Trump hints at primary challenge for DeWine in tweet

Rick Rouan Jessie Balmert
The Columbus Dispatch
President Donald Trump talks to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine after Trump arrived at Rickenbacker International Airport on Oct. 24 before a rally in Circleville. The DeWines did not attend the rally. Trump appeared to hint at a primary challenge for DeWine in a Tweet on Monday morning.

President Donald Trump appears to be encouraging a primary challenge to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in 2022.

Trump tweeted on Monday morning "Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!" Later on Monday, President-elect Joe Biden said during a conference call that he has "enormous respect" for conservative governors who instituted mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One of the leaders in this area has been the Republican governor of Ohio," Biden said.

DeWine was a co-chair of Trump's re-election campaign in Ohio and greeted Trump during the president's final visit to Ohio before the election, but he was among a group of Republicans who last week acknowledged Biden as president-elect.

On CNN on Sunday, DeWine said Trump should begin the transition to Biden. Trump has refused to concede the race and has used his Twitter account to advance unfounded conspiracy theories about the election.

Fox News picked up DeWine's Sunday comments on Monday morning, shortly before Trump fired off the tweet.

“I have always had great working relationship with the President.  I am proud to have served as President Trump’s Campaign Co-Chairman in Ohio where we won by the largest margin of any swing state in the country," DeWine said late Monday afternoon in a prepared statement.

DeWine said he intends to run a "winning campaign for governor in 2022."

DeWine won his 2018 election against Democrat Rich Cordray by 3.7 percentage points, but unofficial results show that Trump has posted his second consecutive 8-point win in Ohio.

The Ohio Republican Party could not immediately be reached.

During a post-election forum, Ohio GOP Chairman Jane Timken said in response to a question about whether DeWine had to boost his conservative credentials that she didn't see Trump voters in Ohio crossing over to vote for a Democrat.

But she didn't say anything about a potential primary for the sitting governor.

"I think Gov. DeWine is always going to be his own man. I think he's going to govern the state the way he thinks is best. I think if you look at his overall popularity across the board with Republicans and Democrats he still has significant strong support," she said during the forum.

Timken said then that she believed DeWine's "policies and philosophies have been conservative."

DeWine has been under pressure from those within his own party for months because of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some conservative Ohio lawmakers led a failed charge to impeach the governor, and some southwest Ohio Republicans said over the summer he had overstepped his authority.

But a credible challenge to the sitting governor likely would require a well-funded candidate. DeWine has a long history in Ohio politics, and he spent $35.6 million on his 2018 campaign.

Trump's tweet added fuel to what some were speculating could be a hint from former Congressman Jim Renacci, who lost his 2018 race to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, about a potential gubernatorial primary. He encouraged voters to "Ditch DeWine" in a weekend tweet.

Renacci wouldn't say whether he was running for governor, but said primaries are an opportunity for change if Ohioans are unhappy with the direction of the state.

"It’s always the right for citizens to primary or run for office if they believe change is necessary," Renacci said. "I never feared a primary when I was running."

Renacci said he doesn't believe DeWine "has the right, constitutionally," to issue shutdown orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic and that he should instead work with the Ohio General Assembly.

"I am focusing on the state and the issues that are problems with our state competing in our country," he said.

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan