Democratic Goals in the Post-Dann Landscape

The highest-priority strategic goals of the Ohio Democratic Party in 2008 are turning out the vote in order to carry Ohio for the Democratic presidential candidate and winning a net gain of four or more seats to take control of the Ohio House of Representatives. The Marc Dann scandal and the ongoing investigation of the Office of the Attorney General put huge pressure on the Ohio Democratic Party on both counts.

This shapes up as a battle of competing narratives going forward. One narrative is that the Democrats promised in 2006 to end the culture of corruption and hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct and broke that promise by delivering a statewide official who flunked that test. The other narrative is that the Democrats fulfilled their promise by acting swiftly and decisively to clean up their own house.

There is reason to hope that the Democrats will prevail or at least hold their own in this debate, but the crude political reality is that Democrats must pour even more resources into getting out their message in order to keep their strategic goals within reach. The various Democratic efforts and fundraising already underway are impressive, but now these must be elevated to a much higher level.

For me, I can see this happening with the presidential race much more readily than with the Ohio House races, but the latter are just as much in need of increased support. As to the former, the importance of Ohio to the presidential race is well-established in the national and state consciousness and there is ample evidence of the national party, the campaigns of both nominees, and organizations aligned with Democratic interests making special exertions in our state.

I can't say the same about retaking the Ohio House. For many Democratic organizations, donors, and activists it seems frustratingly difficult to get state legislative races onto their radar screen. Taken individually, the districts are smaller and more numerous than Congressional races (for example) and the names of candidates are less familiar. Residents of one part of the state have a hard time assimilating the importance of contributing to candidates in other parts of the state. Although the overarching cause of taking control of the chamber is fundamentally important to good government and social justice in Ohio overall as well as to the future of the Democratic Party here, it is difficult to translate that importance into the kind of clear clarion call that would generate a massive infusion of cash and logistical support.

Fortunately, there are notable exceptions. Progressive Majority is a fabulous national organization that has had great success in recruiting and helping to elect progressives to local and state office elsewhere in the country, and they have arrived in Ohio this year and immediately adopted the goal of helping elect progressives in key House races to help tip the balance of power. Education Voters of America is another new arrival in Ohio, dedicated to supporting Ohio House candidates in key races who are supportive of their goals for education. I understand that the Ohio Democratic Women's Caucus plans to focus on helping our excellent women candidates running for open GOP-held seats and against vulnerable GOP incumbents, as well as key incumbents. And I just got a mailer from the Human Rights Campaign indicating that "working to shift four seats in the [Ohio] House of Representatives to create a fair-minded majority" is one of that national organization's dozen highest electoral priorities. I'm sure that there are other orgnanizations in the fight as well.

However, in the post-Dann situation, I fear that much more will be needed. It is easy to envision the GOP and its well-funded backers pouring a million or more dollars into each targeted Ohio House race in an effort to exploit the post-Dann aura of scandal to maximum effect. Democrats are going to need to expend unprecedented amounts in those races to keep the playing field sufficiently level. Individual candidates raising funds within their individual districts aren't going to get the job done, and the official party apparatus won't have enough on hand to close the gap. In my opinion, it's going to take much more coordinated support from high-level donors and organizations for whom state legislative races are not ordinarily a priority.

My sense as a blogger is that the cause of winning key targeted races in the Ohio House could benefit from a clear identity and a strong internet and media presence to attract the necessary attention. I'm not sure precisely what form this project should assume, or who is best positioned to effectuate it, but the need is there. I admit I'm in thinking-out-loud mode here, and I'd certainly welcome some suggestions and insights. But the necessity of adapting to the new political reality in Ohio is urgent and calls for addressing these sorts of ideas, and quickly. I'm sure I will return to this topic on this blog soon.