Candidate for Ohio Governor Ed Fitzgerald
ONUMBA.COM – For quite some time now, speculations have been rife about who is going to take on Republican Governor John Kasich in the next gubernatorial showdown.
Some Democratic names have been dangled around as likely candidates, but no one has categorically declared an interest in running for governor of Ohio until now.
He is Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, the former Mayor of Lakewood, who last week kicked off his campaign with planned clambakes in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Fitzgerald is the first Democrat to jump into the race for governor. But it came as little surprise given that the 44-year old former FBI agent had been talking up his interest for months. He made his most revealing move toward that pursuit in March after forming a gubernatorial campaign committee to officially start raising money for the race.
Also, in many ways, Fitzgerald interest in running for governor grew a lot after former Governor Ted Strickland decided against mounting a comeback effort in what would have been a bruising rematch of a race he lost to Kasich by 2 percentage points cliffhanger in 2008. A recent survey by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute indicated that the 71-year old Strickland would have encountered little opposition had he decided to run again, holding a nine percentage point lead over Fitzgerald.
Now, if Fitzgerald is the man to take on Kasich, who is going to take him on?
Currently, it is surprisingly not a crowded field. Today, Fitzgerald is the only declared candidate.
Former Ohio Attorney-General Richard Cordray, who now serves as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the Obama administration, has long been rumored as a likely candidate. But he hasn’t responded to these speculations. One thing that’s for sure however is that Cordray has before expressed an interest in being Ohio’s chief executive.
Congressman Tim Ryan has also expressed interest in running for governor in the past.
As yet, no Black politician has shown visible interest in being a candidate for governor. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, who remains popular in the city, has the best chance of succeeding. A formidable force in the Ohio Democratic Party, he once briefly, unsuccessfully contested for governor. Still, he remains a potentially potent force if he decides to try again.
Mgbatogu is a freelance writer and editor of Onumba.com based in Columbus. He can be reached by email at: Onumbamedia@yahoo.com /
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