Last night, Kevin DeWine got killed. You would think he would want to lay low and not say much about last night’s central committee races. But he isn’t. In fact, he came out last night and…declared victory.
“After tonight’s primary election, it’s clear that a large majority of state central committee members support my continued service as chairman of the Republican Party,” DeWine said in the statement.
“There were good people on both sides of the leadership contest and now that it’s finally over, we must join together to unify our party moving forward. There will no doubt be a few dissidents who try to continue this dispute. When they do, they will answer to the millions of Republicans in this nation who are counting on Ohio to ensure the defeat of Barack Obama in November.
Folks, I am telling you right now, the anti-DeWine folks not only are now in the majority, it is a significant majority. The committee has 66 members, and I am talking numbers in the low 40s, maybe more.
DeWine is right that we have to unite our party. And the first step is removing a corrupt chairman who spends party resources on central committee races and blatantly violates the party bylaws and election laws. Governor Kasich is right to want him to step down.
Want to see another indicator of how things really went? Let’s look at tweets from Kasich staff as last night concluded.
Jai Chabria: It’s been a good night.
Jon Keeling: To say the least. RT @jchabria It’s been a good night
Sherri Carbo: Smiling big 🙂 RT @jchabria: It’s been a good night
Nicole M. Kostura: Smiles all around “@Jon_Keeling: To say the least. RT @jchabria It’s been a good night”
These people are some of Governor Kasich’s closest advisers and inner circle. Do they sound like they were disappointed last night?
Governor Kasich had this to say himself,
“We did extremely well and we will have a transition to new leadership,” Kasich said, referencing the 66 ORP central committee seats up for grabs last night. “You know the results. We will transition to a new chairman at some point. We don’t know exactly what all the numbers are, but we are very pleased we’re in a position where there will be some changes.”
DeWine should probably change his name to DeNial. Because that’s what is going on when he comes out and tells Joe Hallett what he told him last night. The next part of his quote gets better.
“The results of the primary election will be certified in late March, at which time I will immediately call a committee meeting in April.”
Yes, Kevin, please call a committee meeting as soon as possible. Do it. Call for a vote on your leadership if you really believe that “a large majority of state central committee members support your continued service as chairman”. Schedule it. I dare you.
A lot of people have messaged me and asked for a list of all the races. I’m putting together a list of what the new committee will look like, including all of last nights results. I wish I could have had it up for you already. It’s just taking a little time, something I haven’t had much of this week. Hang in there!
