Buckeye Reporter

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is trailing fellow Republican challenger Jim Renacci by double digits, according to a new poll.

The Committee for a Better Ohio poll of 1,342 likely Republican primary voters in the May 3 primary showed 46% selected Renacci as their choice for Ohio's next  governor, while only 30% chose DeWine.

“Between Mike DeWine putting critical race theory backers on the state school board, his mandates that shuttered our economy and masked our kids, and his abysmal embrace of open borders on immigration – it's clear why he’s a dream come true for Joe Biden and the far left," Renacci said in a statement. "But he’s a nightmare for Ohio families, and now he’s paying the price. As governor, I’ll ban CRT and mask mandates, give parents their rightful control of  their children’s education, end Ohio’s job-killing tax policies and red  tape – and deliver the accountable conservative leadership we need and deserve."

In the new poll, 76% of Renacci supporters indicated that they were either "very passionate" or "fairly passionate" about him, while only 46% of DeWine supporters indicated that they were "not passionate" about their choice. The three issues that matter most to Renacci supporters are taxes, education reform, and gun rights.                     

 A December report from the Tax Foundation ranked Ohio in the bottom 10 for corporate taxes and individual income taxes. Ohio's overall rank was 37th. The state is ranked 35th for sales tax, sixth for property tax, and 10th for unemployment insurance tax.        

Renacci has criticized DeWine multiple times for failing  to condemn critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity and  inclusion (DEI) coursework in Ohio schools, telling voters, "Make no mistake, this Leftist curriculum would not have been approved by a  Renacci Administration," Renacci said, as reported by the NE Franklin News.    

Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro told the Statehouse News Bureau that public schools in Ohio are not teaching CRT. “It’s not  a K-12 curriculum," he told the news organization in August  2021.  "Critical race theory is a theory that comes out of higher  education, mostly out of the realm of law, that looks at the impact of inequity and racism on the law and how that has had an impact on opportunities for students throughout the years. We see that in the form  of  segregation and redlining and things like that has a direct impact on schools, but that’s not part of our curriculum."        

When DeWine served in the U.S. Senate, he made Human Events Online's list of top 10 anti-gun senators, Buckeye Firearms  reported. Human Events wrote, "Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) (is) consistently the only Republican to speak in favor of anti-2nd Amendment legislation on the Senate floor." The Buckeye Firearms Association added that DeWine was "in the company of Democrats and some of the most anti-American, anti-self defense and anti-Second Amendment characters that currently call the United States Senate their home."              

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 May 3.                            

DeWine, 74, was John Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019, the West Hamilton News reported. 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.