Republicans, Democrats both treating Ohio like a 2020 battleground

Ohioans barely had time to can their yard signs for midterm candidates before political parties began descending on their neighborhoods in preparation for 2020.

Both parties are building up their staffs and ranks of volunteers in the Buckeye State, getting an early start on the presidential election as President Donald Trump prepares to launch his re-election campaign next week and the increasingly crowded field of Democrats prepares for the first debates on June 26 and 27.

Republicans are trying to solidify their position after Trump’s 8-point victory in Ohio in 2016 and a near-sweep of statewide elected offices in 2018, while state Democrats are intent on flipping Ohio’s 18 electoral votes for the candidate who emerges from the crowded presidential-nomination race.

Democrats have been left soul-searching over whether Ohio remains a swing state after Trump’s gains in traditional Democratic strongholds such as the Mahoning Valley and a midterm election in which Sen. Sherrod Brown was the party’s only statewide victory in a partisan race.

Read more: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190609/republicans-democrats-both-treating-ohio-like-2020-battleground
(Columbus Dispatch)