WASHINGTON, D.C. — Standing at a literal crossroads Monday night, John Kasich did something that would’ve been unthinkable just a few years ago.
“I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country,” Kasich said in a prerecorded video. “That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention.”
The former Ohio governor used a primetime speaking slot in the first night of the Democratic National Convention to officially swear his allegiance to Joe Biden — and against President Trump.
“We’re being taken down the wrong road by a president who has pitted one against the other,” Kasich said. “He’s unlike all of our best leaders before him, who worked to unite us, to bridge our differences.”
It was an unprecedented moment in a first-of-its-kind virtual convention.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who would normally be a logical choice for a speaking slot, called Kasich a role model who could hopefully bring other Republicans along with him, despite their policy disagreements.
“The most progressive — and I’m certainly a progressive — the most progressive Democrats and even non-affiliated people in Ohio understand that any Republican votes we get in Ohio are good,” Brown said in a virtual interview on Monday. “Ohio’s a hard state to win.”
Democrats wanted Monday night to represent unity, in ways far greater than moderates versus progressives. And though the Republican Party will argue at their convention next week that their base is strong, Ohio Democrats claim the ground is shifting for Biden.
“Everywhere I go, I meet former Trump voters who are now going to vote for Biden. And I’m meeting them all the time,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) said in a virtual interview on Monday.
While none of Ohio’s five Democrats in Congress are slated to speak in primetime, Portage County Commissioner Kathleen Clyde will join a group of “rising stars” in speaking on Tuesday evening.
