In light of the March 19 primary, here’s an election edition of Handshakes and Headshakes. Let’s start with congratulations and hearty handshakes for all of Tuesday’s primary winners. And to the losers, well, there’s always the next election.
Here are some thoughts about Tuesday’s election results.
Headshake: Small percentage of population making serious decisions for everyone else
It’s not exactly breaking news that voter turnout for primary elections tends to be about half that of general elections. But turnout across Greater Cincinnati on Tuesday was even worse than the national average of 27% for primaries. Hamilton County’s voter turnout was particularly woeful at 14.5%. Warren County had the highest turnout in the area (25.3%), followed by Clermont County (22.3%) and Butler County (19.6%), according to unofficial results from these counties boards of elections.
Primaries are a chance for voters to choose which candidates they want to send to the general election and potentially hold office. When a small percentage of registered voters participate, that means they are shaping elections for the majority. And then some people want to complain about having to “pick between the lesser of two evils” in the general election.
Maybe if voters were more engaged in the primaries, we might all feel better about our choices come November.
Headshake: Ohio congressional candidate accurately (or should I say accidentally) predicts his defeat
Ohio congressional candidate Derek Myers sent an email conceding his race hours before polls closed Tuesday. Myers said it was an accident. Turns out it was prophetic.
Myers finished dead last in a field of 11 candidates running for the Republican nomination for the 2nd District House seat, earning 1.5% of the vote, according to unofficial results. It’s doubtful that the email snafu sealed Myers fate, but it couldn’t have helped.
“Tonight did not go as we had hoped,” Myers began the email accidentally sent at 3:19 p.m., four hours before Ohio’s 7:30 p.m. poll closing time.
No kidding.
My heart goes out to Myers. As journalists working at the speed of news and under the pressure of deadlines and competition, such errors are the stuff of nightmares for us. To his credit, Myers took the whole thing in stride, even poking fun at the situation in an email sent at 8:56 p.m. announcing that he had “OFFICIALLY” conceded the race.
“Anyone who works in communications knows it’s not uncommon to have speeches and releases prepared in the event of each outcome,” Myers said in a statement clarifying the concession gaffe. “It’s simply good strategy.”
But terrible execution.
Handshake: No Trump endorsement, no problem
Unlike Bernie Moreno who got a much-needed boost from Donald Trump’s endorsement in the GOP race for U.S. Senate, David Taylor won his 2nd Congressional District race without the ex-president’s stamp of approval. Neither Trump nor retiring Congressman Brad Wenstrup endorsed in the race, yet Taylor emerged from an 11-candidate field with 25% of the vote.
Given how heavily the district went for Trump in 2020, Taylor is practically a shoo-in come November. In a campaign commercial, Taylor, a concrete company operator from Clermont County, said he would physically go help complete the border wall if needed.
If Trump gets reelected in November, taxpayers might want to take Taylor up on his offer of free labor. Especially since we are still waiting for Mexico to pay for it.
Handshake: Phil Heimlich lost the election but he won my respect
The minute Phil Heimlich decided to run as the anti-MAGA candidate in a Trump-loving district, his fate was sealed. He managed to get only 5% of the vote in 2nd Congressional District GOP primary, good for a middle-of-the-pack finish, according to unofficial election results. He didn’t earn a seat in Congress, but he did earn my respect.
Heimlich, a former Cincinnati councilman and Hamilton County commissioner, cares about democracy. He is a rare-breed Republican these days who has the guts to speak out against Donald Trump’s lies, dangerous rhetoric and misdeeds. When Hamilton County’s GOP chairman was urging candidates to dodge an Enquirer survey about Trump and January 6 Capitol riots, Heimlich happily answered the questions: The events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were an insurrection, pure and simple; Trump should not hold office if convicted of the serious felonies with which he is charged; the 2020 election wasn’t stolen.
Those answers aren’t going to earn you many votes in Trump Country, but winning elections isn’t everything. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
If you paid any attention to Heimlich’s campaign, then you’d know his answer to that question too.
Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. X, formerly known as Twitter: @kevaldrid. You can message him with any recommendations for handshakes or headshakes.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Myers accidentally concedes election; Trump’s endorsement means a lot