COLUMBUS, Ohio — Attorney and organizer Morgan Harper is a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat Rob Portman is retiring from this year.
In late February, Spectrum News followed Harper on the trail in central Ohio to see, in-person, how she’s trying to beat her party’s frontrunner in the primary and prove a progressive can still win statewide.
At her campaign headquarters in downtown Columbus, Spectrum News Washington Bureau Reporter Taylor Popielarz conducted a sit-down interview with Harper to gauge where she stands on various policy issues.
The full, unedited conversation may be viewed or the full transcript may be read below:
Transcript from Feb. 24, 2022 interview:
Taylor: So first off, Morgan, what are three policies that you’re advocating for that would improve the lives of Ohioans, like your top three?
Morgan: Well, I kind of like to talk about it as guaranteeing opportunity for every Ohioan. That’s what I think a lot of us are after, and most of us in our state agree on. And so three things I would point to to help us get there is, one, investing in creating a lot of high paying jobs in sectors of the future. So clean energy sector specifically — I want to create up to 600,000 over the next 10 years. Two, making sure that we’re creating debt free training and educational opportunities for people to work those jobs, and not have the burden of a lot of student debt. And then three, universal health care. I believe it is so important. This is what I hear from a lot of Ohioans, that we control the cost of care, we make sure everyone is covered, regardless of their employment situation.
Taylor: As a senator, what would you do specifically to bring manufacturing jobs back to Ohio?
Morgan: This is a really big priority of mine, because as we know, I mean, the manufacturing sector has been the core of our state’s economy over the past generation, but we’ve seen a lot of loss there. And so, you know, we aren’t going to be able to return to what it was a generation ago, but we can improve a lot of where we are now. And that’s why I do want to be creating these incentives and investment in clean energy sector. These are going to be jobs of the future. We already see First Solar, for example, in the Toledo area. These are higher paying jobs, we need these jobs to be union protected, and that’s going to allow us to rebuild manufacturing sector. And importantly, make sure that we have opportunity for folks all over the state regardless of what city or region you might find yourself in.
Taylor: Related to clean energy, how do you think the Senate and the federal government at large should be addressing climate change?
Morgan: This needs to be one of our top priorities. We’re starting to see more extreme weather events in Ohio. And this is starting to impact people’s bottom lines. Homeowners, property owners having to deal with the damages from floods and extreme storms. And so at the federal level, really the federal level is the level of government where we have the ability to have a carbon emission reduction priority and standard that can be implemented across the country and improve the lives of Ohioans and ensure that we have a next generation that’s going to be able to lead in a habitable planet and also, you know, lead lives here in our state that are going to be productive. It’s not a zero sum, actually, in addressing the climate crisis, we have the ability to create an amazing level of economic opportunity in our state. And we should be doing both and have federal leadership there.
Taylor: You’re campaigning on a lot of bigger government programs like universal health care. I’ve talked to a lot of voters across the state and they do genuinely bring up the national debt, and they think spending is out of control. So while you’re campaigning for programs like that, what do you say to people when they say, how would you approach lowering the national debt?
Morgan: Yeah, well, one, I don’t want people to think of this as a program. Having universal health care is actually being strategic and cost effective and fiscally responsible in leveraging the negotiating power of the federal government to check some of the Big Pharma, big insurance companies that now have the ability to charge us whatever they want. But in terms of making sure that we’re controlling costs, and spending and all of that, I mean, we need to be generating more revenue and making sure that everyone is paying their fair share. So that involves things like closing tax loopholes that are allowing very large multinational corporations to not pay at the same rate that we are. Making sure that we are not getting involved in a lot of the defense spending and these wars that haven’t really served us as a state or had clear strategy, a lot of wasted resources there. So you know, a combination of both being more effective in some of the initiatives at the federal level of government, and also ensuring that we’re generating as much revenue as possible and making sure everyone’s paying their fair share, is going to lead us to having the resources available to invest in our communities and guarantee opportunity for every Ohioan.
Taylor: You mentioned defense spending and all the wars the U.S. has been involved with. Obviously the Ukraine news this week has been blowing up, both literally and figuratively. When you look at how the Biden administration is handling Ukraine and Russia right now, and you look back to last summer with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, how do you think the administration has done?
Morgan: Well, on Ukraine specifically, we need to have a strong response to Putin. Putin does not have the best interests of global security or a global functioning global economy at heart, and he is a major threat. And so I do agree with having a strong response there and things like aggressive economic sanctions to make it hurt when these types of steps are taken that threaten the livelihood and security of both our allies in Europe and all of us around the world. And, you know, on the Afghanistan withdrawal, certainly that could have been managed in a more effective way. But the main point is that we had a 20 year war that never was based on accurate information, that never had a clear strategy, and that resulted in the loss of a lot of American lives. And it needed to end. And so overall, moving forward, what I hear from a lot of Ohioans is that we need to be much more strategic when we think about military intervention in other parts of the world and make sure that we have a clear strategy, that it’s going to be a good use of resources, and that really, we have a high threshold for engaging that type of activity altogether to ensure that we’re protecting the lives of our service members and best using our resources.
Taylor: I want to circle back to universal health care. Your primary opponent, Tim Ryan, has talked about how he’s in favor of having a public option and expanding Medicare and Medicaid’s reach. But he specifically mentions all the union households across Ohio and says a lot of them that he’s at least talked to are happy with the health care plans that they negotiated, and they wouldn’t want to dip into something like a universal plan. What’s your argument to those people?
Morgan: Well, first, my Democratic primary opponent, Tim Ryan, takes money from the big insurance, Big Pharma companies, and so no surprise, really, that he would be on the side of a policy and policy strategy that benefits them and is hurting a lot of union members and working Ohioans of all backgrounds. And what I’m hearing from union members specifically is that, like we saw with the Stericycle employees that were striking in Toledo, you know, went up there, talked to them, and what’s the issue that they’re striking about — that their deductible was increased overnight, more or less, by three times. And now they’re facing $12,000-$13,000 deductibles, and they’re still making the same wages that are under $20 an hour. This isn’t sustainable. So when I talk to them and other union members about, hey, there’s another way of doing this. We could have a universal health care system where instead of having to negotiate for substandard health care benefits, you actually can just negotiate for more money in your pocket and decide to do with it what you want, that’s very appealing to them. And those are conversations I’ve been having with folks all over the state. More often than not, a lot of people didn’t know there is an alternative, because there’s been a lot of misinformation and really manipulation of people to continue to protect and maintain the power and profit of Big Pharma and big insurance and who’s hurting? The health of a lot of Ohioans.
Taylor: What’s your pitch to Ohio farmers for how you would embrace agriculture policy?
Morgan: I’ve been talking to a lot of farmers and we need to make sure that we are protecting the ability of independent farmers to continue to be competitive in our state and in the economy nationally. And what that involves is checking the power of big agriculture. I mean, there’s been a lot of consolidation in that industry that has made it really difficult for more independent farmers to compete, to have it add up. And that’s something that can be done at the federal level. That’s actually one of the reasons why in my work over the last couple of years, I’ve been focused on issues of antitrust competition policy. There are laws on the books that need to be better enforced. And also we need to refresh some of those laws to ensure that we have the ability to keep the marketplace competitive for local farmers all over the state of Ohio.
Taylor: If you were elected, you would be not only Ohio’s first woman U.S. senator, but first Black woman U.S. senator. Do you want voters to factor that in? And if so, why?
Morgan: I think it’s important that we have leadership that reflects the diversity of our state. And you know, I’m talking to a lot of people around the state, who are both Black women, white men, all different backgrounds that feel like, you know, maybe our leadership hasn’t always kept up in that respect, especially when we look at some of the statewide elected representation. But more than anything, what I find is that, you know, people are ready for leadership that is un-bought and unafraid and ready to get to Washington and actually make it deliver for us because there’s a lot of need. Violence that’s happening in our communities all over the state, rising rates of overdoses. I mean, we had our our death rate exceed our birth rate last year. These are critical issues, and people don’t want just another empty suit politician. They want real leadership, and that’s what I’m offering to the people of Ohio.
Taylor: On the coronavirus and the pandemic, it’s been a long time that it’s been going on.
Morgan: Yeah.
Taylor: First off, are you vaccinated and boosted?
Morgan: I am, yes.
Taylor: Have you ever had COVID?
Morgan: I haven’t had COVID, as far as I know. It’s always possible to be asymptomatic. But you know, so far so good there. I’ve known a lot of people who have contracted it. I’ve had actually a really close family friend of ours who passed away from COVID, at a little over 80 years old, very suddenly. And so, yeah, it’s been a priority for me to do what’s necessary to protect the health of my family and myself as an individual and our communities, including now. Even though, yes, we’re starting to enter a new phase, we still have a lot of people immunocompromised, folks who are battling diseases, that we need to continue to do what’s necessary to protect them. But I, like everyone, am exhausted from the coronavirus and looking forward to entering the next phase of this.
Taylor: What do you think is the next phase? Are you at a point where you’re comfortable with maybe mask mandates going away, or you know, school rules being changed?
Morgan: I think the next phase looks like, OK, we have a handle on what the tools are that are necessary to protect people from contracting this virus. We have vaccines that are available, and in a good way they’ve been available, regardless of your insurance situation, for example. We have tests that are now widely available. I just got a couple tests in the mail, probably a lot of other people did too. And we know that masks are effective in reducing the transmission. Those are the tools. And now, I think we do need to leave it to businesses, each school system making decisions about how they best want to manage the risk, given their population, and do what’s right for students, workers and our communities.
Taylor: You mentioned a bit earlier, when I brought up Tim Ryan, some of the people who have been funding his campaigns throughout the years. You’ve made that a big part of your campaign, that you don’t take corporate PAC money. That he has. His campaign has told me a lot of his PAC money comes from unions and what not, but there is the corporate side of it. Why are you so against corporate PAC money being involved in politics? Especially when a lot of people — and I’ve spoken to people, especially with some of the Republican candidates who are self funding — and voters tell me, hey, if you have the money, or if you need to get the money, go where you need, if you want to compete legitimately.
Morgan: Well, I actually am hearing something very different from a lot of people around the state, and it’s that there’s an awareness that our futures have been bought and sold away by a lot of people who get to Washington and it becomes more about their careers and the special interests who fund them than us. That is one of the most common things I hear. And in a question I get that’s related to that is, and ‘why can we trust you?’ And being able to tell people that I’m not taking corporate PAC money, that I’m going to self impose term limits, that I’m grassroots, you know, it’s not because some major power player decided ‘Morgan, you’re the one.’ It’s just that I see needs in our communities, and ideas about what to do about it, and that’s why I want to be in the United States Senate, that makes people believe that it’s even worth listening to me, thinking about these policies, potentially showing up to vote. So it is a strategic imperative for us as a Democratic Party to have a nominee who can authentically say ‘I am for you, it’s our turn to lead, I’m going to get to Washington and really be about the community every day.’ That is the only way we have a chance at possibly winning this seat. And I’ll just add, I mean, my Democratic primary opponent, Tim Ryan, having previously received an A rating from NRA, having been a member, having flip-flopped on a lot of issues like universal health care and access to abortion — I mean, these are the types of changes in position that lead to distrust in addition to taking this type of corporate PAC money. That is a real vulnerability for us. And people are over it, because we can’t live through another 20 years like the last 20. People around the state of Ohio have lost a lot. There’s a lot on the line right now. And folks are really, really hungry for authentic leadership.
Taylor: The U.S. senate is where President Biden’s Build Back Better Act at least stalled, maybe died — seems where it’s at right now. What do you think the path should be moving forward? Because it was a large plan that included a laundry list of policy issues. I know you’re supportive of many of them. Should the Senate approach it piecemeal, bit by bit? Should there be another push for the larger package?
Morgan: Well, I think we need to get rid of the filibuster because this has now become an impediment to the U.S. Senate serving its role as being a legislative body. And people are very frustrated by that. And then sure, whatever it takes. We need to make sure that we are addressing the needs in our community. So things like ensuring access to affordable health care, making sure that we have childcare that’s available. This is no longer just a lower income issue. There are people that are earning pretty decent wages that still can’t get access to childcare, ensuring that women are able to continue to be part of the workforce, making sure that our seniors have you know, health care, dental care, all of this. These are core issues for us in order to be able to live up to the promise of what the American dream is about. What Ohioans care about is opportunity for everyone at all stages of life. And so whatever the legislative strategy is to get that done, piecemeal, get rid of the filibuster, just do it, because Ohioans are over the politics and just want results.
Taylor: Along the lines of getting rid of the filibuster, you’re also a supporter of progressive policies like the Green New Deal, of expanding the Supreme Court. What do you say to Ohio voters who think some or all of those policies go too far right now?
Morgan: Well, I’m supportive — and all of the policies that I support are informed by just a couple of things. One, what’s going on on the ground? What are the issues that we’re seeing in our communities? And two, what are some ideas to do something about it. And so when you look at the Supreme Court, for example, and expanding the Supreme Court. I would note, historical precedent for doing this. This is something that folks like to gloss over sometimes that oh, this is just an idea that people just randomly came up with. No, in fact, there have been other points in our history when we have made the decision to expand the Supreme Court, add members to the Supreme Court. And right now we do have a radicalized body that is no longer reflecting the will of the majority of people who live in our state or across this country. And that needs to be recalibrated. And expanding the court is one way to do that. And then, you know, you mentioned also related to climate — we have a climate crisis on our hands. We need to be aggressively working towards reducing our carbon emissions. But that is also a huge economic opportunity for us as a state. So I absolutely embrace ideas and policies that are going to do that, that are going to help us to mitigate some of these extreme weather events, but also ensure that we are creating jobs — 600,000 jobs over the next 10 years in our state in every region. That is exciting, and that’s what a lot of voters I’m talking to around Ohio, from all political backgrounds, are looking forward to. Ideas, solutions, change, leadership. And we can do that.
Taylor: A big talking point from all the Republican candidates in this race, that every day in ads and campaign stops they’re mentioning, is the southern border and policies that they think should be or should not be in place to handle it. What’s your take on how America should approach the U.S.-Mexico border?
Morgan: One, I would say, I was raised by someone who immigrated to this country. My mom came to Ohio in the 1960s from Trinidad and was able to get an education and adopt me and my brother and be in our community for the past, over — gosh, time flies — over 60 years now almost. And so that’s something that we need to be preserving. We need to make sure, and this would be a priority for me in the U.S. Senate, that we are creating pathways to citizenship, that we have comprehensive immigration reform. I think what we’re hearing from a lot of people on the Republican side in this race, and the party generally now, is trying to misguide people about what the real risks and threats are there. Yes, we need to manage the border. But we don’t need to do that by vilifying people. Like Josh Mandel, for example, calling immigrants alligators or Trump and all of the people in the Republican primary who are vying for his support, who are trying to make it seem like a wall is going to be the solution to that, when it’s clear that people are just walking right through and that’s a complete waste of resources. We need leaders that are going to be focused on developing the solutions that actually will both solve the problem and preserve what has always been a core value of our country, is being a welcoming place for people who want to come here, build a life and contribute to our communities.
Taylor: If you were elected, what committees would you want to serve on?
Morgan: I want to be on all of the committees that are going to be most effective in moving forward an agenda for Ohioans. And, you know, that’s often left up to leadership. But one I would note, just because it does connect to a lot of the different areas that I’ve been talking about is, being really focused on antitrust issues, you know, Judiciary Committee. And that is one of the core issues facing us because we have market concentration. Every sector of the economy — it has left our small, medium sized businesses, workers in a weaker position. And I want to be part of the movement that really is a bipartisan movement, one of the few I would say bipartisan movements in Washington, to do something about that. Checking all this monopoly power and making sure that we have power on the side of our business owners and workers across the state.
Taylor: Now, just a couple political questions. People became familiar with you in the 2020 cycle when you challenged Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. You lost that race by almost 40 points in the primary. Why should voters trust that you could win a statewide race when you didn’t do so great in a pretty blue district?
Morgan: Well, our last campaign, it was a really great expression of what’s possible when you connect with a lot of different types of people. I mean, we had people of all different ages, races, political backgrounds really, who were coming together and an understanding of a rejection of the status quo. What this is and what has been going on in Washington for the past generation is not serving us and we want to move forward as a community to get something better, and better leadership. And so that was a wonderful, wonderful experience. We had, you know, some bad luck with pandemic and all of that, but what I would say with this statewide race is you know, it’s a very important time for us as Democrats, that we need to make a decision. We have been doing a lot of the same thing and running similar types of candidates for the past 20 years that have a lot in common with my main opponent in the Democratic primary, Tim Ryan, and we have been losing. Because the voters are rejecting the status quo. And that’s what I learned from my main race is that people are ready for something different. They’re ready for leaders that are going to be un-bought, unafraid and that are going to aggressively fight for change and results for Ohioans. And so that is going to put us in our most competitive position, having someone who does have an authentic message, is an authentic messenger, and is going to be able to spread that message all over our state. And what’s very clear is that doing the same old thing will result in a loss and we can’t afford to lose anymore.
Taylor: What was the biggest, or I guess hardest, lesson you learned from the House race?
Morgan: To never have a grassroots campaign during a global pandemic, if possible.
Taylor: Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. At least in our lifetime.
Morgan: We’re still here, we’re still here. Yeah.
Taylor: How do you think — they’re in opposing parties — but how do you think Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown have been as U.S. senators for Ohio?
Morgan: Yeah, I mean, I am a big fan of Sherrod Brown’s and you know, he’s been a great leader and really pushed for a lot of policies that support working people all over the state. And really have nothing but good things to say. I will say Rob Portman is representative of, you know, one of the big issues with the Republican Party. That, you know, even some of the Republicans who perhaps seem like they’ve been more traditional or — these labels get thrown around — establishment or more reasonable, have actually laid the groundwork for this far right takeover in our state that has left us all in a very weak position, that has threatened our democracy, that has led to activities like January 6 and the riots on the Capitol that resulted in the loss of lives of law enforcement officers. And so it’s been a real disappointment to see people like Rob Portman who have not been able to really stand up and check the other people in his party who seem willing to bring down the entire democratic experiment, and it’s a real shame.
Taylor: You mentioned January 6. The 2020 election lie that Donald Trump has been pushing has become a big theme of the Republican Senate primary in this race. What do you make of that, just that it has not only stayed kind of a topic of importance, but that certain candidates are campaigning on it?
Morgan: The Republican Party at this point, unfortunately, has no ideas, no solutions to offer to improve the lives of Ohioans. The goal has become to obstruct, and it is a mission that is funded by special interests that continue to do well and profit in the misleading of the public and obfuscating the truth in Washington, D.C. And so unfortunately, also, my Democratic primary opponent is funded by a lot of special interests and corporate interests that have these same goals, that don’t want Washington to really work for real people, real Ohioans. And so we as voters need to be rejecting all of this. This is corruption and we need to make sure that we are electing leaders that are on our side, and it is our turn to lead and we can do that to guarantee opportunity for every Ohioan.
Taylor: Lastly for you. You’ve debated Josh Mandel, one of the Republican frontrunners, twice now. I’ve watched both of the debates. I think the second one got a bit nastier than the first one. A lot of political observers, and you could call these people pundits, you could call them just Ohio political nerds, have questioned the authenticity of the events, of why you guys decided to debate each other, and whether you view it as maybe just a way to get attention and to put momentum into your candidacy or if there’s something deeper there. Is there?
Morgan: There’s definitely something deeper. Josh Mandel has the possibility of becoming a United States senator and he doesn’t think that Joe Biden won an election, of which there’s no evidence that it was in some way illegitimate. This is a person who calls immigrants alligators. This is a person who was willing to, on a public stage, accuse me of being you know, angry Black woman tropes and all of this. No answers, no ideas, and we can’t let people like this get anywhere near the United States Senate. So I want the people of Ohio to know exactly who this person is, what the threat is, what the stakes are in this election, so that they will be motivated to participate. And that is an exercise that we need to happen as early and as often as possible. And pundits can think what they want. People I’m talking to in Ohio, people who have a lot going on, people who just came out of the past two years that we’ve all been experiencing with the stresses of the coronavirus, need a really clear message. And here’s the message. Josh Mandel shouldn’t be anywhere near the United States Senate. We need to stop him. I have a vision for how to do that, and we need to get to work as quickly as possible.
Taylor: You’ve also wanted to debate Tim Ryan in a primary debate. He has, I guess, ignored requests for the last couple of months. His team has now said that if Traci Johnson, who’s a bit of an unknown Democrat, who’s technically going to be on the ballot, is included in the Ohio Debate Commission’s debate, that he will take part in it, but only if she’s included. What do you think about that? And I asked him about it earlier this week, and he said he wants anybody who’s on the ballot to get a chance. His team also told me that if that didn’t happen, there might be other opportunities for you two to debate. Have you had any conversations about that? And I guess, what do you think about that?
Morgan: I think these are excuses. You know, it’s a little disingenuous to now suddenly care about inclusion and making sure that everybody has a voice when I’ve been requesting since the early fall that Tim Ryan and his campaign agree to have a public discussion about what our competing visions are for Ohio. And in the absence of that, we have created and fed into a vacuum that the Republican candidates like Josh Mandel, like J.D. Vance, like Jane Timken are happy to fill with absolute nonsense and Trumpian rhetoric. And so we need to get in front of as many voters as possible, we need to have a competitive primary. That is my vision. And that is what our campaign has been doing. And I’m also very disappointed that the [Ohio] Democratic Party decided to endorse in this race. It is not strategic. We need as many people talking to as many Ohioans as possible about why a Democrat should be elected in November and what our vision is to support that vote. And that’s going to be my focus until we get through November.
Taylor: Alright, we covered a lot. Thanks so much.
Morgan: Yeah, thank you.
End of interview.
