Is Dr. Amy Acton realistic as a Democratic candidate for the US Senate?
I don’t see why not.
She made her name for herself as the director of the health department of Governor Mike DeWine in the first half of 2020; She was a calming, authoritative, and relatable figure in DeWine’s daily COVID-19 updates on TV. Perhaps she can incorporate this into a campaign for the soon-to-be-open seat in the US Senate in Ohio.
Consider:
- She comes closest to a folk hero the Ohio Democrats have had since John Glenn, who was in a class of his own.
- Your supporters created a Dr. Amy Acton Fan Page, which has almost 125,000 followers, and growing.
- Her Twitter account has nearly 53,000 followers without ever posting a single tweet.
- What other contestant had her own bobble head before even declaring a run?
- She has had thousands of little girls (and presumably their parents) across the state who have made videos of themselves wearing their signature white lab coats, saying that when they grow up, like Dr. Want to be amy.
- Prominent Democrats have told me that Acton does very well on potential matchups, both in a Democratic primary and in a general election.
- Your Name ID is very high, according to some senior Democrats who saw the numbers in an organized workers survey; and that’s always a good thing. You don’t have to spend a lot of time introducing yourself to the voters.
“Yes, she’s a good candidate,” says David Niven, professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. “It depends on whether you want to face a long election campaign or not.”
Some Democrats doubt whether Acton has the courage to fight a tough primary campaign and an even tougher election campaign.
After all, she quit her job as health department director last June after increasing pressure from Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly who felt she was too clumsy in placing restrictions on Ohioans to avoid the tide of COVID. contain -19.
She was tired and unsettled by COVID deniers marching outside her suburban Columbus home, often carrying firearms.
Who could blame her for wanting to get out of this mess? Would you like armed protesters to gather on your doorstep?
So she left the Ohio Department of Health and worked for the Columbus Foundation’s Kind Columbus Initiative. She quit that job last week to, she said, “think carefully” about running for the Senate.
Of course, in Rep. Tim Ryan of Trumbull County, who has sat in the US House of Representatives since 2003, there is already a legitimate Democratic candidate for the Senate seat to raise funds and organize support for a Senate campaign.
But, as Niven pointed out, Ryan is barely a household name outside of his northeast Ohio territory.
“In Tim Ryan, you had someone running for president without increasing his name in Ohio,” said Niven. “It’s hard to do. How many Cincinnati Democrats do you think could pick him out of the crowd?”
“The Ohio Democratic Party lacks star power,” said Niven, “that opens the door for people like (Acton).”
However, Ryan is not a high-flyer. He will have much support from organized labor; and Hillary Clinton has made it clear that she would like him to replace Republican Senator Rob Portman, who is not running for a third term.
Acton is clearly backed by Connie Schultz, an influential columnist and wife of the senior Democratic MP in the state, Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown has publicly stated that he will remain neutral in the primary.
As someone who made her career outside of politics, Acton “hasn’t had 20 years of (congressional) votes for the other side to criticize”.
If she runs, she will find that being a statewide candidate in Ohio isn’t easy, especially in Ohio, where the GOP dominates statewide offices.
“I wonder what will happen when she sits down with some political professionals who tell her to prepare to spend 90 percent of your time raising money for the next two years,” Niven said. “A counselor will tell her that.” You have to raise $ 40 million. Maybe she doesn’t want that. “
Niven said his best guess is that Acton won’t run for the Senate.
“But if she did,” he said, “I wouldn’t bet against her in a primary.”
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