It’s not a surprise.
It all goes back to Cathy Collins-Taylor, and her husband’s high level of influence within the FOP. Strickland took some political hits for her, and the FOP endorsement is his reward.
And I called it back in May.
But we all know Strickland won’t budge in his defense of his Director of Public Safety. After all, her husband, a power player in the FOP, most assuredly would punish Strickland if he failed to support her. And Ted doesn’t want to lose that endorsement.
Fortunately, the Governor’s ineptitude has saved him this time. Because he forgot to send Collins-Taylor to the Senate for approval, she still needs to go through the confirmation process. Clearly, the GOP run Senate can’t allow someone like this to continue serving the public. And now Governor Strickland doesn’t have to be the bad guy.
The only story would have been if Strickland didn’t win the endorsement of the union. It most assuredly would have caused quite an uproar within the silent circles of the left.
Ultimately, these endorsements will keep rolling out benefiting both sides.
The question is which can and will be best utilized, and how.
One of the very few ways endorsements can help a campaign is when they help reinforce a message of importance to the voters.
On TV, Strickland can say “And that’s why I have the support of police across the state.”
With his endorsement from the NFIB, Kasich can say “I have the support of small business because I know how to bring jobs to Ohio.”
They both have their positives. The question is what rings more important to the voter.
UPDATE: I’ve learned from sources that in yesterday’s surprise floor fight over the FOP’s governor endorsement, a motion for a secret ballot was denied, which allowed FOP enforcers to keep track of and potentially retaliate against Kasich supporters. Even with that threat, the 174-151 vote to endorse Strickland was amazingly close. Sensing a revolt on their hands, FOP bosses relented on the next ballot—for US Senate—and allowed a secret ballot, which Rob Portman won.
