In Crowded Ohio Dem Gov Primary, Richard Cordray Struggles To Stand Out

Since resigning his job as a Washington D.C. Bureaucrat to run for Ohio’s highest office, Richard Cordray has struggled to gain traction in a crowded primary, plagued by constant reports of potential scandals from his time at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a new report, Kyle Kondik from The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics writes that Cordray “is far from dominating and has not really scared off his rivals,” noting how former Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s entry provides another challenge to his candidacy.

Also worrisome for Cordray’s campaign is the fact that he can’t even get his former friend Bill O’Neill to exit the race, despite his “very piggish comments” he made on women a few months ago. In fact, Kondik noted that at least one private poll may show O’Neill leading the Democrat field, which would further highlight how badly Cordray’s campaign has failed to catch fire.

With his campaign under constant scrutiny for his mismanagement of the scandal-plagued CFPB, Cordray continues to find himself unable to clear the field in Ohio despite his support from far-left national Democrat leaders like Elizabeth Warren. But as Cordray spends more time fixated on Ohio’s geometrical shape than answering for any of the number of controversies facing his candidacy, it’s no surprise that Ohio voters remain unenthusiastic for his campaign.

Center for Politics writes:

“While the GOP primary field has contracted, the Democratic one is still large. The late entry of former Attorney General Richard Cordray (D), who has been in Washington the past several years as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, seemed to give the race a new favorite. And while he probably is the likeliest nominee given his fundraising potential and likely support from Democratic heavyweights, he is far from dominating and has not really scared off his rivals. Cordray named former Rep. Betty Sutton as his running mate on Wednesday, removing one of the other candidates from the race. But former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D), the two-time presidential candidate who was most recently a Fox News commentator, appears set to enter the race, so one former Northeast Ohio House representative, Kucinich, likely is taking the place of another, Sutton. Also, state Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill — one of only two Democratic statewide officeholders in Ohio, and author of some very piggish comments on his sexual history — also is staying in, and we’ve heard rumors that O’Neill, who possesses a golden last name for Ohio voters (which is why he got elected to the court in a technically nonpartisan race), may be leading at least one private poll, although O’Neill won’t have any money to spend and should be easy to attack if it comes to that. Three other candidates who have been in the race for much longer than the three previously mentioned candidates are Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, and former state Rep. Connie Pillich.”