PX column: Trump wannabe Jim Renacci effectively pulls the plug on weak U.S. Senate campaign

Jim Renacci made a desperate and despicable attempt to save his sorry U.S. Senate campaign while visiting The Enquirer newsroom on Wednesday morning.

But by uncontrollably slinging around mud and poo and whatever else he could find in the gutter, Renacci effectively pulled the plug on a campaign that's been on life support since Day 1.

He told The Enquirer editorial board that "I've had multiple women contact me and say, 'I was assaulted by Sherrod Brown.' " Very serious stuff.

Except Renacci didn't provide a shred of evidence to back up his claim. No names. No documents. No phone numbers. No tapes. No actual people. He said he referred the women to an attorney, but again, the Republican didn't provide a name or any details about the lawyer.

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With less than three weeks until Election Day, this was a Hail Mary pass thrown by a fifth-string JV quarterback. The ball didn't even make it past the line-of-scrimmage. Game over.

It was the kind of gutterball politics that people are tired of. Voters seem to like Brown, the Cleveland populist and Ohio's senior senator. Regardless, they will see right through Renacci's unfounded claim for what it is – a pathetic political stunt. That is, if voters even see or hear about what Renacci said at all. 

Chances are, they might not. Nothing else out of Renacci's campaign has caught anyone's attention – except maybe the Columbus Dispatch headline about him using a strip-club owner's private jet to fly around to campaign events. Renacci has been buried so far down in the polls, he'll need a backhoe to dig himself out after Election Day.

Oh, sorry. Before I go on, I probably should introduce Renacci, since no one seems to know who Brown's opponent is. Renacci is a former car dealership owner from Northeast Ohio. He's a four-term congressman who last year missed the highest percentage of votes by any Ohioan in Congress, according to Cleveland.com. 

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But anyway, I debated all Wednesday whether to write this column. Renacci came to Cincinnati looking to manufacture a headline, hoping to get something on-the-record that he could then turn around and use in an attack ad. Disgusting.

I didn't want to give this guy or his unsubstantiated story any more attention. But Renacci is the Ohio Republican nominee for Senate. He is on the ballot. It is a critical midterm election. You need to know who this guy really is.

Look, I have no idea whether Renacci is telling the truth or not about Brown and these "multiple women." The point is, you make a serious accusation like this in a room full of journalists, you better damn well have proof. Otherwise, you have no credibility.

Flippantly making unfounded accusations against Brown wasn't the only political sin that Renacci committed on Wednesday. He had the audacity to complain about the Democrats making "unsubstantiated" sexual assault accusations against President Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

"When there's no substantiation, you shouldn't be attacking people," Renacci said.

And you shouldn't be a hypocrite, Congressman.

None of this is really a surprise. Renacci's been trying way too hard to be like Trump ever since the Wadsworth businessman replaced Josh Mandel in the Senate race nine months ago.

Actually, Renacci was a Trump wannabe before the Senate race. Renacci had been running for governor, which he also had no shot at winning. In that campaign, he had aligned himself with outspoken Trump backer and notorious social media troll Linda Caudill of Delhi Township.

Caudill had been a campaign volunteer leader for Renacci, but she was dismissed for yelling at then-gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted after a forum in suburban Columbus.

In the Senate race, Renacci initially tried to use Trump's strategy and play the "outsider" role. The Dayton Daily News pressed Renacci on this, questioning how he could play that role when he's spent four terms in the House. Renacci's response: “I don’t like Washington. I don’t like career politicians."

Renacci is an accountant by trade, and he doesn't have the larger-than-life personality like Trump. Yet Renacci has tried to use Trump-like rhetoric. At last week's Trump rally in Warren County, Renacci told the capacity crowd that "the local press is calling us gutter-dwellers." Few people cheered. 

That came a few minutes after U.S. Sen. Rob Portman had asked the crowd to vote for Renacci. That drew a subdued, courtesy cheer. It was a reaction that seemed fitting for how Republicans view Renacci.

"How down on Renacci are Ohio Republicans?" Buzzfeed national political reporter Henry Gomez wrote on Twitter this week. "I just spoke to one longtime party operative in the state who called him 'Ed FitzGerald with a driver's license.' "

Ouch.

Listen to Jason's weekly podcast "That's So Cincinnati." Twitter: @jwilliamscincy. Email: jwilliams@enquirer.com