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Why no Democrats have filed for down-ticket statewide races

 Signs advertising candidates dot the landscape outside of the Franklin County Board Of Elections on Morse Road in Columbus.
Daniel Konik
/
Statehouse News Bureau
Signs advertising candidates dot the landscape outside of the Franklin County Board of Elections on Morse Road in Columbus.

There are multiple Democrats running for governorin the primary and for the U.S. Senate. But no Democrats have yet announced they are running for Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, or Attorney General. But the party says there’s one simple and relatable reason there aren’t candidates in the down-ticket statewide races.

It takes millions of dollars and lots of time to run a statewide campaign. But the Ohio Democratic Party’s Matt Keyes says it’s not a lack of potential statewide candidates; it’s a lack of child care.

“I think a lot of Ohio families can relate with the struggles and stress that goes along with figuring out child care, something that’s amplified when you are on the campaign trail," Keyes said.

Keyes says potential candidates have been having conversations behind the scenes. He says announcements are coming, and the slate will be full by the Feb. 3 filing deadline.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.