] It was amazingly quick work. The commissioner was in town. There was a stage and banners set at the stadium. There was a logo, a pre-produced video, all presented just moments, just moments after the last crucial political vote. It makes you wonder one of two things. The votes were decided long before the meetings, or the public money was not really needed to make the business decision to put a pro sports franchise in Columbus, a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer. Where have I heard that before? Either way, for securing the public money and for quickly launching a glitzy announcement, the owners of the yet to be named Columbus Women's Soccer Team and the National Women's Soccer League get our Snollygoster of the Week Award. I will say this, I am excited for soccer fans to have a women's pro team here. I think it's gonna be really cool. May they sell out every game so that that 2% ticket tax can pay off the city's $25 million contribution very quickly. That will do it for this week's edition of Snollygoster, which is part of the NPR Network. For our digital producer Michael DeBonus and our audio engineer Dalton Jones, I'm Mike Thompson for WOSU Public Media.