OH-SEN: Renacci Wins Weak Plurality

[BuckeyeNut]

Josh Mandel running again.

[BuckeyeNut]

Aaaaaaaaand Rubio has endorsed:



That was quick.

Little Marco for Little Josh.

[BuckeyeNut]

YESSS! Let's go!

Will almost certainly volunteer, make calls, etc. Very pumped for this!

I thought your Mandel love was sarcastic?

[BuckeyeNut]

Hopefully Tiberi or Kasich runs for this.

Kasich won't, Tiberi likely will. Small chance Renanci does.

[BuckeyeNut]

YESSS! Let's go!

Will almost certainly volunteer, make calls, etc. Very pumped for this!

I thought your Mandel love was sarcastic?

I mean, it's exaggerated a little, but Mandel is honestly among my favorite Ohio Republicans; I'll definitely be supporting him in a primary against Tiberi or whoever

Why? I think you are the only Republican I know who likes Mandel. Most conservatives I know recognize him as the careerist that he is.

[BuckeyeNut]

Bleh, Mandel.

Kasich is the best candidate but I doubt he goes for it.  Endorsing Tiberi.  

Jon Husted would be a good candidate as well.

Kasich's too interested in primarying Trump, and with the coupe in the Ohio GOP ousting the Kasich wing, it's fairly unlikely Tiberi runs now. Husted's running for Governor.

[BuckeyeNut]

No, I don't. I think if Kander is smart he'll run against Greitens or for an open seat.

Eh, maybe. But I think this whole "OMG rematches never work!!" narrative is a bit overblown. If 2018 is a good year for the GOP, Mandel will beat Brown. He could even do it in a neutral year.

I also think Tiberi is overhyped, but maybe that's just me. 

Tiberi would make inroads into the increasingly Democratic and ever growing Columbus metro-area. Which a Republican doesn't NEED to do, but it doesn't hurt, either.

[BuckeyeNut]

Mandel has already recruited campaign leaders in all 88 Ohio counties

At least one of which wasn't consulted on being a campaign chair. lol

[BuckeyeNut]

Besides his fundraising ability, I don't see how Mandel was a good enough candidate in 2012 to justify a retread. And it's not like Ohio has a small Republican bench.

It should be telling that the more qualified Republican office holders are looking at the Governor's mansion and row offices, not D.C.

[BuckeyeNut]

Keeping hating, haters. Josh Mandel will surprise, wow, and put all in awe.

One of my favorite candidates for 2018.

Literally the most basic, generic and boring candidate that can code out of Ohio's Republicsn bench. If you're going to stan some lame ass candidate at least make it a somewhat interesting one.

Also not well liked. There's a reason he did the poorest of every statewide office holder in '14, and it wasn't really because his opponent was great.

[BuckeyeNut]

Bleh, Mandel.

Kasich is the best candidate but I doubt he goes for it.  Endorsing Tiberi. 

Jon Husted would be a good candidate as well.

Kasich's too interested in primarying Trump, and with the coupe in the Ohio GOP ousting the Kasich wing, it's fairly unlikely Tiberi runs now. Husted's running for Governor.

Husted's running for Governor?  Is DeWine out?  Mary Taylor?

They're all running for Governor, and that's been the story since late '15.

[BuckeyeNut]

Mandel is hot water for using public money to advertise a new program on TV, that in reality was closer to a self-promotional spot.

[BuckeyeNut]

I'm surprised by the people on here who support Mandel and those who don't. It's most likely he won't receive a primary challenge.

[BuckeyeNut]

I'm surprised by the people on here who support Mandel and those who don't. It's most likely he won't receive a primary challenge.

The guy has a big war chest I hear. Also, the Kasich wings seems to be losing steam, the longtime Ohio Republican Chairman (Borges) was suddenly ousted, with even Mary Taylor opposing him. It looks like Mandel has shored up lots of support among all the wings of the Republican primary electorate, but there's still plenty of time I guess.

Yes, yes.

He's just probably the most reviled politician Ohio. Even many Republicans loathe him.

[BuckeyeNut]

It's a fair bit skeevier than what was originally reported. He under-reported the cost initially, and then avoided going to a Control Board by spreading the payments out. There's also a fair difference between television and radio, and Mandel recruited a celebrity for his ad.

It's also probably best for Brown to not bring attention to it. The big papers around the state are picking it up naturally, and he can stay above the fray.

What Republicans in Ohio don't like Mandel? And, yeah, I'm a big fan; the guy is a real economic conservative who understands the threat posed by Iran (and, by extension, Russia); he's sure to get my vote in 2018, even as I probably vote Democratic for the House to protest Trump.

It's anecdotal, but I know Republicans who take serious issue with 1: his unprosecuted federal election laws violation, 2: his Islamophobic attacks on Kevin Boyce.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Actually, Husted's out-raised DeWine.

[BuckeyeNut]

Why are people confident Kasich isn't going to be the nominee? I'm not disputing this, I would just like to know more.

His designated ally and Chairman of the Ohio GOP got kicked out on his ass. It's overstating to say Kasich couldn't win a primary in Ohio anymore, but it'd actually be difficult for him. Viewed as too much of an obstructionist to the Trump Train.

It's generally a bad sign for Republicans when you've got Democrats who once loathed you singing your praises as the one Republican with integrity.

[BuckeyeNut]

Mandel fans the flames of fear with his latest tweet:
https://mobile.twitter.com/JoshMandelOhio/status/843524028258275328

Nothing new, he's running this way since day he declared.

He also made nasty Islamophobic insinuations about Kevin Boyce when he first ran for Treasurer in 2010

[BuckeyeNut]

Congressman Tiberi, a potential primary rival, attacked Mandel yesterday over the cost and redundancy of OhioCheckbook.gov while speaking at The Ohio State University's Mortiz College of Law.

[BuckeyeNut]

Haha, I love your sig, BuckeyeNut.

This race could theoretically go either way, but I have to call Brown favored at this point.

Just parodying Extreme Republican.

It's at least Tilt D right now. I'm taking nothing for granted anymore.

[BuckeyeNut]

Sherrod Brown raised 2.4 mil in Q1 2017.

Truly an excellent haul.

In other news, the Club for Growth has taken out an ad attacking Tiberi for not being conservative enough and alleging he didn't do enough to repeal Obamacare -- which is strange when he was one of the few supporters of AHCA. The Club for Growth endorsed Mandel in December.

[BuckeyeNut]

Sherrod Brown raised 2.4 mil in Q1 2017.

Truly an excellent haul.

In other news, the Club for Growth has taken out an ad attacking him for not being conservative enough and alleging he didn't do enough to repeal Obamacare -- which is strange when he was one of the few supporters of AHCA. The Club for Growth endorsed Mandel in December.

An Ad against Tiberi you mean?

Ah, yes. Could have sworn I had his name in there...

[BuckeyeNut]

Thanks to the mods who consolidated the threads.

[BuckeyeNut]

Brown will beat Mandel by double digits.

I don't know why the Ohio GOP is trying to make Josh Mandel a thing.

OH GOP isn't. Or at least, hasn't, historically. Prior to the election, OH GOP was all-in for Kasich, and that has since changed. Mandel was one of few elected Republicans in the state to ditch Kasich. The internal dynamics of OH GOP are changing toward Trumpism, but if Clinton had won, Tiberi would almost definitely be challenging him.

[BuckeyeNut]

Josh Mandel raised $1.5 mil, $900k less than Brown, in Quarter 1. His total cash on hand is around $2.4 mil, which Brown raised in Q1 alone. Brown has $3.2 on hand.

Pat Tiberi, meanwhile, raised $1.4 mil and has a whopping $6.3 mil on hand. In his Q1 expenditures, Tiberi hired an Alexandria, VA-based firm for statewide polling.

Also, Mandel got the endorsement of Citizens United.

[BuckeyeNut]

State House Republicans added an amendment to the budget targeting Mandel that, "requires Controlling Board approval of any advertising purchased by a state governmental entity for the same purpose that, in the aggregate, exceeds $50,000 during the fiscal year.”