The politics of President Donald Trump loom large over Ohio’s 2018 Senate race. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson aims for the history books. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup.
The Brown blockade: Ohio’s Sherrod Brown is among the Senate Democrats holding up two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, cleveland.com’s Stephen Koff reports. Their Tuesday boycott kept the Senate Finance Committee from achieving a quorum at a meeting to vote on Treasury nominee Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price.
“Mnuchin … is accused of misleading lawmakers when saying earlier that a former company of his, OneWest Bank, did not engage in abusive mortgage foreclosure practice. The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday that at least four dozen homeowners in Franklin County alone were affected by Mnuchin’s company’s practices, and far more throughout the state.”
From The Dispatch victory lap: “Senate Democrats stalled the confirmation of two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks today, citing in part a Sunday Dispatch story showing that one of them misled a Senate committee about the actions of a company he once headed,” the newspaper’s Jessica Wehrman writes. And the kicker: “Brown held up a copy of Sunday’s Dispatch outside the Senate hearing room, on CNN, and on the Senate floor.”
Political storyline to watch: Brown has positioned himself as someone willing to work with Trump on certain initiatives — think the renegotiation of foreign trade deals. But on areas where Trump’s moves don’t match the populist tone he struck during the campaign, Brown will be among the president’s loudest critics. (After Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court pick Tuesday night, Brown immediately pledged his opposition, cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton reports.) Conversely, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Brown in 2018, is fully embracing Trump.
Consider how Mandel spent his Tuesday. He joined two local Republicans at a news conference in Cincinnati to blast Mayor John Cranley for declaring the city a sanctuary city, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jeremy Fugleberg reports. Trump has railed against such cities, where officials choose not partner with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.
Key Mandel quote: “You’re seeing the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the state coming together here, to say over our dead body will Cincinnati become a sanctuary city.”
What Rob Portman thinks of Trump: Ohio’s Republican senator talked to reporters Tuesday about Trump’s travel ban, his Twitter habits and his assigning former Breitbart provocateur Steve Bannon a spot on the National Security Council. Koff has the highlights.
Four more years? Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announced Monday evening that he will seek an unprecedented fourth four-year term, cleveland.com’s Leila Atassi reports. He will face his most significant challenger yet in City Councilman Jeff Johnson.
Deep dive: Atassi looks back on Jackson’s first three terms.
Cash dash: The money race between Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of Betpapel State Jon Husted — two top Republican prospects for governor in 2018 — is neck-and-neck. Maybe. Campaign finance reports filed Tuesday showed each with $2.5 million in the bank. But there’s a bit of an asterisk next to DeWine’s total. He voluntarily included donations from January. Husted only reported numbers from July through December, the minimum required.
“Our numbers this month are good,” Husted spokesman Avi Zaffini said. “Anyone wanting to beat us in the June report will have to perform well, especially if they’ve already reported their January numbers in this last filing.” (But DeWine always could include July in that next report.)
Even without this nuance, the fundraising picture is incomplete. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor — two other Republicans who could run for governor — have yet to establish state campaign committees. (Though an outside spending group aligned with Taylor reported having more than $925,000 on hand at the beginning of 2017.)
As for the Democrats … their top gubernatorial prospects — former Attorney General Richard Cordray and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan — don’t yet have state accounts, either. One early contender, former State Rep. Connie Pillich of the Cincinnati area, reported having $425,000 on hand.
My full report on the filing deadline is here.
Faber makes it official: “Confirming what he called ‘the worst-kept secret in Ohio politics,'” State Rep. Keith Faber, a Celina Republican and former Ohio Senate president, said Tuesday that he is running for state auditor in 2018, The Dispatch’s Randy Ludlow writes.
Budget battle lines: “Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof responded [Tuesday] to Gov. John Kasich’s proposed tax cut package by saying he supports lowering state income tax rates but isn’t interested in ‘tax shifting’ to get there,” cleveland.com’s Jackie Borchardt reports.
Is Kasich penning an anti-Trump tome? The governor’s fourth book, to be released April 25, borrows the name of one of the most memorable speeches of his unsuccessful presidential campaign. “Two Paths: America Divided or United” was announced Tuesday by Thomas Dunne Books. Early excerpts suggest Kasich will continue to draw contrasts with his old GOP rival, but he also plans to take aim at the media and “fake news.” More from my story here.
Now speaking for the Ohio Republican Party: Blaine Kelly takes over as communications director under new Chairwoman Jane Timken. Kelly most recently managed government affairs for the Ohio Coal Association and served as the Trump campaign’s deputy communications director in Ohio. His new job is evidence of a state party being stacked with Trump allies following Timken’s victory last month over Kasich-backed Chairman Matt Borges.
“Blaine is an experienced communicator who joins us after serving on President Trump’s successful Ohio campaign,” Timken said Tuesday. “Most importantly, he shares my vision for party unity and will help Republicans maintain their unprecedented success in future elections.”
Kelly replaces Brittany Warner, who this week took a job with the Kasich administration as deputy communications director at the Ohio Department of Medicaid.
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