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    • Why Republicans lost the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office
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    Why Republicans lost the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office

    Sakege Posted on

    For the first time in 92 years, Hamilton County will have a Democrat as prosecutor.

    Connie Pillich On Tuesday, he won the seat that had been the heart of the local Republican Party for a century.

    Pillich’s defeat Republican Melissa Powers It’s the final piece of the puzzle for local Democrats, who over the past decade have watched a once reliably red county turn blue. democrats now wait 10 of the county’s 11 nonjudicial offices, including all three positions on the county board of commissioners.

    Yes, County Engineer Eric Beck is a Republican. But it’s more about Beck having the necessary certifications for the job than politics. No one ran against him this year.

    The person who replaced Pillich, Joe dissuadesHe held the position for 25 years, in two separate terms. Deters resigned in January 2023 after he was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

    On Tuesday, Pillich, a former state representative who is also a former Air Force officer, defeated Powers with 51% of the vote.

    Pillich won despite raising less than half of what Powers raised, mostly in small increments.

    ‘Monumental and historic’

    Pillich called the moment “monumental and historic.” She told her followers that her stance on key issues led her to win.

    “I can’t limit myself to one thing,” Pillich said. “I can certainly tell you that my opponents’ unconventional view of how women value their reproductive rights and the ability to control their own future… I think was very, very persuasive.”

    But Pillich also pointed out Enquirer report finding unreliable information from whistleblowers led to the confinement of innocent people in Hamilton County.

    Democratic business cards mailed to voters or delivered to polling places also appeared to help. Local Democrats came out in force during early voting and on Election Day with slate cards listing all the local Democratic candidates.

    The city saw the power of slate cards in the city council race last year. Ten candidates entered the race, and voters rejected Republican Liz Keating, who was a popular and productive member of the council.

    Democratic change

    Voters have long hinted at this change. In 2006, they elected Democrat David Pepper as Hamilton County commissioner, giving Democrats a majority on the board. They then elected a Democrat as sheriff in 2012, and four years later, Democrat Aftab Pureval won the race for clerk of courts.

    Pureval was elected mayor of Cincinnati in 2021 and then last year, for the first time in history, voters elected an all-Democratic, nine-member City Council.

    For a long time, it seemed that even as voters leaned Democratic, they still wanted the checks and balances that a Republican prosecutor offered.

    Deters was popular, charismatic and camera-ready. After he resigned to become a Supreme Court justice, the Republican Party selected Powers to replace him and serve out the final two years of his term.

    But in each of Deters’ recent elections there have been signs that the clock is ticking for a Republican prosecutor. In 2012, Deters won with 59% of the vote. In 2016, it was 54%. And in 2020 he won with 52% of the votes.

    In a statement, Powers said it has been an honor to serve as prosecutor for the past two years and expressed gratitude to his supporters, saying their “support, encouragement and tireless efforts were overwhelming.”

    “Although we fell a little short, I am committed to a smooth and orderly transition, and I look forward to working with our next prosecutor,” Powers said, “to ensure our community continues to be well served.”

    Pepper, who has been a Cincinnati city councilman, Hamilton County commissioner and chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said the prosecutor’s office was a “big domino” that would fall.

    “That was the most political office,” said Pepper, who published the book “Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines.”

    “Obviously, the Trump brand has been working for Republicans across the state, but the Hamilton County Republican Party is no longer in tune with Hamilton County voters,” he said. “While Trump’s policy may be working elsewhere, it has led to a disastrous race in Hamilton County.”

    Sakege
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