Looks Like Renacci Will Be The Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate For The Trump Party-- At Least For Now

Rep. Jim Renacci (R), backstage, shakes hands with some old rocker from the past

John Kasich will be termed out as Ohio governor next year. It looks like 4 well-known Republicans-- ex-Senator Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Secretary of State Jon Husted and, as of yesterday, Congressman Jim Renacci-- and an unknown number of Democrats-- from ex-Congressmembers Betty Sutton and Dennis Kucinich, ex-state Rep. Connie Pillich, Columbus ex-Mayor Michael Coleman and ex-state Sen. Nina Turner to CFPB Director Richard Cordray, state Senate minority leader Joe Schiavoni. Judges Bill O'Neill and Jennifer Brunner and Cincinnati and Dayton Mayors John Cranley and Nan Whaley-- are getting into a free-for-all battle for their parties' nominations.

Renacci, a four-term congressman and former Wadsworth mayor, is positioning himself as an outsider in the mold of President Donald Trump, whose White House victory last year stunned the political establishment. Renacci emphasizes his background as a businessman. He also emphasizes his roots in "a working class, union family" growing up in the Pittsburgh area.

...Renacci, 58, lacks the flashy personality and the wide name-recognition of Trump, who for years starred in a reality TV show that made him a national celebrity. He could benefit, though, from his enthusiastic support for Trump last year at a time when other Ohio Republicans who were loyal to Kasich's unsuccessful presidential bid kept their distance. Rob Scott, a top Ohio operative for the Trump campaign, has signed on to assist Renacci's campaign.

An accountant by trade, Renacci is one of the wealthiest members of Congress. Other business interests have included nursing homes and an Arena Football league franchise.

Hard to imagine Renacci being a viable candidate for governor if he votes-- as he is likely to do on Thursday, having already done so in the House Ways and Means Committee-- for higher health insurance premiums, less coverage and a fat tax break for insurance industry CEOs. As Trump's popularity collapses and buyers' remorse sets in, even among Trump's own voters in places like Ohio-- they like the the Great Lakes to be clean there don't they, even if it is just Lake Erie?-- hard core Trumpists like Renacci are going to find themselves in difficult situations.

When Renacci officially declared yesterday, after fundraisers with his pal Bon Jovi in Columbus and Cleveland, he signaled the start for a battle for his 16th congressional district, a gerrymandered conglomerateion of suburbs drawn to carefully skirt Cleveland, Akron and Canton. Most of the votes in the district come out of Cuyahoga County, although Medina, Stark, Wayne and Summit counties are each almost equally important. Obama lost the district both times--51-47% to McCain and 54-45% to Romney in 2012. Last year OH-16 was decidedly not Hillary country. Trump beat her 56.1% to 39.5%. Renacci, a self-funding multimillionaires who put $752,400 when he ran against Blue Dog incumbent John Boccieri in 2010, faced off against a Berniecrat with no funding, Keith Mundy in November. Renacci raised $2,088,873 to Mundy's $13,081-- and beat him by over 100,000 votes-- 221,495 (65.4%) to 117,296 (34.6%).

One problem though-- no one, on either side of the aisle, thinks Renacci will still be in the gubernatorial race come next December when he actually has to make up his mind to give up his seat in Congress or not. So far no Republicans have been jumping in and the only Democrat seriously talking about it-- Renacci or no Renacci-- is Keith Mundy. There's some talk about the congenital losers who make up the centrist Democratic Party establishment in Ohio recruiting former Parma mayor Dean DePiero, who was too mired in corruption to even run for mayor again but... well, that's the Ohio Democratic Party, which is, after all, the sole explanation for how the Ohio Republican Party is able to do so well.

Schumer And The DC Dems Forced Strickland Down Ohio Democrats' Throats And Have Now Abandoned The State Entirely

Ohio has been the ultimate swing state. The state went narrowly for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, narrowly for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and narrowly for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Statewide, Democrats usually have a good shot to win-- unless they recruit, as they did this cycle, incompetent and unelectable candidates (see sad-sack establishment loser Ted Strickland). The biggest problem the state's Democratic establishment has-- aside from it's own miserable leadership-- is the endemic Republican gerrymandering that has made both houses of the state legislature and the congressional delegation a red cesspool. Currently the state House has 65 Republicans and 34 Democrats and the Senate has 23 Republicans and just 10 Democrats. And remember, at the same time, the state gave full-on leftist senator Sherrod Brown a 51-45% win over garden variety generic Republican Josh Mandel statewide. Those same Ohio voters also stuck the state with a congressional delegation with 12 Republicans and just 4 measly Democrats!

The Ohio Democratic Party whines about gerrymandering all the time but their own incompetence and corruption have been legendary. And when it comes to Congress, they have the DCCC to direct them... straight down the toilet. This cycle, the ultimate swing state doesn't have one congressional race being contested by the DCCC. 16 congressional districts and the ODP and DCCC couldn't find even one to try for. They are the worst!

Early in the cycle, there was tremendous excitement around a young Cincinnati city councilman, PG Sittenfeld, filled with vitality, charisma, great, fresh ideas and a hankering to run against tired GOP hack Rob Portman. Sounded like a great idea to everyone-- except Chuck Schumer, who recruited someone far more tired and hackish than Portman as the Democratic candidate, walking corpse Ted Strickland who has so little chance to come close to winning that even Schumer and the DSCC have given up on him. His miserable, lifeless campaign is actually dragging Hillary Clinton down in Ohio!

Meanwhile the DCCC has not recruited a candidate against not-especially-beloved candidates like Steve Chabot, Brad Wenstrup, Jim Jordan, Bob Latta, Bill Johnson, Bob Gibbs, Warren Davidson, Mike Turner, Pat Tiberi, David Joyce, Steve Stivers or Jim Renacci. A competent DCCC and ODP would be contesting Michael Turner's Dayton area seat (which Obama won in 2008 and lost narrowly in 2012), David Joyce' seat east of Cleveland (which Obama lost by 1 point to McCain and by 3 points to Romney), Jim Renacci's seat in the suburbs around Cleveland and Akron, and Steve Chabot's Cincinnati district. It isn't, again, making it tougher for Hillary to mount a strong campaign in those crucial areas. There is no Democratic excitement on the ground to back her up. It's like huge swingy swathes of Ohio have just been complete;y abandoned to the GOP.

The 16th district-- Renacci's seat-- is probably the one the DCCC should try to take. The Democratic candidate, Berniecrat Keith Mundy, is inspiring and the polar opposite of the corpse-like Strickland. He and his grassroots campaign are filled with energy, enthusiasm and fresh innovative ideas. But the DCCC has purposely looked the other way... to rotgut Blue Dogs, unlikely conservative Democrats like Doug Owens in Utah, Tom O'Halleran in Arizona, Lon Johnson in Michigan, Josh Gottheimer in New Jersey, and Kim Myers in New York.

There are 6 counties or parts of counties that make up suburban/exurban OH-16. A plurality of the voters live in Cuyahoga County and trend towards Democrats but the two next most populous counties are Medina and Stark which trend Republican. Then comes Wayne, which also is red-tinted and then Democratic-leaning Summit. Democratic centers Akron in Summit County and Canton in Stark County have been carefully excised from the district by the gerrymanderers in the state legislature. It makes for a daunting task for Mundy, a challenge he's rising to.

He's being swamped with Renacci corporate cash, of course. As of the June 30 FEC reporting deadline, Renacci had raised $1,637,023 and the NRA was spending money on his behalf. Democrats were busy flushing all their resources down the Ted Strickland senatorial toilet. Strickland had vacuumed up $7,068,790 and the Schemer-Directed Senate Majority PAC had spent $9,925,907. Unions and other clueless Democratic allies had already spent $6 million more on Strickland's moribund and pointless campaign (now virtually abandoned by the reptilian Schumer and his DSCC). Meanwhile, Mundy told me this week that his entire campaign budget is in the neighborhood of $30,000.

Check out that jingle in the video up top. It's been Mundy's secret weapon, an entertaining robocall that's hit thousands of homes in all 6 counties in OH-16. Unlike any of the other congressional contests in Ohio, the polls are decent for Mundy and show a winnable race against an incumbent who is widely disliked. Renacci is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and one of the most ardent Trumpists in the state, acting as a Trump surrogate while many other Ohio Republicans have kept their distance from the much-disliked presidential candidate.

Blue America would like to encourage you to support Keith Mundy with a contribution to his campaign (just tap the thermometer below). A $10 contribution means 500 more robocalls and a $100 contribution means 5,000 of this calls. People seem to love them and the stats should recipients actually listening all the way through and eager to hear it again!

Schumer screwed up Ohio's Senate race and Hillary may well be losing the state to the unlikely Trump, but winning even one of the state's 12 Republican-held congressional seats would make a tremendous change in Ohio politics. A Berniecrat winning against the Trumpoid multimillionaire who represents the interests of only the richest 1% of society would be especially sweet.

I'm Guessing Every Berniecrat Seeking Office Will Follow Bernie Into The Hillary Camp Now

I'm guessing few Bernie supporters will dance to the siren calls of the orange-faced racist, xenophobic, misogynystic sociopath no matter how many times he waves an anti-TPP banner at them. Some may vote for Jill Stein-- or even Gary Johnson-- but I suspect Hillary's going to get upwards of 80% of their votes, perhaps 90%, especially if Bernie really does campaign vigorously for her and if she doesn't go out of her way to remind everyone what a corporatist shill she is at heart, although I suppose picking an egregiously bad running mate could drive more people away from her.

Now, what about the candidates who are running on Bernie's platform? So far I'm seeing 100% of them following him into her camp-- albeit some with more enthusiasm than others. The primary runoff in Oklahoma's 5th district pits dedicated Berniecrat Tom Guild against some establishment hack. Last night Tom told us he will encourage his own supporters to vote for Hillary. "I’m disappointed that Bernie will not be the Democratic nominee," he said. "He is the candidate closest to my views. Bernie ran the race of a lifetime and fell just short of victory. Bernie has endorsed Secretary Clinton. He feels that progress has been made in the Democratic Platform on many of the issues crucial to Working People and the American Middle Class. I respect and trust Bernie and his proven leadership. Based on his recommendation I will support Secretary Clinton for president in the November general election." Bao Nguyen's election, in Orange County, CA, will be determined in November and his posture was very similar to Tom's. "I couldn't be more proud to have endorsed Bernie Sanders for president," the Garden Grove mayor told us. "Bernie has awakened great possibilities in our country with a political movement driven by the American people. It's not about any one of us, but all of us, together. I'm committed to the movement and I join Bernie in endorsing Hillary."

The congressional primary in Washington is August 2, just a bit over 2 weeks away. The first candidate Bernie endorsed for Congress this cycle was state Sen. Pramila Jayapal, for years a crusading a fiery reformer. I'd like to share a statement she made, endorsing Hillary on the heals of Bernie's own statement this week.

Last August, after I met with Sen. Bernie Sanders for the first time, I wrote an op-ed that concluded with something that still seems deeply relevant today: “ [Our work] is bigger than any one presidential candidate. It’s as big as all of us. Regardless of who is elected president in 2016, we all… have to hold the collective space for movement-building together. It’s the only way we move forward.”

I cannot be prouder of my early endorsement for Senator Bernie Sanders. I supported Bernie for President because I was inspired by his consistent, vocal platform for decades on economic inequality, corporate influence into our democracy, and election reform. In our conversation, I found him to be deeply thoughtful about the intersection of economic, racial, and social justice. He inspired millions of people to participate in our democracy. Issues like Medicare for All, college affordability, expanding Social Security and Medicare, and ending the prison industrial complex, have become a part of the national discourse. Bernie has helped people from all walks of life name the unfairness that hits too many Americans in their pocketbooks, daily lives, and hearts. He has pushed for policies that benefit working people across America and not the wealthiest few. Equally important, he helped people see the power we each have when we engage with our democracy and work together to change what is unjust. I give heartfelt thanks to Bernie Sanders for his incredible vision, energy, and truth-telling, and for now again helping to unify the Democratic party around a common vision.

Out of this Democratic primary process, we have done what democracy is supposed to do: engage our country in a real discussion about the most important issues facing working families across America. Together, we achieved real wins on what is now the most progressive Democratic Party platform in decades. For the first time, we have a public commitment for a $15 minimum wage, tuition-free college, breaking up of big banks, criminal justice reform, Native American rights, and a public option in healthcare. These are huge wins that simply would not have been possible without our movement. But our work will not be done until we turn those principles into law, which means winning the White House and continuing to take back our Congress.

We now have a chance to write the next chapter of the progressive movement. When I endorsed Sen. Sanders back in September, I also said that if Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee, I would throw my support behind her and work for her to become President.

That is why today, I am proud to announce that I am endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.

Hillary Clinton shares many of the same values that I do-- that all progressives do. She has been a longtime champion of issues that are near and dear to my heart: a woman’s right to have control over her own body, gun reform, and health care for all. She has tremendous experience in a number of roles, including as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, and she has shattered glass ceilings again and again against a gender-biased media and society. As a proud feminist and someone who has fought my whole life for equality and justice on every level, I will proudly join forces with President Hillary Clinton to continue these battles every day on behalf of women, men, and working families here and around the world. On the issues where we differ, I will continue my track record of taking principled stands and seek to find common ground even when it appears impossible.

The threats to our country of a Donald Trump presidency cannot be understated. As an immigrant woman of color, this is personal and universal. I am horrified by the racism, xenophobia, homophobia and fear that Republican nominee Donald Trump has been drumming up. Donald Trump represents none of those values that we as progressives hold dear. Trump is a bully, pure and simple, and comes from a place of greed and selfishness. Trump ridicules women for sport and wears his bigotry as a badge of honor. Frankly, a Trump presidency scares the hell out of me. We simply cannot let Donald Trump become President or even get close to that office. We cannot let him appoint our next Supreme Court nominee, because it is clear he will have no compunction in appointing a Justice that subscribes to his hateful vision for our country-- and will undermine every core principle of Democratic values. Our defeat of Trump’s candidacy must be overwhelming-- or we continue to provide encouragement to the forces of hate that he has unleashed.

As a movement, I believe we must unite behind a bold, progressive agenda for the long-term. After decades of work on the outside as an activist taking on the Bush Administration for civil liberties abuses when few others were doing so, helping to establish a $15 minimum wage in Seattle, standing up for labor unions and against unfair trade agreements, I am running for Congress now because I believe people like you and me can and must work from the outside and inside to move that agenda forward.

I am deeply committed to the work ahead of us within the Democratic party, and I intend to continue the movement we have started all the way to Congress. If we can win, you can be sure that I will continue to do what I have done for the past 25 years. I will fight for justice for working families and for a democracy that responds to the voices of all of us.

In a country that has so much hopelessness and fear today, a country wracked by violence and grief, I call up the faces and the voices of those who may seem to have the least power but bring the most courage to the table, women and men that I have worked with for decades on the struggle for justice.

We owe it to ourselves and to this country-- built on flawed structures but an awe-inspiring vision-- to continue our work to achieve a society that offers true opportunity for every single person, regardless of class, race, gender, sexual orientation or any other factor.

I know that each person will have to decide exactly what course to take moving forward. I hope my thinking may be helpful to other Bernie supporters as you make your choice this November. Let’s join together in moving forward our values thoughtfully, with a particular commitment to a principled unity that builds for the short and the longer term.

We’re all counting on each other-- this is OUR movement. Let’s keep building it together.

Peter Jacob is the official Democratic Party candidate for New Jersey's 7th congressional district, a seat currently help by unpopular Republican Leonard Lance. In a statement to his supporters endorsing Hillary, he made it clear that his political stands are based on a package of values and principles rather than on personalities. "Today," he wrote, "Senator Bernie Sanders pledged his support of Secretary Hillary Clinton for President of the United States of America, and our campaign joins in this endorsement. We are ready and enthusiastic to ensure this nation elects its first woman President, while preventing Donald Trump from stepping foot in the White House. Our campaign will continue to be about much more than electing one person to one office, though. While we are elated with the adoption of strict climate change and gender equality language into the Democratic Party’s national platform, we recognize several key differences between our own platform, and that of the DNC, and Secretary Clinton. We will continue to push both the party and Secretary Clinton in a people’s progressive direction on issues such as America-first trade and stemming the tide of globalization, perpetual warfare and inadequate care of our returning veterans, expansion of worker’s unions, immigration, and sweeping criminal justice, financial system, and student debt reform. We will keep fighting to overturn some Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United, place strict regulations on lobbying and political contributions, move towards a publicly-financed electoral system, end the corruptive practice of gerrymandering, and return the power over government to the people of this nation. Healing our democracy will once again enable the United States to be the global leader in solving our most dire problems, and ensure that the safety, security, and freedom of the American Dream will live on for generations to come."

Keith Mundy and Tom Wakely already won their primaries and both are pretty hard core Berni supporters who are now expressing support for Hillary. Mundy who is running for the Ohio seat occupied by Jim Renacci, told us he "will vote for Hillary because it's about the Supreme Court, period. We can't let Trump win the White House. We have worked hard to get to where we are with our Progressive Movement. It's time that we all come together so we can get Democrats elected up and down the ticket. None of us know what Bernie has had to do to make this work for all of us." Similarly, Wakely, the Democrat opposing Texas wing nut Lamar Smith, told us he's "sure many were disheartened when the torchbearer for our movement conceded the race to Secretary Clinton, but our mission is far from complete. Bernie Sanders won 23 contests and received over 13 million votes in this primary. While I understand that a loss is a loss, it's important to understand that this movement far exceeded popular expectations. Knowing how far we've come has personally given me so much hope as I look to unseat Lamar Smith this November. Democrats, non-partisan progressives, and, quite frankly, all the people of this nation share a massive common enemy this fall: Regression. I was fortunate enough to win all 10 counties in my primary and send a clear message that Central Texas is ready to fight for progress in Washington. The vast majority of my constituents would lend a better voice to our people than Lamar Smith, including my primary opponent. He feels the same way, as he's lent resources and ideas to our campaign as we push into the general. I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to lead that fight and I'm thankful for the support that I've received from progressives all the way to Republicans who are looking for true representation. I will always put country before party, the same cannot be said for any Republican willing to stand side by side with Trump. To me this is a call to common sense. This is an acknowledgement that our nation won't go anywhere with Donald Trump, nor will it progress to any reasonable stature under the thumb of Republicans who support their presumptive nominee. I will remain forever thankful to the candidate I endorsed, stay ever vigilant to fight for progress in Texas, and look to grow our movement into a win this November that shatters D.C.'s 'conventional wisdom.'"

Adam Sackrin's Miami-Dade primary is August 30 and if he wins it he'll be taking on Wasserman Schultz's top GOP crony, Ilene Ros-Lehtinen, in the general. He's very dedicated to Bernie and his political revolution:

Similar to what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was able to accomplish for racial justice, Bernie Sanders will forever be the catalyst of #OurRevolution, leader of the progressive movement, and champion of socio-economic-environmental justice for all. His speech yesterday in New Hampshire, where he tactfully congratulated Hillary Clinton for winning "the Democratic nomination process" and gave his endorsement, conjured a lot of emotions. Sadness in defeat, confusion and a feeling of hopelessness, definitely. But also comfort, clarity, and peace of mind. Peace of mind in knowing that the Party of Trump will lose a third consecutive Presidential race in a few months, and won't be nominating any potentially-disastrous Supreme Court Justices anytime soon. Clarity by avoiding a contentious convention and galvanizing support for down-ticket races. And comfort in hearing Bernie tell us himself that he isn't going anywhere, he's going everywhere, and helping the Democratic Party campaign-- and win-- on the most progressive platform in history, and supporting progressive candidates and groups nationwide to keep the fire Bern-ing through 2018, 2020, 2022 and beyond.

The issues facing America, and the bold progressive initiatives we need to take to resolve them, are simply too important to consider staying home or casting a ballot for someone else in defiance. The prosperity of our planet is at stake. Basic human rights and opportunities are at stake. Our very democracy is at stake. Despite her numerous and obvious indiscretions, and our differences, Hillary Clinton is beyond qualified to be our President, and she will likely be very good at the job. Though we wanted Bernie Sanders, and we deserve President Sanders, I am confident that OurRevolution will continue. He will not let it die for nothing, and he will not let them silence us. As long as he's with her, I'm with them. Join us.

The very first congressional Democrat to endorse Bernie was CPC Chairman Raúl Grijalva but he didn't wait for Bernie to endorse Hillary. Last month he did a Facebook post how he saw a a genuine desire for a better, more responsive way of electing our leaders and making policy [based on] a heartfelt conviction that America is ready to live up to its very highest ideals and explaining" and why he would vote for Hillary.

Those ideals are the heart and soul of Bernie’s campaign, and voters have responded to them in a way that goes deeper than mere support for a candidate. The American people, across the board, support sweeping campaign finance reform, universal health care, affordable college access, and a fairer economy that rewards work instead of just wealth. Bernie made this election about those issues and the values behind them. The country is already much stronger for it.

Those issues and those values transcend any one person. This was more than a campaign for the presidency. It is a movement.

With voting completed in the final Democratic Primary, it is now time for the Democratic Party to unify. For all of us who supported Bernie from the beginning, whether we considered ourselves progressives or independents or just Americans tired of being on the outside looking in, the most important thing now is to beat Donald Trump in November. To use a word that’s been thrown around a lot lately, now is the time to unify.

Unity will not be realized if the millions of voters who supported Bernie Sanders feel taken for granted. Our country needs a president who understands why the American people are hungry for something better and more substantial than political trench warfare. That president must be able to channel our hunger into action and our action into results. Tinkering at the margins is no longer an acceptable presidential platform. Hillary Clinton has the capacity and the instincts needed to carry forward what has been started. I support her and will do what I can to help ensure her victory. I firmly believe that her victory will only come when she and the Democratic Party articulate the themes this movement has so powerfully expressed.

Bernie has pointed the way toward a more humane economy, a more peaceful foreign policy and a stronger support network for Americans of all ages. Those will be the centerpieces of Democratic governance for the foreseeable future, and we will owe Bernie a debt of gratitude for it.

It won’t be enough to just accept the merit of his ideas. This is in no small part Bernie Sanders’ party also. His team, his supporters and his movement must-- and will-- be integrated into the future of the Democratic Party at every level. In many ways this is a new entity. The Democrats who won elections twenty years ago by running against marriage equality, avoiding questions about gun violence, blaming poverty on laziness and waffling on the environment are nearly a thing of the past. From now on, Democrats will celebrate Sandersism and channel its energy not just to electoral victory, but to better decisions for the American people.

At some point, every presidential election is called “the most important in a generation.” This one actually merits the description. Winning in November will require standing arm in arm. I’m ready.

All these Bernie Congress candidates can use some help. If you can, please consider contributing to any of them you'd like to see in Congress, by clicking on the thgermometer. This revolution has a long, long way to go:

The DCCC Has Abandoned Ohio Completely-- Which Doesn't Mean Real Democrats Have To

The decision yesterday to add Keith Mundy to the Bernie Congress Blue America page was pretty easy. Within the first 5 minutes on the phone with him, I knew I was speaking with a movement guy, not someone trying to glom onto Bernie's online donation flow.

Keith, who wanted to talk more about Bernie than about his own campaign, is running for the OH-16 suburban seat southwest of Cleveland that carefully skirts Cleveland, Akron and Parma to make sure just 1.6% of the population is black. The district is 92.7% white and the PVI is R+6. McCain beat Obama 51-47% and Romney beat him 54-45%. The multimillionaire, out-of-touch incumbent is Republican Jim Renacci managed to win the seat by defeating freshman Blue Dog, John Boccieri 52-41%. When Renacci beat Boccieri in the 2010 midterms it was because Democrats stayed away from the polls in droves. Why would they do that? How about because Boccieri was anti-choice, anti-healthcare and anti-gay-- like like Renacci. The Redfern Ohio Democratic Party, like the DCCC, never quite got the message that Democrats want to vote for candidates who are Democrats because of values and principles not Democrats because it's a corporate careerist vehicle for a bunch of corrupt insiders. In that race Renacci and Boccieri each spent a bit over $2 million and the DCCC and NRCC each spent around $1.5 on their respective candidates. Renacci self-funded to the tune of $752,400.

Democrats in Ohio's 16th congressional district won't have that problem this year. Keith Mundy is nothing like Renacci and nothing like Boccieri. Needless to say, Steve Israel (and his sock puppet), Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi are ignoring Mundy and the DCCC adamantly refuses to offer any help at all. With Redfern gone, the Ohio Democratic Party isn't as overtly hostile to progressives. The current head of the state party, David Pepper, told the media that "With Ohio families desperate for leadership in Washington that solves challenges like low wages and college debt and bad trade deals, Keith offers them a much-needed alternative to who they’re stuck with now." Not that the DCCC cares. They back corrupt conservatives who are basically just like Renacci, but only if they call themselves "Democrats," primarily worthless garbage candidates like self-funder Randy Perkins (FL), Monica Vernon (IA), Brad Schneider (IL), Lon Johnson, Wall Street whore Josh Gottheimer (NJ), failed Blue Dog Pete Gallego (TX), DCCC-Republican Mike Derrick (NY), Val Demings (FL), and Bryan Caforio some carpet-bagger rejected by the California Democratic Party but sent in by the DCCC to destroy progressive Lou Vince's chance to win the seat, virtually guaranteeing the reelection of tea party Republican Steve Knight. The DCCC has written off the state of Ohio entirely; not one Ohio Dem is on any of their Red-to-Blue lists.

So, Mundy is on his own; just him and the folks who believe in Bernie's political revolution. Hillary won Ohio, but Bernie did pretty well in the 16th district. He won Portage County outright, beat Hillary in the parts of Summit County that are in OH-16, and did well in Medina, Stark and Wayne counties. The Democrats there are now concentrating their energy on Mundy's campaign.

In his recent story about Mundy, Jonathan Fuentes, wrote that the candidate is far from being "your typical politician." Mundy told him he "ended up getting interested in Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren a couple years ago. Set up my first Facebook page: who’s it going to be, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders? As it turned out, Bernie Sanders was our choice, and we’re all on a journey with him. From that, and organizing northeast Ohio into a really great group, and also opening the first grassroots office in the nation, it got to the point where we needed to have access to the Ohio Democratic Party. One of us had to step up to give legitimacy to our movement... Looking at my running for Congress, no matter who’s going to be our next president, the Congress we have now, you just can’t work with. What we needed to do was look at congressional races and change Congress. That’s when I decided it had to be somebody, and it ended up being me."

In fact, Mundy’s opponent, Rep. Jim Renacci, is what one would expect when thinking of, as Pepper puts it, “a card-carrying member of the Republican establishment.” A quick look at Renacci’s policies shows a politician who strictly adheres to the GOP party line: tax cuts for the rich, defunding Planned Parenthood, opposes gun control, denies climate change, opposes same-sex marriage and doesn’t care about the recent exacerbation of economic inequality.

This stands in marked contrast to a Mundy campaign that is built on a progressive platform. Mundy champions many of the ideals that appeal to the new generation of voters that have begun to find their voices in this election cycle. These ideals include universal healthcare, restoring infrastructure, breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks, leading climate change reduction efforts, and getting money out of politics, amongst others.

Fundraising efforts have only recently begun, since most of the campaign’s time was spent focusing on the Sanders race leading up to the primary.  Despite this delayed start, the United Auto Workers, an important union in Ohio, have already endorsed Mundy, who says the campaign is looking to ramp up in many areas very soon. “We haven’t done any canvassing until now. That’s something we’re going to start doing in about 30 days. The weather is just getting better here, just coming out of the winter, so we’re going to gear up that part of the campaign soon. I’m already reaching out to potential volunteers and potential donors.”

What began as a grassroots effort to bolster support for Bernie Sanders in northeast Ohio has now become the makings of a proverbial David versus Goliath. In a heavily gerrymandered district, Mundy faces an uphill battle, “What we’re looking at as far as progressive people, probably the only progressive people that are in our district are probably the young people.” Mundy will try to overcome this challenge by trying to reach a broad audience. “We’re going to be reaching out to young millennials, and we’re also going to be reaching out to the independents. But, we’re also going to reach out to an awful lot of Republicans who are not happy with the fact that my opponent has done nothing for anybody.”

As one of the wealthiest members of Congress, Renacci is out of touch with the people of his district, according to Mundy. “First and foremost, he’s not there for the people. He’s there for corporations and money. We haven’t been able to find one thing he has voted on that has helped the people within the district.”

“We are reaching out to people and asking them what we can do for them. Unlike my opponent, who really, as far as I’m learning, never comes down and talks to people. Our campaign is going to be a one-on-one with every person we can talk to, whether they be Republican, Democrat, or independent.”

Please consider chipping in what you can to Keith Mundy's campaign, because whether the next president is Bernie, Hillary or Paul Ryan, we're going to need as many progressives in Congress as we can get. Just tap the thermometer below: