Mike DeWine in dominant position in AG race

In this post I don’t want to get into the whole debate about Mike DeWine’s career or what his running for AG (and the various other candidates) means for the Ohio Republican Party, its future, etc. Perhaps when I have time I will lay out my philosophical and strategic thoughts on the race.

But for right now, I simply want to note that those in the party who supported DeWine running in the AG race have some pretty serious ammunition for why he is the best candidate.

Well, first they had the fundraising which I don’t think anyone doubted really. But now comes word that his poll numbers are incredibly strong as well.

Public Opinion Strategies conducted “a straight-up ballot” question on the race “with nothing of consequence asked previous to it that could bias these results.” And the numbers are impressive:

• DeWine leads Cordray by a wide 50%-32% margin.
• DeWine leads Independents by 48%-22%.
• DeWine leads by an average of fourteen points in the “three C’s.” (Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati)
• DeWine leads among strong GOP voters 90-3.

Read that last bullet again. This is not the sign of a massive division within the party.

The fact is Mike DeWine has very serious fundraising and polling advantages over any other potential candidate in the race.

If you want to make the argument that DeWine’s sins are such that the party should risk losing this race despite these advantages, fine. But please acknowledge that fact first.

Disclosure: I have worked with Mark Weaver (who is working on this campaign) professionally, but I am not now – nor have I in the past – worked on the DeWine campaign. This polling information was made available to reporters on a conference call and I received no special information or treatment.