Why Ohio Matters

The fight for the Senate all comes down to your backyard

There’s an old saying in politics: “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.”

The Buckeye State has long been a bellwether state, one that reflects the broader trends of the country and how voters are feeling. Some people think that’s changed in recent years, but I have news for them:

We’re going to win Ohio this year – and we’re taking back the Senate majority.

Right now, Republicans control the Senate 53-47. We need four seats to take back the majority, and there are only a handful of races in play this year. Ohio is one of these states, which means one thing:

The path to the Senate runs through Ohio.

Ohio is one of the only pickup opportunities we have in the country that is genuinely competitive. That’s why Republican donors are treating it like the whole ballgame (but I’ll get to that later).

Everybody agrees this race is neck and neck. Experts at The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and MS NOW are all calling Ohio’s Senate race a “Toss Up” – putting us squarely in the most competitive category.

Some polls have me slightly ahead. Some have me trailing slightly. A new poll from The New York Times/Siena has me three points down. The big picture is this: Our race is well within the margin of error, and if we fight for it, we can win.

In a race this close, it won’t take much to tip the scales — which is exactly why what the Supreme Court just did should worry you.

Last month, the Court ruled 6-3 along party lines to strike down limits on how much national party committees can spend in direct coordination with campaigns. For decades, these regulations kept a lid on how much outside money could be funneled into a race. But now that lid is gone.

This means that national Republican committees like the NRSC, the RNC, and other coordinated party groups backed by billionaires can bail out Jon Husted’s campaign at a scale we have never seen before. They know they have to win Ohio to defend their majority – and their strategic spending in our race shows that.

Republicans now have a pathway to pour unlimited, often untraceable, money into this race.

Jon Husted hasn’t done anything to show he cares about the issues facing hardworking Ohioans. Now he doesn’t even have to pretend to, because he can just cash checks from his rich Republican donors and establishment backers.

That’s what unlimited coordinated spending buys: a candidate who never has to answer to the people he’s supposed to represent. Ohio deserves so much better.

But already, Republicans have committed $131 million in this race.

So here’s where you come in.

Ohio is the domino that will determine which party controls the Senate, and that outcome is entirely reliant on the work being done every day here. But with a tsunami of cash pouring into this race, I can’t do it alone.

Four seats stand between us and flipping the Senate, and our race is expected to be the determining factor. Every seat is going to be a fight, but Ohio is the biggest one on the board, and it is where your support will make the most impact.

Our grassroots donors have always been the backbone of this campaign. I’ve relied on people like you for so long because I believe in fighting for the people who make this country work, not those who aim to rig the system in their favor.

Every additional dollar that is spent on the ground will move the needle in our direction. Grassroots donations allow us to hire more organizers, send more mail, and purchase more airtime. Your dollars go further in Ohio than anywhere else, and with Senate control on the line, this couldn’t be more important.

But if we come up short on the resources needed to fight back, everything our movement has built will be at risk.

We have to overcome the influx of cash that the GOP is going to flood into Ohio. Please join me in standing up to the billionaires and corporations and let them know that our movement will not be outspent or outraised. If you’re able to chip in anything to power this campaign, it would mean a lot.

As the saying goes: As goes Ohio, so goes the nation. Let’s make sure it goes the way we need it to in November.

In solidarity,

Sherrod