Is it about winning seats, or playing favorites?
There are 15 house seats in Ohio. The Ohio Democratic Party and various local parties endorsed in 11 races, then, belatedly, backed Tammie Wilson, who was running against Jim Jordan. Yes, that Jim Jordan.
They put resources in some races, and left others to go it alone. In three districts, Ohio 10, 12, 15, they refused to help.
No access to party software, fundraising lists, discounted postage, working with statewide campaigns.
These were American citizens, doing the work to stand up to Trumpers- and they were left to battle alone. This may be why, in my district, I beat Nan Whaley, their endorsed candidate for Governor. I had $40K she had $9M.
Montgomery County Ryan 94,512, Whaley 76,154 Esrati 74,650
Greene County Ryan 26,490 40.31% Esrati 21,003 31.94% Whaley 20,367 30.86%
Clark County Ryan 17,141 38.60%, Esrati (Unendorsed OH-10) 8,981 38.69%, Gary Josephson (unendorsed OH-15) 5,407 25.65% Total for County for Congress: 14,338, Whaley 12,559 28.60%
So, despite endorsement and millions of dollars, Whaley got a measly 1504 more votes than me in Montgomery County (her home county). I beat her in Clark County by 636 votes, and in Clark, which is split in a gerrymander, fellow Cleveland Heights native, Gary Josephson and I combined to beat her by 1779 votes.
It may also have helped J.D. Vance win against Tim Ryan. When you don’t have the whole team working as one, this is what happens.
We’ve not been able to find the campaign finance reports for Dr. Vanessa Enoch (OH-8). We know she spent money- we just can’t tell in the self-reported FEC database.
| District | Party | Incumbent | Endorsed Democrat | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Win Percent | Spent | Cost Per Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OH 1 | Democrat | No | Yes | Greg Landsman | 151418 | 52.46 | 10.31 | $1,964,057 | $12.97 |
| OH 1 | Republican | Yes | Steve Chabot | 137213 | 42.15 | $1,626,089 | $11.85 | ||
| OH 2 | Republican | Yes | Brad Wenstrup | 188300 | 74.54 | 47.64 | $1,353,780 | $7.19 | |
| OH 2 | Democrat | No | Yes | Samantha Meadows | 64329 | 26.90 | $17,469 | $0.27 | |
| OH 3 | Democrat | Yes | Yes | Joyce Beatty | 174846 | 70.17 | 40.34 | $931,985 | $5.33 |
| OH 3 | Republican | No | Lee R.Stahley | 74335 | 29.84 | 0 | |||
| OH 4 | Republican | Yes | Jim Jordan | 196898 | 69.32 | 37.20 | $11,123,753 | $56.50 | |
| OH 4 | Democrat | No | Yes | Tammie Wilson | 87144 | 32.12 | $137,409 | $1.58 | |
| OH 5 | Republican | Yes | Bob Latta | 184205 | 67.03 | 34.38 | $1,209,848 | $6.57 | |
| OH 5 | Democrat | No | Yes | Craig Swartz | 90614 | 32.64 | $41,431 | $0.46 | |
| OH 6 | Republican | Yes | Bill Johnson | $186,965.00 | 67.73 | 32.65 | $1,447,432 | $7.7 | |
| OH 6 | Democrat | Yes | Yes | Louis G Lyras | $89,086.00 | 35.07 | $112,845 | $1.27 | |
| OH 7 | Republican | No | Max Miller | 164904 | 55.44 | 10.88 | $2,751,568 | $16.69 | |
| OH 7 | Democrat | No | Yes | Matthew Diemer | 132548 | 44.56 | $217,032 | $1.64 | |
| OH 8 | Republican | Yes | Warren Davidson | 177132 | 64.89 | 25.51 | $929,344 | $5.25 | |
| OH 8 | Democrat | No | Yes | Vanessa Enoch | 95829 | 39.38 | 0 | $0 | |
| OH 9 | Democrat | Yes | Yes | Marcy Kaptur | 147512 | 56.55 | 15.35 | $3,133,697 | $21.24 |
| OH 9 | Republican | No | J. R. Majewski | 113363 | 41.20 | $777,304 | $6.86 | ||
| OH 10 | Republican | Yes | Mike Turner | 161792 | 62.19 | 24.85 | $811,128 | $5.01 | |
| OH 10 | Democrat | No | No | David Esrati | 98383 | 37.33 | $40,012 | $0.41 | |
| OH 11 | Democrat | Yes | Yes | Shontel Brown | 165154 | 77.90 | 57.89 | $4,294,516 | $26.00 |
| OH 11 | Republican | No | Eric J. Brewer | 46862 | 20.01 | 0 | |||
| OH 12 | Republican | Yes | Troy Balderson | 187322 | 69.53 | 33.63 | $1,296,208 | $6.92 | |
| OH 12 | Democrat | No | No | Amy Ripple-Elton | 82101 | 35.90 | 0 | ||
| OH 13 | Democrat | No | Yes | Emilia Sykes | 146621 | 52.59 | 10.28 | $1,668,141 | $11.38 |
| OH 13 | Republican | No | Madison Gesiotto Gilbert | 132181 | 42.31 | $1,481,249 | $11.21 | ||
| OH 14 | Republican | Yes | David P. Joyce | 180251 | 61.86 | 23.71 | $1,084,686 | $6.02 | |
| OH 14 | Democrat | No | Yes | Matt Kilboy | 111155 | 38.14 | $76,504 | $0.69 | |
| OH 15 | Republican | Yes | Mike Carey | 140012 | 57.24 | 14.47 | $2,051,910 | $14.66 | |
| OH 15 | Democrat | No | No | Gary Josephson | 104613 | 42.76 | $18,717 | $0.18 |
In 2020, Desiree Tims raised and spent $2M
Desiree was a political operator, with connections to DC who blew into town, and declared herself the perfect candidate to take on Mike Turner.
She spent 8 hours a day calling, raising money. She had the party support. She was on the ballot with Joe Biden facing off against the anti-christ.
She didn’t do as well as the 2018 candidate, Theresa Gasper, who was yet another political neophyte wealthy suburban white woman (See Neuhardt and Mitakides before her).
Watch her campaign launch video- and then compare it to “The Power of U.S.”
There is a difference when a candidate actually understands messaging and how to talk to their community– and has done it effectively for decades.
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There aren’t any other candidates who have the depth of political knowledge, the power of an award winning ad agency, and a long history of being involved in the Community that are willing to step up to face Mike Turner.
This lack of party support for new candidates- telling people to “Wait their turn” to run, must stop. We have to fight for every seat, in every election.