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Local GOP snubs DeWine in attorney general bid

Republican panel endorses Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer 11:01 PM Friday, November 13, 2009

FAIRFIELD — Local ties and name recognition weren’t enough for former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine to get support for state office from what one observer called an “angry crowd” at a Butler County GOP meeting Thursday, Nov. 12.

Instead, the party endorsed Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost in the leadup to the Republican primary for state attorney general.

Yost called the move a “game-changer” in his bid to challenge incumbent Attorney General Richard Cordray, a Democrat, next year.

Officials from Yost’s campaign say he received 68 percent of the local party’s Executive Committee vote in a closed-door meeting Thursday in Fairfield. Sixty percent was needed for the endorsement.

DeWine’s local and statewide political ties are vast. He is a Miami University graduate and lectured at its main Oxford campus until earlier this year. His son is a judge in Hamilton County. His cousin is chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He was a two-term Republican senator until he lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown in 2006.

But his long legislative record didn’t do DeWine any favors, said Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, who attended the meeting.

“Basically, he was paying for his past sins,” said Jones, criticizing DeWine as too liberal for, among other things, supporting gun control and being soft on illegal immigration.

“It was an angry crowd,” Jones said of the question-and-answer session preceding the vote. He said DeWine was “shocked” and shook his head as the results came in.

Yost called this evidence that DeWine’s support from Ohio Republicans is waning as the May primary approaches.

“This is an enormous win for our campaign, but it’s even more important as a signal of a fresh start for Ohio,” Yost said. “I’m humbled and encouraged by this vote of confidence as a signal of the desire among voters for a new generation of leadership.”

In a prepared statement, DeWine campaign manager John Hall said the race is far from over.

“In poll after poll, Mike DeWine is the only candidate who can beat Richard Cordray,” Hall said. “De- Wine is known across the state by an overwhelming 93 percent of voters. As a former county prosecutor, he has the vision and experience to clean up corruption, fix the state crime lab, and make sure our state does everything possible to promote economic growth and job creation.”

A poll this summer by DeWine’s campaign showed him with 82 percent of support among Republicans.

But Yost said a poll last week showed that had slipped to 58 percent, or 22 percent when likely Republican primary voters were reminded of DeWine’s voting record.

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