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COLUMBUS, Ohio With just 5 months to go until Ohios primary candidate filing deadline, theres an unusual dearth of Democratic candidates for most statewide offices in 2022.

While there are competitive Democratic primaries on tap for the two top statewide offices U.S. Senate and governor so far the only Democrat to launch a down-ticket statewide campaign is Chelsea Clark, a relatively unknown city council member from suburban Cincinnati, for secretary of state.

No Democrats have announced or are even publicly exploring campaigns for attorney general, state treasurer or state auditor. By comparison, by mid-August 2017, the eventual Democratic nominees for all four executive down-ticket offices had announced their intention to run months earlier.

You would think that things already would be ramping up, particularly in terms of challengers to incumbents, but it just hasnt happened, said Paul Beck, a political scientist at Ohio State University.

Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Matt Keyes said state party leaders are still recruiting candidates ahead of the Feb. 2, 2022 primary filing deadline, and some have expressed interest though he declined to name who those people are.

Weve had some good conversations, and were confident that were going to have a strong, diverse ticket, he said.

According to conversations with Keyes, other Democratic officials and Ohio political observers, here are three reasons that so few Democrats have thrown their hats into the ring for statewide offices so far:

In 2018, in addition to winning the governors race, Republicans swept races for attorney general (Dave Yost), secretary of state (Frank LaRose), state treasurer (Robert Sprague), and state auditor (Keith Faber). Next year, all four are expected to run for re-election, and theyre considered to be even stronger candidates this time around. Not only are they incumbents (which makes it easier for them to raise money and have a name familiar to voters), but conventional political wisdom dictates that the party controlling the White House tends to face problems during midterm elections. In 2018, Republican Donald Trump was president; this cycle, its Democrat Joe Biden. In addition, many Democratic rank-and-file members are paying more attention to the races for governor and U.S. Senate, which they see as more important and potentially more winnable.

Perhaps the biggest factor giving Democrats pause is redistricting. As Ohio like other states is launching its decennial process of redrawing its congressional and legislative districts, many Democrats are waiting to see what the new maps look like before deciding on their 2022 plans. Democrats in the state legislature (a frequent source of statewide candidates for the party) want to see if the redrawn districts put their re-election chances into jeopardy, and Democrats both in and outside of the legislature are keeping open their options of running for Congress or another legislative seat if redistricting gives them a good shot at winning.

For the past decade, Ohio Democrats have faced the same knock on their election chances: with Republicans holding control over all three branches of state government (and dominating Ohios congressional delegation), there arent as many prominent Democratic officeholders rising through the ranks to run a competitive campaign for statewide office. That often means that Democrats who do run have to spend more time introducing themselves to voters, raising money and building a statewide political campaign.

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Here are 3 reasons why there arent more Ohio Democrats running for statewide office in 2022 - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- While Democrats are planning to run for the U.S. Senate and governor in 2022, no Democrats are publicly exploring campaigns for attorney general, state treasurer or state auditor in 2022.

Were talking about why on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Leila Atassi, Jane Kahoun and me.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom text account, in which he shares what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802.

Here are the questions were answering today:

Why doesnt Ohio have candidates for a whole bunch of statewide races in 2022?

Are the Great Lakes water levels ever going to be anything resembling normal again?

Northeast Ohio saw a huge increase in the number of people classifying themselves as multiracial in the new Census. What do we know about them?

How can the public suggest fair maps for Ohio house and senate districts that are being redrawn over the coming weeks?

What are rail advocates doing to make sure Ohio gets a piece of the big infrastructure package that is dedicated to train service?

What are some of the lessons Cincinnati has for Cleveland lakefront planners, both in what they should do and what they should avoid?

Whats the next step for the people who are trying to legalize marijuana in Ohio?

Why did the Cleveland Planning Commission sign off on a construction training institute on Opportunity Corridor that originally was going to include an asphalt and concrete plant, which had sparked community outrage?

Want more? You can find all our past episodes here.

We have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here.

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Is the Ohio Democratic Party so weak that it cannot find candidates for some statewide offices? This Week in - cleveland.com

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State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the sixth case among nearly 60 House Democrats who traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to prevent the passage of a GOP election bill at the Texas Legislature.

"Despite following CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and being fully vaccinated, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday," Howard said in a statement Tuesday, noting that she was "basically asymptomatic except for some minor congestion."

Over the weekend, the Texas House Democratic Caucus said that five of its members had tested positive for the virus. The members who tested positive, including state Reps. Celia Israel, D-Austin, and Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, have been fully vaccinated.

The caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests.

News of Howard's positive test was first reported Tuesday by the Austin American-Statesman. The Dallas Morning News first reported news of a sixth case Monday night.

A small percentage of vaccine breakthrough cases, which involve a fully-vaccinated person testing positive for the virus, have been expected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but they do not discount the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

In her statement, Howard said she will continue to work virtually and urged people to continue to get vaccinated.

"The delta variant [of the coronavirus] seems to be much more contagious, even for those vaccinated, than initially thought," she said. "Vaccines work."

The caucus in recent days has met with Vice President Kamala Harris and other lawmakers on Capitol Hill in an effort to push Congress to pass federal voting laws, though the confirmed cases have prompted the delegation to make adjustments for how to continue having such conversations.

Harris has since tested negative for the virus, though others, including a White House official and staffer for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have tested positive after the staff member helped the delegation around the Capitol last week, according to Axios.

At a news conference later Tuesday, state Rep. Chris Turner, who chairs the caucus, said the group likely would not be aware of the confirmed cases had members not been proactively testing for the virus.

"If we were not proactively testing, we probably would not even know about it," he said.

Turner also said there was not an update yet on a potential meeting with President Joe Biden or whether the confirmed cases had dimmed the caucus' chances of meeting with the president in-person.

"Obviously we would welcome the opportunity to visit with the president virtually," Turner said.

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Sixth Texas Democrat in Washington, D.C., tests positive for COVID-19 - The Texas Tribune

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The spotlight wont shine for long on the story of Texas flyaway Democrats. The novelty will wear off. The cable TV networks will have other top stories before you know it, and this will become another of those insider fights of only passing interest to Texans who dont have regular business in the state Capitol.

Voting rights are important to voters, but most people only pay attention to the particulars at election time. Where do I go? What do I have to do? Who and what is on the ballot? Who are all of these people, and which ones are in my way and which ones can I ignore?

But the next big elections in Texas arent until March at the earliest and those, the party primaries, could easily be delayed until May or later because of delays in the 2020 U.S. census, and the resulting delays in drawing new political maps to fit new details of where Texans live and how many of them live there.

For now, its enough to know that the state government in Texas is dysfunctional, but not in a way that has any immediate effect on the lives of everyday Texans.

Thats a particular problem for the wandering Democrats whose political play depends, to some extent, on public attention. They decamped on Monday, faced with the prospect of showing up to watch Republicans approve a bill with new restrictions on voting that they cannot abide.

The Republicans call it an election integrity bill and say its needed to bar practices they fear leave elections open to fraud, though there is no evidence of the kind of widespread chicanery that would change election results. Democrats say the changes would amount to voter suppression, making it harder for people of color and Democrats to vote.

The political lines had hardened even before the special legislative session that has now been interrupted by the Democrats flight to Washington, D.C. The Texas House cant conduct business unless at least 100 of its 150 members are present, and enough Democrats left the state to bust that quorum requirement.

Their aim is to change the voting bill, kill it or preempt it. Maybe the Republicans left behind will soften their stand, a prospect that seemed unlikely even before Gov. Greg Abbott told public radios Texas Standard that, because of the quorum bust, Republicans are in no mood for additional compromise.

The reason most of the decamped Democrats are in Washington is to try to get a voting bill they like one that would preempt state law from Congress. That requires some public attention, too, to get enough voters interested to draw members of Congress away from what they were doing to what the Texans hope theyll do.

But the Texas Democrats arent the only politicians looking for public attention and support. Texas Republicans are promoting other legislation on the special session agenda that might get more public interest.

An example: Abbott put a 13th check for retired teachers on the list a move to give a bonus check to teachers who get monthly retirement payments, because their retirement fund is relatively flush right now. Those teachers are an important constituency for Democrats, and getting them a check, the Republicans hope, is a way to lure the Democrats back to Austin.

The governor, in that same radio interview, was pushing his overhaul of the bail bond system in a way that might appeal to voters, or at least spook them.

There are dead people today because the Democrats have refused to step up and reform our broken bail system that lets very dangerous criminals back out on the streets, Abbott said. So the Democrats have blood on their hands for failing to step up and do their job. We dont know how many Texans may lose their lives until the Democrats finally return to the Capitol and step up and pass bail reform policies in the state of Texas that do not let dangerous criminals back out onto the street.

The first week of this legislative drama got a lot of attention from the news media and from voters. Everyone in the fight grabbed for it, because theyre playing for public favor and also working to prevent their foes from gaining public support.

Barring some new drama, the spotlight wont last for long. Eighteen years ago this month, Texas Senate Democrats were bivouacked in Albuquerque, New Mexico, trying to use a quorum break to stop Republican redistricting plans. It lasted long enough to fall off the front pages of the papers, and they eventually decided to come home to Texas.

And the Republicans in the Legislature got the maps they wanted.

Continued here:
Analysis: Texas Democrats race against time, and flagging public attention - The Texas Tribune

Updated at 1:30 p.m. with fresh comments from the runaways

WASHINGTON After eight nights in a hotel a half-mile from the White House, the Texas Democrats who fled Austin over a voting rights dispute had grown a bit impatient for an invitation to meet with President Joe Biden.

We know the president is watching and were waiting for him to call, said state Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San Antonio. We are willing and ready to meet with him whenever he would like that.

But that possibility grew remote Tuesday when an aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had chaperoned the Texans at the Capitol last week tested positive for COVID-19.

So did a White House aide who may have spent time with the runaway legislators, six of whom have tested positive since Friday, three days after they spent an hour with Vice President Kamala Harris.

There has not been a meeting planned, and there hasnt been a change to that, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, confirming that a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive on Monday and is experiencing mild symptoms.

Contract tracing showed no exposure for the president, vice president or senior officials, though news of a breakthrough case, afflicting someone who had been vaccinated, was worrisome.

As for the presidents message to the Texans, she added: Thanks for standing up for voting rights and the rights of Americans to have our voices heard at the voting booth, and we appreciate your efforts in that regard.

And, implicitly: Keep your distance.

Everyone stricken so far the six Texas lawmakers and the aides to Pelosi and Biden was fully vaccinated. That should confer protection against any serious illness and mute the potential for contagion. So far, Reps. Donna Howard and Celia Israel of Austin and Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio have said they tested positive.

Were still working diligently through the COVID protocols that weve already set in place, said state Rep. Ron Reynolds, referring to daily tests for lawmakers and aides since Saturday, when the first three tested positive.

But the White House takes the health of the 78-year-old president very seriously.

The president is vaccinated, and that means he is protected, Psaki said, adding that Biden is tested every two weeks. Im tested twice a week. Many are tested twice a week. Some are tested once a week. Were all vaccinated.

Rapid tests are mandatory for journalists and others who enter the Oval Office or other meeting rooms with Biden or Harris. Until June 7, testing was required for anyone entering the White House complex, whether they might be in proximity to the president or not.

That requirement has since been lifted for people who are fully vaccinated.

But White House protocols still aim to keep out anyone recently exposed. And the 55 Texas Democrats have become potential vectors since fleeing Austin. Republicans point to photos of them aboard a flight to Washington, none wearing a mask technically allowed because it was a chartered flight, but a violation of CDC guidelines.

The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalizations and of course we wish our colleague, a speedy recovery, Psaki said.

The Republican National Committee labeled the Texans visit to Washington a superspreader event and urged the lawmakers to go back to Texas after self-isolating long enough for the risk to pass.

The Democrats fled Austin to break quorum in the Texas House, halting an elections bill demanded by Gov. Greg Abbott that they view as voter suppression.

If a sit-down with Biden isnt possible, Obviously wed welcome the opportunity to meet with the president virtually, said Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, who chairs the Texas House Democratic caucus.

He acknowledged that a Pelosi aide spent time with his caucus last week but said he cant be sure if thats how that person or anyone else caught COVID-19. We have no way of knowing, he said.

Of course we would love to visit with the president, Minjarez told reporters. We had the opportunity to meet with the vice president, and we have made our concerns known, the sense of urgency involved.

MSNBC devoted an hour Monday night to the fugitives. In deference to the outbreak, they appeared remotely rather than in-studio as planned, and a Tuesday meeting with U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn was also done virtually.

Even though were not doing as many in-person visits, were still having many meetings via Zoom, Reynolds said. Were being very creative and innovative.

U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston led a letter to Biden last week signed by all 13 Texas Democrats in Congress, asking for him to meet with the runaways from the Legislature. Reynolds noted that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, another Houston congressperson, has also been prodding the White House to set that up.

We are optimistic that we will get a meeting with President Biden very, very soon, Reynolds said.

The Texans have used their time in Washington to lobby senators for stalled federal legislation that would supersede state-level elections laws and reimpose Justice Department scrutiny before Texas and other states with histories of discrimination could move a polling site, redraw district lines or make other changes that might impede minority voters. The Supreme Court ended that scrutiny in 2013, ruling that Congress would have to update the formula used to assess whether prior sins still justified such federal oversight.

The Texas Democrats argue that Senate Bill 7, which they killed with a walkout in the regular session in late May and the updated version that Abbott and allies are pushing, are precisely the sort of attacks that the landmark Voting Rights Act was intended to protect against.

These bills are the fire hoses and unleashed dogs of today, said state Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth. They give a green light to insurrectionists to become poll watchers.

The Democrats have been sharpening their attacks on Abbott, accusing him of a relentless focus on whittling away minority voters rights while ignoring a failing electric grid, underpaid teachers and an underfunded foster care system until he needed political cover for this special session.

Donald Trumps party chose not to call a special session during a pandemic. Instead, they forced voters to go out during a pandemic and vote, said state Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos, who represents parts of North Dallas, Addison and Richardson. But when it comes to bathroom bills and ... limiting the vote, they want to call a special session.

Ramos called the current special session nothing more than a monthlong campaign commercial for his re-election.

For the second day in a row, the Texans spent their morning hearing from advocates for minority and voting rights.

Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF, recounted President Donald Trumps efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census to deter, if not eliminate, minority participation. When courts shot that down, Trump sought to create a nationwide database and subtract non-citizens from state tallies when it came time to reapportion U.S. House seats.

The follow-up to that attempt at statistical genocide is what youre seeing today in these efforts across the country to limit participation in voting, Saenz said.

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Texas Democrats may have infected Pelosi and White House aides, dimming prospects for Biden meeting - The Dallas Morning News