Ohio Republican Party

Ohio GOP Feeling Confident In General Election Matchups With Dems

By • May 10, 2018
Provided / DeWine-Husted Campaign

The Ohio Republican Party is feeling confident going into November’s General Election after all of its endorsed statewide candidates won by large margins, starting at the top of the ticket with Mike DeWine as their gubernatorial nominee. The party has a plan to reach out to voters across the spectrum.

That Time I Almost Got Arrested At An Inauguration Party For George W. Bush

By • May 4, 2018
george w bush inauguration
WhiteHouse.gov / Wikimedia Commons

I always enjoyed covering presidential inaugurations.

Except for the time I came within an eyelash of getting arrested at one.

Citizen Groups Continue To Collect Signatures For Redistricting Proposal, Just In Case

By • Mar 29, 2018

Issue 1, the proposed redistricting plan, continues to rack up support ahead of its appearance on the May ballot. Although backers are optimistic it will pass, they’re not putting all of their eggs in this election’s basket.

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: The Early Line On Ohio's GOP Gubernatorial Field

By • Jun 19, 2017
WVXU-FM

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with News Director Maryanne Zeleznik Monday morning about the four likely Republican candidates for Ohio governor and the impact that President Trump could have on the race. 

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: 2018 A Crucial Year For Ohio Democrats

By • Apr 24, 2017
WVXU

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson spoke with News Director Maryanne Zeleznik Monday morning about the 2018 statewide elections in Ohio; and whether or not Ohio Democrats can stop the Republicans' march toward making Ohio a totally red state. 

Trying To Predict If 2018 Will Be A Red Or Blue Year In Ohio Nearly Impossible

By • Apr 23, 2017

"Leans Republican."

That's the category where Ohio's already-churning 2018 gubernatorial race  is placed by Sabato's Crystal Ball, a highly-respected weekly politics newsletter published by director Larry J. Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: Both Parties Bracing For 2018 Gubernatorial Primaries

By • Mar 20, 2017
WVXU-FM

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with News Director Maryanne Zeleznik Monday morning about the growing number of Democratic candidates for Ohio governor; and how both the Republicans and Democrats are likely to have lively primary battles for governor in 2018 

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: The 2018 Ohio Governor's Race Is On

By • Feb 27, 2017
WVXU-FM

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with News Director Maryanne Zeleznik Monday morning about why, in early 2017, the 2018 Ohio governor's race appears to be ramping up. The main reason: It's an open seat: incumbent John Kasich can't run again. 

Pepper: Time For Ohio Democrats To Stop Considering And Start Running

By • Feb 26, 2017

The Ohio Republican Party, which has done quite well in statewide elections over the past decade or so, has a nice, neat little bunch of politicians just itching to run for governor next year.

Four of them. Attorney General Mike DeWine. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth, in Medina County and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, who filed paperwork with Husted's office on Thursday so she can start campaigning and, most importantly, raising money.

Is Ohio Red, Blue Or Purple? 2018 Election Will Decide

By • Jan 15, 2017

Red, blue or purple.

Those are the three choices on the political spectrum for a city, a county, or a state.

Ohio voters will pick their favorite color in 2018, the next round of statewide elections, in every office from governor and U.S. senator on down.

And how they choose might determine whether the pendulum swings back from red to blue, or at least, purple, in a state where all the statewide constitutional officeholders are Republican and where Donald Trump stunned Ohio Democrats in November by winning Ohio's 18 electoral votes by a sizeable margin.

Trump Wins His Feud With Kasich In Ohio GOP Chair Vote

By • Jan 9, 2017
WVXU-FM

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with news director Maryanne Zeleznik Monday about Friday's election of Trump supporter Jane Timken as Ohio Republican Party chair over incumbent Matt Borges, an ally of Gov. John Kasich. It was a clear victory for Trump in his long-standing feud with the Ohio governor, who never endorsed Trump after he was nominated at the GOP convention in Cleveland. 

Trump Battle For Control Of The Ohio GOP Comes To A Head Friday

By • Jan 1, 2017

Ordinarily, if a presidential candidate were to win the battleground state of Ohio by a fairly sizeable margin of 446,841 votes out of slightly more than 7.8 million cast, you might think that candidate and his political party in Ohio would be on very good terms.

That margin of victory for Donald Trump is the largest for a GOP presidential candidate in Ohio since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Ohio Republicans should be dancing in the streets.

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: An Ohio Icon To Be Laid To Rest; Trump, Kasich Forces Battle in Ohio

By • Dec 12, 2016
WVXU-FM

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson spoke with news director Maryanne Zeleznik this morning about the funeral plans for former astronaut and U.S. Senator John H. Glenn Jr., who died last week  at the age of 95. And Wilkinson also talked about the brewing battle for control of the Ohio Republican Party between the forces loyal to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and supporters of president-elect Donald Trump. 

Howard Wilkinson's Monday Chat: Can Ohio Democrats Make A Comeback in 2018?

By • Dec 5, 2016
WVXU-FM

The last three election cycles have been miserable for Democrats in Ohio. Hillary Clinton failed to win the state this year, and, in 2014 and 2010, the Democrats were completely shut of all of Ohio's statewide constitutional offices. Can they make a comeback in 2018's mid-term election? WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with Jay Hanselman about it on Morning Edition Monday. 

Some Ohio Delegates Not Thrilled With Trump, But Will Likely Get On Board

By • Jul 17, 2016

By the time you read this, I will be in Cleveland, about to cover my 15th presidential nominating convention, Democratic and Republican, over the past four decades.

This one promises to be an event unlike anything any of us have ever seen.

A bombastic developer of high-rise towers and casinos who has gone through cycles of boom-and-bust over and over again throughout his career, a man whose celebrity grew as the host of a reality TV show, suddenly decides last year to run for the Republican nomination for president.

Ohio GOP Endorses Kasich, But New Hampshire Voters May Have The Final Word

By • Jan 10, 2016

  Stop the presses! Rip up the front page! News flash!

The Ohio Republican Party’s central committee endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the March 15 GOP presidential primary Friday on a 44-9 vote.

What? You are not stunned by this news?

That’s OK. No one else was either.

Some Republicans around the state were grumbling about it, believing that the state party has no business butting into a presidential primary campaign.

Ohio GOP could have more clout with later primary date

By • Apr 14, 2015

Next year's Ohio presidential primary may be pushed back a week to March 15, a move that could give the Ohio Republican delegation more clout at the GOP convention in Cleveland in July.

State Representative Mike Dovilla of Berea, the House majority whip, introduced a bill Monday in the Ohio House to set March 15 as Ohio's presidential primary date. It is currently scheduled for March 8.

Ohio political parties look ahead to next year and beyond

By Jo Ingles • Dec 30, 2014
Facebook page

If there was one word to describe Ohio Party Chairman Chris Redfern on Election night, it would be “angry.”

Redfern lambasted Statehouse reporters and the newspapers that employ them for pulling web versions of stories and videos that were not flattering to Republicans. And he lashed out for what he saw as a media obsession on the bombshell revelation that came out around Labor Day that Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald had been driving for most of a decade without a valid driver’s license.

Howard Wilkinson's Monday chat: On Rob Portman; and the passing of an Ohio political legend

By • Dec 8, 2014

WVXU politics reporter Howard Wilkinson talked with Maryanne Zeleznik Monday morning about Rob Portman's re-election chances and the passing of an Ohio political giant, former GOP chairman Bob Bennett.