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Ohio Republican Party
Special Report
- Kasich for America & More
History was made in Columbus on Tuesday as Governor John Kasich
announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
Addressing a crowd of thousands of supporters at his alma mater, The
Ohio State University, Kasich talked about his record of accomplishment
at the state and federal level - something no other candidate in
the field can boast of - and his own experience of overcoming the odds
in politics again and again.
The event was packed with an enthusiastic crowd and began with a warm
greeting from Franklin County Republican Chairman Doug Preisse.
Then fellow Buckeyes received a special hello from football's only two
time Heisman trophy winner, Archie Griffin, before Governor Kasich and
his family took the stage and got the crowd rocking and rolling.
It was so good to see leaders from all over the state attend the
event. Rob Frost, Tracey Winbush, Keith Cheney, Steve Caraway,
and so many others, helped to organize groups of interested activists
and supporters who wanted to come see the announcement in person.
It was great to have statewide leaders like Jon Husted, Mike Dewine,
Dave Yost, and Mary Taylor on hand, as well as Congressmen Pat Tiberi
and Steve Stivers, and so many legislators and local officials,
including Clarence Mingo, Greg Hartmann, Bob Peterson, and Niraj Antani
- whose legislative aide captured the picture above and sent it
in. We thank you all for being a part of the historic occasion!
With Governor Kasich off and running he received incredibly positive
press coverage of his announcement (which was covered live on Fox),
including Bloomberg's "Kasich is the GOP path to the White House" and
The Wall Street journal's "The Case for Kasich". Later, Ed Henry
of Fox News reported that Team Hillary fears Kasich the most in the GOP
field. Even I got to do a couple of interviews after the announcement
on Channel 4, here and on the Ron Ponder Radio show here. One of
my favorite images was the front page of Wednesday's Cincinnati
Enquirer with the banner headline "Run John Run." Not only was it
great coverage of the kickoff event, it demonstrated the incredible
work the Kasich team, and many current (and former) staffers of the
Ohio Republican Party put into making the event stand out as unique,
picturesque, and presidential. Congrats to all. What a
great day. What a great team.
The announcement tour continued for the remainder of the week with
events in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa, and Michigan.
Governor Kasich participated in national interviews with Sean
Hannity, Good Morning America, and Meet the Press, among
others. It was a fantastic rollout - and the proof is already
showing. Just this morning, polls were released that showed
Governor Kasich's numbers increasing nationally as well as in New
Hampshire, where he is already in 4th place, less than a week after
declaring his candidacy.
This is going to be a historic ride, and we couldn't be more thrilled
to be a part of it. It's been 70 years since an Ohio Republican
has gotten into the presidential mix, and 80 years since we've hosted a
GOP convention. In 2016, we'll have both. To say this is a
once in a lifetime experience would be an understatement! In just
under two weeks Fox News and the ORP will be co-hosting the first
RNC-sanctioned debate of the GOP hopefuls from Quicken Loans Arena in
Cleveland. Our statewide leaders are continuing to reshape state
government and make Ohio stronger and better. We have super
majorities in the Ohio legislature who are making a huge difference in
the lives of Ohioans every day. With 6 of 7 Supreme Court
justices, 12 of 16 members of our Congressional delegation (including
the Speaker of the House!) and incredibly strong local organizations,
it's hard to imagine how things could be better for Ohio
Republicans. We've built this together and now is no time to rest
on our laurels. We still have to capture the big prize, and Ohio
is always the center of the political universe during presidential
election years - and in 2016, maybe more so than ever.
Senator Portman
Ohio is also blessed to have the best Senator in the United States in
Rob Portman. Our Party is united behind Rob, unlike the
Democrats, who are in a full-blown civil war over their candidates for
the seat.
Just this week, former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman James Ruvolo
dominated Ohio newspaper headlines blasting the ODP's choice to rush
the endorsement of failed governor Ted Strickland (the guy who lost
350,000 jobs!) saying, among many other things the Democrats had
to hate, "the race is about the past...We had that election and we lost
it." (Toledo Blade, 7/23/15). Here's just a sample of the headlines
Strickland's campaign was running from this week: (What a mess!)
"Ex-Dem chair 'apalled' by treatment of Sittenfeld" (Cincinnati
Enquirer, 7/22/15)
"Former Democratic party chair questions direction of state party"
(Columbus Dispatch, 7/22/15)
"Jim Ruvolo concerned over David Pepper's treatment of Senate candidate
Sittenfeld" (Toledo Blade, 7/22/15)
"More unrest among Ohio Dems" (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7/22/15)
"Democrats' old, new guard clash over young challenger as ex-Ohio
governor seeks US Senate seat" (AP, 7/23/15)
"Former Democratic Party chair continues to push for P.G. Sittenfeld"
(Columbus Dispatch, 7/23/15)
"Senate race ignites war of words between Ohio Democratic Party
chairmen past and present" (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7/23/15)
"Ruvolo extends criticism of Ohio Democratic chair Pepper" (Toledo
Blade, 7/23/15)
"Ohio Dems Fighting Over U.S. Senate Candidate" (WCBE, 7/24/15)
The understandable spat over Strickland, coming on the heels of one of
the most humiliating political years in recent history, caught national
attention, further embarrassing the Democrats with this piece in The
Hill, and then culminating with this Wall Street Journal article
excoriating Ohio Democrats for being completely incompetent.
These are the same Ohio Democrats who are mired in massive scandal in
Columbus, that only seems to get worse by the day. The same
Democrats who refuse to embrace redistricting reform, and seem to have
no problem with Hillary Clinton, even though Department of Justice
investigations are now being sought into the use of her private emails
for classified information.
In addition, this week the Portman campaign surpassed an impressive
milestone of 200,000 voter contacts through its expansive phone and
door-to-door programs. The campaign is also approaching its goal of
receiving 10,000 grassroots endorsements. Congressman Jim Jordan and
State Auditor Dave Yost penned emails asking supporters to sign the
campaign's endorsement map, which you may sign by clicking here.
The difference between where they are and where we are is
incredible. We have so much to be proud of, and we've done it
together. We will continue to work hand-in-hand to elect leaders
who are committed to making our communities, our state, and our nation
a better place for all of us.
Thanks for being part of such an exciting and historic week.
Looking forward to working with you to tackle the many challenges ahead!
Sincerely,
Matt Borges
Chairman, Ohio Republican Party
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