The system worked as intended

Here's how the Democratic designs for a potential statewide referendum fell apart at the goal line.

This dispatch is made available as a public service; thanks to the brave and noble soldiers in the Patriots Caucus, as it pertains to statewide congressional redistricting efforts.

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As The Rooster exclusively reported on Thursday morning, the Ohio Redistricting Commission introduced a new “bipartisan” map to the general public on Thursday afternoon.

Liberal activists primarily packed the House Finance Room to register their disgust with leaders of both parties for their acceptance of another obviously gerrymandered map.

Bria Bennett of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative excoriated House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn and Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio for “legitimizing a broken system.”

Katy Shannahan became so angry that the Ohio Highway Patrol escorted her from the room.

Their anger is righteous, legitimate, and understandable.

Ironically, many high-level Republicans felt the same way. The National Republican Campaign Committee is currently waging a last-minute pressure campaign to get GOP lawmakers to torpedo the deal.

One well-connected Republican predicted that we “haven’t seen the last map,” in a conversation last night.

As of this writing at roughly 10 p.m. On Thursday, I believe the “bipartisan” map will be enshrined by vote, shortly after 10 a.m. Friday.

However, here’s what I know about how the Democrats came to strike the bargain, based on several conversations with high-level sources over the past 24 hours.

• Support for the statewide referendum imploded at the goal line. The DCCC was ready to throw in half the money. However, Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathleen Clyde and LEAD Ohio Executive Director Misha Barnes didn’t want to fundraise their share of the money—probably because their primary objective is re-electing Sherrod Brown to the United States Senate.

• Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) withdrew her support for a potential referendum when her deal with Leader Isaacsohn produced a much more favorable district than anyone would have predicted as little as two weeks ago.

• When the referendum was no longer an option, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and aides for U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially told Toledo Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and Cincinnati Congressman Greg Landsman to eat their gruel for the good of the team.

• Kaptur’s team, for example, thought they were accepting a +9 Republican district, when, in reality, it’s closer to +10.7R. That might not seem like much, and it’s not, but it could make all the difference in the next race, given that she won her last one by roughly 2,000 votes.

• While on the high-level Zoom call of federal and state democratic sachems, Landsman said to Leader Isaacsohn, who is also from Cincinnati: “Don’t worry, Dani, I’m not going to fuck you.” One source on the call took it as Landsman’s doublespeak threat to (figuratively) fuck Isaacsohn over his new, Republican-leaning district. It’s safe to say that Landsman won’t be sending Isaacsohn a holiday card in December.

• Isaacsohn, who, behind closed doors, sought a “bipartisan” deal from the beginning of negotiations, has defended himself to colleagues by saying that Kaptur and Landsman agreed to their new districts. While that is factually true, it overlooks the fact that their agreements resulted from significant federal pressure to accept the deal for the greater good.

On the Republican side, the threat of the statewide initiative was enough to avert their nuclear option. While there was no guarantee the Democrats could collect the 250,000 signatures by February, or that they could win the referendum, Republican leadership chose “certainty” over the unknown.

One big issue with a potential referendum, if it came to pass? Republicans would be unable to ratfuck the ballot language, which many leaders cite as the most significant reason their party defeated the anti-gerrymandering amendment in 2024.

When everything is taken into account, it’s easy to understand why Democratic leadership struck the deal. However, I say that as someone who lives in Columbus, even if it’s on the west side, where we will now laughably share a Congressional district with Miami County.

I’d probably feel differently if I lived in Dayton or Toledo. I would definitely feel differently if I lived in Cincinnati, because Isaacsohn threw the local Congressman under the bus as part of a side deal with Sykes in exchange for help from the influential Congressional Black Caucus when he seeks his next political promotion.

Isaacsohn will have his work cut out for him, whether he’s running for mayor or maybe even Congress. In my opinion, he underestimated the amount of blowback he would face in Cincinnati.

But the most ironic thing of all is that Ohio’s tepid “anti-gerrymandering” laws appear to have worked. Yes, it’s a stone-cold Republican gerrymander. However, without the reforms that voters passed in 2018, we could be looking at a 13-2 map.

And then where would we be? Down two, maybe three Congressional seats and still in the same place: With plenty of work still to be done.

This is the ultimate compromise, where everybody walks away feeling like they left something on the table. For better or worse, that is the result that our system was designed to produce.

And now, a word from the governor…

Yesterday, Governor Mike DeWine announced $25 million in emergency funding for food relief should the state’s 1.4 million SNAP recipients lose benefits on Nov. 1 thanks to the Republican government shutdown.

As others have noted, that’s roughly three days of SNAP benefits in Ohio. DeWine stopped by the Ohio Redistricting Commission (read: he gaggled with the press outside the room) and admitted that it wasn’t enough, and that Republicans attempted to target “the poorest of the poor” and “the food banks” with this relief.

Frankly, it’s $25 million more than I ever expected from the Republican junta. And while it’s a paltry amount compared to the $3.9 billion in the state’s swollen Rainy Day Fund, it’s still more relief than we would have gotten if DeWine weren’t governor.

Afterward, I asked him to clarify a question that I receive a lot: Do I really text with the governor from time to time? Frankly, it’s perturbing that people think I don’t text with our state’s highest executive officer from time to time. But you can watch the quick clip above and judge for yourself!

And yes, it’s safe to say that DeWine rizzed my ass, and I have an ethical blind spot that I’ll have to declare during any reporting going forward.

If you had told me that like a year ago, I might have slapped you. But here we are.

VOTE MOUNIR LYNCH (AND ONLY MOUNIR LYNCH) FOR COLUMBUS SCHOOL BOARD

Yesterday, I accidentally made a glaring omission on my 2025 General Election Sample Ballot. I forgot to opine on a race that I hold close to my heart: The Columbus City School Board race.

I only donated to one campaign this cycle: Mounir Lynch. And, while he’s been a friend for a couple of years, I would have endorsed him anyway.

I encourage my Columbus-based readership to vote for Lynch and only Lynch in the race where you can make a maximum of three selections.

I mean this as no disrespect to Miranda Antoinette. She is a rock star, and you only have to listen to her speak for about 20 seconds to understand her intellect and passion for the job. Frankly, we’re lucky that a woman of her stature is seeking such a thankless job.

However, her election to the board is guaranteed thanks to her talents and endorsement from the Franklin County Democratic Party.

Lynch is not endorsed. And while Lynch and Antoinette are the candidacies I’m most passionate about, it would dilute Lynch’s chances if I vote for both.

Please vote for Mounir Lynch and only Lynch!

THOSE WMDs. The nanny who moved in and wouldn’t move out… Zombie debt: A cop on the beat… America had a Black president, and then came the whiplash… The true tale of Seattle’s Sherlock Holmes… We used to read things in this country.