I finally checked off a Bucket List item. Saturday I got to see a U.S. President! President Trump came to a local school a few miles from my home. So, of course, I had to go! One of my granddaughters joined me. It was a hot day with heat index in low 90s.
The doors were to open at 3:30 with the President appearing at 6:30. We arrived at 11:00 to begin standing in the queue. A gal in front of us counted the number of people in front of us. She counted 120. (Today I read in a local paper that officials estimated 11,000 were ultimately in line.) We were in the line until sometime around 3:30 when we FINALLY got into the cool school after going through the TSA security check! The heat was brutal!
This media photo shows the extent of the line later in the afternoon. We were on the opposite side of the building so had no idea the line was this long.
During the 4-1/2 hours in line we shared fun conversation, umbrellas for shade, and eventually ice packs which quickly melted. Two gals drove over from Dayton. Another gal drove from New Holland. A senior couple were from Westerville. And two early 20s boys drove down from Mansfield. All were excited to be at a “TRUMP RALLY”!
There were gobs of vendors selling #MAGA hats, Trump shirts, Trump buttons, and of course #CNNsucks shirts and buttons. There was a life-size cardboard Trump that we could take a photo with. Of course, local politicians were there to ‘be seen’ and hopefully gain some support for their campaigns.
Once we passed the TSA check, we went into the gym to pick our spot. There are people that direct you where to stand or sit. We chose to sit. I’ve stood at a rally before and know that I’m too short to see over taller people holding their cameras in the air. We got great seats up the bleachers but directly across from the podium. IT WAS GOOD TO SIT!
A neighbor texted me that he saw me on TV. A local station panned the audience then zoomed in on the area where we sat.
Then we waited …….. As the gym filled up the temperature increased as the crowd increased. It wasn’t as bad as outside but it eventually got pretty miserable. (I later chatted with a neighbor who is a fireman/EMT and he said there were between 20-30 emergency runs for people.) To cap it off, the President’s plane was late so he didn’t arrive until 7:15.
Finally President Trump is on stage
The whole day was quite an experience. Lots of nice, polite, friendly folks having a great time waiting to see our President. Aside from seeing the President in person, I also saw Rep Jim Jordan – who got two standing O’s; Rep Jim Renacci (running for Senate); AG Mike Dewine (running for Gov); and even Press Secy Sarah Sanders! One final testament to Conservative-minded people was that we weren’t allowed to take our shade umbrellas in the school so everybody just dropped them in a spot on the ground. I thought I’d have to buy a new one. When we left the event, all our umbrellas were still in the pile. No one had stole them! I was impressed. #OhioProud
12th District Election Results by County
On August 7 Ohioans in the 12th District voted for a House Representative to replace Pat Tiberi who resigned in January. We first voted in May’s Primary according to whichever Party ticket we wanted. Republicans and Democrats each had numerous candidates for their ticket.
The Republican Primary winner was Troy Balderson. The Democrat Primary winner was Danny O’Connor. These two would compete again in the August 7 election to determine which one would serve until January 2019, thus completing Tiberi’s term. This special election was the only thing on the ballot in August. So we went to the polls, checked in, then clicked one or the other’s name and hit SUBMIT button. In and out in just a few minutes.
In November’s mid-term election, we’ll once again have to vote for a 12th District Representative to serve for two years starting in January 2019. So we’ll be again choosing between Balderson and O’Connor. Because of that voters may not have bothered to vote August 7.
There are 3 complete counties and portions of 4 counties in the 12th District. Six of the counties are mostly rural: Delaware, Licking, Morrow, Muskingum, Marion, Richland. Of course, Franklin County is metro city. Balderson easily won all 6 of the rural counties. O’Connor only won the small section in Franklin County. In total, Balderson received 101,574 votes (50.2%) and O’Connor received 99,820 votes (49.3%). A Green Party candidate received 0.6% of votes.
Click to enlarge
The results remind me of the 2016 Presidential Election where most of the U.S. is red but the population centers in New York and California are blue. That’s why the Electoral College is important in order to give people in less populated areas an equal say in government. Too bad we don’t have an electoral college for counties!
The above results are the “Unofficial” count. The absentee ballots and provisional ballots are to be counted and total results verified by August 24. There have been rumors around about dead people voting and of course, comments about fraud in Franklin County. Secretary of State Jon Husted addresses that in this SOS Article. It’s informative!
It’s possible that one candidate could win the August election but the other candidate could win in November. I’ve read some reports that said 90% of the Dems voted but only 40% of Republicans did. With much more at stake in November’s election, the Republicans are expected to come out in force. In November, Ohio will vote for a new Governor, and a strong U.S. Senate challenger, Rep Jim Renacci, trying to unseat long-time Senator Sherrod Brown. And of course, we’ll again vote on the person to be a House Representative for the 12th District.
So get ready and grab your popcorn!
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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary, Delaware County, Franklin County, Politics
Tagged Danny O'Connor, Democrats, Ohio 12th District August 2018 Election, Republicans, Secretary of State Jon Husted, Troy Balderson