Ohio Election Report

2635

Carnahan 1:50

Political Science 1100

19 November 2012

Election Profile

        The Class One senate seat in Ohio has always been a highly competitive, sought after position. Throughout the past eighteen years, Republicans and Democrats have battled it out to see who can come out on top. According to The Political Guide (The Political Guide, 2012), in the 1994 election, Republican Mike DeWine won the coveted seat by a landslide of fourteen points, defeating Democrat Joel Hyatt. DeWine then won his reelection in 2000 at an even larger margin carrying a whopping sixty percent of the vote. DeWine then tried his luck for a third term, but was defeated by Democrat Sherrod Brown by a margin of almost thirteen percent. The New York Times (New York Times, 2006) stated that DeWine had the second lowest approval ratings in the Senate with a mere thirty nine percent, so it was clear to Ohio that change was inevitable.

Ohio has an exceptionally unique demographic, which causes it to be a swing state in almost every election. According to WP Politics (WP Politics, 2012), the state is split up into five sections with diverse populations, which means that almost every type of voter is represented. There are industrial workers in the Northeast and white-collar workers in central Ohio, both of whom tend to lean to the democratic side of issues. Southwestern Ohio and Northwestern Ohio tend to lean toward the republican side. Finally, there is Southeastern Ohio, which tends to be a swing area, being evenly split between the Democrats and the Republicans. The population is also relatively equally split between women and men, which also shows that voter demographics are somewhat equal, since women tend to support the Democrats, and men tend to support the Republicans. With the state essentially split in half between the two dueling parties, the race to the open senate seat is one of the closest races in the 2012 election year.

The two candidates that are racing for the open Senate seat are very different from one another. The Democratic candidate is Sherrod Brown and the Republican candidate is Josh Mandel. According to Brown’s biography (Brown’s Bio, 2012), Brown is the incumbent and has a very liberal point of view. When he took over the office in 2006, he won by one of the vastest margins over an incumbent in the history of the United States. He has joined a lot of committees in the Senate including Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Veteran’s Affairs in order to help the interest of Ohio citizens. He joined a handpicked committee of affairs in 2009. Brown was the first Democratic Senator from Ohio to be asked to join the ever-powerful Appropriations Committee since the 1890’s. Brown stands against trade agreements that cause American workers to be on an uneven playing field. He is also an advocate for local food production, which also helps taxpayers along the process. He focuses a large amount of his attention towards helping middle class families thrive, as well as being devoted to more health care reform. Brown even went as far as negating his congressional health care plan until all Ohioans could have health care that they could afford, as well as fighting insurance companies. Before he held his seat in the United States Senate, Sherrod Brown served as Ohio’s Secretary of State for two terms. His approval ratings have continued to soar throughout the duration of his time as Senator. His challenger is Republican Josh Mandel, a 33-year-old who currently serves as Ohio’s State Treasurer. According to Mandel’s biography (Mandel Bio, 2012), Mandel takes pride in being very adept at fundraising, but his boyish looks are causing some to inquire if he is really up to the testing task of holding a seat in the United States Senate. He is a Marine Corps veteran, serving two tours in Iraq, and was awarded Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for superior performance of his duties. He previously held a seat in Ohio’s State House of Representatives in 2006, and was re-elected in 2008. He is a promoter for a limited government, and also believes that a free enterprise system is the best policy. He condemns bureaucracies, saying that they treat businesses as if they are guilty of something, even if they have not done anything wrong. While Mandel has been treasurer, he has had the highest possible rating for a four billion dollar investment fund that he manages, and his liquidity portfolio is up 2.3 billion dollars from when he took office. Mandel thinks that the energy crisis takes precedence, thinking that natural resource options should be explored within the United States boundaries. Both candidates take polar stances when it comes to issues that are near and dear to Ohioan’s hearts, and it is up to the candidates campaign strategy to see who will pull ahead and take the open Senate seat.