What I’m watching for in the Ohio Senate Primary

Just over two months ago, Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), announced he would not be seeking re-election in 2022. This opened an absolute whirlwind of activity in the succeeding weeks. Punditry and horse trading began in earnest within days of the announcement.

Republicans and Democrats alike are making the case that this particular Senate seat is a likely toss-up. I think that’s a bit of a stretch considering the trends we’ve seen in statewide races in the last several years. But let’s assume it is for a moment.

My home state has reliably re-elected Senator Sherrod Brown since 2007 despite his progressive bona fides standing at odds with the Republican heavy statewide trends in the same time frame. I typically chalk that up to Senator Brown’s, frankly, unmatched ability to frame himself as an average, everyday local guy. If you haven’t seen him work a room, you’re missing out. Assuming that the Ohio Democrat Party can pull a comparable candidate from their bench, any opponent would have a tough time.

While the ODP works to source their own candidate, the Ohio Republican Party is experiencing the beginning of a real cage match between several announced candidates. The race has recently gotten a shot in the arm when it comes to national attention because of stories like this one.

But all of the reporting so far has been precisely one thing: noise.

I can’t begin to speculate who will ultimately win the respective primaries and ultimately the general. Anyone who tells you they know exactly what will come in the months ahead also has some beach front property to sell you in Omaha.

So, what can we in the advocacy world share with our volunteers as insights on this and other races across the country? Start by keeping out of the partisan rancor. Too often, when asked about the topic we love so much, we fall into the bad habit of focusing on one team or another, instead of framing the race around professionalism in electoral politics, or the issues most important to our organization.

Here are the three areas I’m talking to everyone about in these early days:

• Results over rhetoric – Can you identify a subset of candidates (from any party) who are focusing on their records in public office? The folks pointing to their accomplishments are also likely making the rounds through the respective party structures to garner early endorsements and earn introductions to key donors – which they can do because they’ve already earned trust. If all you’ve got is rhetoric, with no background of accomplishments, you are severely handicapped in the realm of political goodwill which is so important in the early stage of statewide race.

• Infrastructure over invective – and speaking about going statewide; who is investing in the infrastructure? Infrastructure is more than your immediate campaign team. It’s the hierarchy of staff AND volunteers who help get the work done in a community when you’re not around. It’s incredibly easy to catch headlines with invective, but are there candidates who stand out for their ability to mobilize grassroots teams across diverse communities? The pros aren’t spending inordinate amounts of time on camera or trolling others on twitter.

• Team Players – lastly, and probably hardest to identify for your volunteers, are there candidates you can identify who won’t make it harder for folks further down the ticket? Tread lightly on this topic, but make sure your volunteers are thinking about it as they try to process the race themselves.

There’s a risk in talking electoral politics with volunteers. So, why is it important to have these topics like these in mind? Because there’s also a risk in not talking electoral politics with your volunteers.

People don’t volunteer in advocacy simply because it makes them feel good. It’s a daunting task to put yourself in a public position on an issue or in a campaign. One of the easiest ways to add value to your volunteer advocates is to pull back the curtain on these meaty subjects and help them feel as informed as real professionals.

Those involved in politics have a natural desire to be in the know. Instead of drifting into conversations with your advocates about specific candidates – and risking inadvertently driving them away from your team – position them to speak with authority on the topics that really matter. In the end, we don’t know which candidates will come out victorious, but we can certainly help our volunteers understand how to think strategically about the race and stay above the noise.