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There are six candidates who have applied to succeed David Pepper as Ohio Democratic Party chair. One is Antoinette Wilson, who ran new Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner’s campaign. Wilson, who owns a marketing company, applied to be chair in 2014, the year Pepper was chosen.
2:18 “I’ve been very, very adamant on the need for an 88-county strategy that is built from the bottom up. It incorporates the strengths of what each county possesses but more importantly, understanding where their challenges have been and figuring out how to do it differently.”
Craig Swartz is an Upper Sandusky resident. He recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for state senate. He says he has an economic blueprint for Ohio.
ODP Chairman David Pepper plans to step down at end of this year.
The Ohio Democratic Party is expected to vote on a replacement for outgoing chairman David Pepper on December 29. Here s a look at who might be in the running for the job.
Former Mahoning County Democratic Party Chair David Betras has been critical of Pepper and the party. So is he interested in taking over?
“Let me put the Hell in front of the no, Betras says.
Betras says the state party needs to clean house and refocus on working Ohioans, a sentiment that’s shared by former party chair Chris Redfern.
Six enter race to replace outgoing Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper
Updated Dec 15, 2020;
Posted Dec 15, 2020
In this Oct. 15, 2019, file photo David Pepper speaks before a Democratic presidential primary debate at Otterbein University, in Westerville, Ohio. Six candidates officially declared for the race to succeed Pepper as state party chair. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)AP
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Six candidates officially declared their candidacy to succeed Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper, who is resigning at the end of the month.
Pepper announced he would step down at the end of December after five years at the helm of the state party that was marked by significant losses for Democrats statewide. During a Tuesday night meeting of the party executive committee, the six candidates who have publicly declared briefly spoke, with more forums scheduled over the next month.
The person who takes over as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party has a monumental task.
Despite claims from some, Ohio is solid purple in many ways. Going back to 1990, Democrats have won statewide executive branch offices in only 2006 and Republicans have a stranglehold on the state Legislature, even picking up seats in the recent election.
David Pepper has been Democratic chairman since January 2015, taking over after the 2014 statewide election an utter disaster for the party. He’s leaving Jan. 1.
Pepper was able to eliminate the party’s debt and field a strong slate of statewide candidates in 2018. But in the end, results matter. Those candidates lost two years ago, and Donald Trump won Ohio this year and four years ago.