In Ohio, Labor Day marks the home stretch for the political campaign season. As always, we stand as THE key battle ground state, a must-win for the presidential hopefuls to reach the White House. On Monday, planes for both the Trump and Clinton campaigns were on the same tarmac at the Cleveland airport, illustrating just how critically important our state is. The first presidential debate will be September 26th at Hofstra University in New York. It is shaping up to be the most watched political event in the modern history of presidential elections. Polling currently shows Secretary Clinton up 3 points in Ohio. The lead is likely to narrow as the Trump campaign commits more resources to the state between now and November.
In the race for the Statehouse, candidates for the Ohio House and Senate are busy navigating the political realities that exist at the top of the ticket, looking for ways to ensure their message doesn’t get lost in the noise created by the presidential campaigns. While these candidates are not widely known, they have a direct impact on the pro-business climate in our state. As the mission of the Ohio Chamber is to aggressively champion free enterprise for the benefit of all Ohioans, we want to ensure the success of those candidates that intend to legislate with that same belief. The Ohio Chamber Political Action Committee (OCCPAC) endorsed 74 candidates for the Ohio General Assembly this cycle (60 House, 14 Senate). Of the 74 endorsed candidates, OCCPAC designated seven candidates for Chamber Choice status. The seven Chamber Choice candidates were selected because they are in highly competitive races and have shown to strongly support job creation and economic growth in our state. These candidates have distinguished themselves on important business issues, and signal to the business community where opportunities exist to ensure the next General Assembly has a strong voice for Ohio’s economy. The seven Chamber Choice candidates are:
Rep. Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard running for Senate),
Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls running for Senate),
Rep. Tim Ginter (R-Salem),
Rep. Jeff Rezabek (R-Clayton),
Rep. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville),
Rep. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield),
Rep. Steven Arndt (R-Port Clinton).
As the state’s leading business advocate, we strive to ensure that we have an informed electorate that is well aware of the business issues facing our state when they head to the polls. For this reason we have launched OhioBusinessVotes.com, a website dedicated to informing our members, and the general public, about which candidates are the strongest defenders of free enterprise. This site will serve as a guide to the 2016 election cycle for business conscious voters across Ohio.
We hope you use OhioBusinessVotes.com as a tool to help educate yourself and your employees regarding the upcoming election. If you have any questions regarding this site or would like further information on the candidates please contact Rich Thompson, Director of Political Programs.