Buckeye Reporter

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci is more closely aligning himself with former Pres. Donald Trump to increase his appeal to Republican voters.

Jim Renacci has been praising Trump, associating himself with staffers in Trump's orbit, and is being advised by former campaign manager Brad Parscale, reports Politico. Although Renacci hasn't been endorsed by Trump, his strategy could be paying off. A recent survey conducted by Trump's longtime pollster Fabrizio Lee found more support for Renacci than incumbent Governor DeWine among Republican primary voters.

"I was fighting him, and then coronavirus hits, and then everybody jumps in the game and says, 'We gotta stop this guy,'" Renacci said of DeWine. "Well guess what? I was trying to stop him in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, '21. And by God, we’re going to stop him in 2022."

The Fabrizio survey of 800 likely Republican primary voters found that 46% of respondents said they would definitely or likely vote for Renacci, while only 38% of respondents said they were considering or planning on voting for DeWine. However, the survey did not include any questions about Joe Blystone, the other Republican primary candidate.

According to Renacci's campaign, DeWine has differed from Trump on issues such as the question of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and shutting down Ohio in March of 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's real support still for President Trump within the Republican base [in Ohio], even more so an anti-DeWine sentiment," a Politico reporter acknowledged on MSNBC, according to Renacci's campaign. "I do sense, I do hear very real anger from them directed very specifically at Mike DeWine."

DeWine, 74, was Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019. According to West Hamilton News, he is one of the longest-serving public officials in state history, having been in elected office for 41 years. That includes stints in the Ohio State Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and as Ohio attorney general and Ohio lieutenant governor.

"Although some folks in the base are not happy with him because of the COVID decisions, he’s the most durable brand in Ohio politics," former state deputy attorney general Mark Weaver said, according to Politico. "He’s a known quantity, and he knows how to campaign in the state."

Jim Renacci is a businessman and former U.S. representative for the 16th congressional district running against DeWine, a fellow Republican, in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary on May 3.