Richard Cordray’s “Rocky Start” On The Campaign Trail Worries Ohio Democrats

Washington D.C Bureaucrat Richard Cordray’s struggles on the campaign trail for Ohio’s highest office continue to attract national attention as he fails to catch fire among voters. The Washington Times reports that Cordray’s campaign has gotten off to a “rocky start,” garnering unfavorable comparisons to Hillary Clinton as activists bemoan his “monotone delivery” on the stump.

One Democrat Party activist took note of the lack of enthusiasm surrounding his candidacy, telling the Times that base voters will “not knock on doors and do everything we can for him.” As Cordray struggles with polls showing him locked in a tight race with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich while political experts sour on his candidacy, his lackluster performance on the campaign trail does not bode well for his chances of leading Democrats to victory in November.

The Washington Times reports:

“Ohio gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray thought he could lay claim to being the champion of the left, having run President Obama’s Wall Street cop agency and led a prominent battle to constrain President Trump.

But his rivals have found room to maneuver to his left, particularly on issues like marijuana and gun rights. And voters say he’s proving less than electric on the campaign trail…

When he quit last year he also tried to lock in his own replacement, hoping to delay Mr. Trump’s chance to control the agency. The move made him a hero to many liberals, but wasn’t particularly effective, with the president winning a legal battle and installing his own man.‌

It remains to be seen whether those credentials will cut it for party activists who find the 58-year-old’s monotone delivery dull and question whether he will be a true liberal warrior.

The view of Richard Cordray is kind of like the same view that progressive had of Hillary Clinton, Steve Holecko, co-founder and political director of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, told The Washington Times. ‘You have a centrist, very much corporate controlled — and let’s say Cordray won the primary, yeah, we will vote for him, but not knock on doors and do everything we can for him.’

Polls have shown he is locked in a tight battle with former Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the May 8 Democratic primary race, which also features state Sen. Joseph Schiavoni and state Supreme Court Judge William O’Neill, who dubbed Mr. Cordray ‘Prince Richard,’ dubbing him as the establishment’s preferred candidate.”