By Dan Yount
The Cincinnati Herald
Election history could be made up and down the ballot in the November General Election on Tuesday, November 3, as voters wind up an energized national, state and county election season that has seen early voters turn out in record numbers across the nation, including Hamilton County.
With the Presidential race at this time favoring Democrats, history could be made with Democratic Presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, being the first African American woman on a Presidential ticket.
In match up for Hamilton County offices, history could be made in several of those races.
If Alicia Reece, a popular former Cincinnati City Council Vice Chair and State Representative, wins a three-way race between her, Andy Black and Herman Najoli, she would be the second elected Black woman on the council, taking the former seat occupied by Todd Portune, which was filled by appointed member Victoria Parks following Portune’s death last year.
In other county races, Democrats Fanon Rucker, a former Municipal Judge, and Charlie Winburn, a former City Councilmember, would be the first African Americans to respectfully fill the offices of Hamilton County Prosecutor, long-occupied by Joe Deters, a Republican, and the office of County Treasurer. Democrat Jill Schiller opposes Winburn in that race.
History could also be made if former Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, who defeated Sheriff Jim Neil in the primary election, wins over Republican Bruce Hoffbauer.
Locally in Ohio’s Congressional District 1, which covers much of Cincinnati and West Side, long-serving Congressman Steve Chabot, a Republican, faces a strong challenge from Democrat Kate Schroder, a public health expert.
In a Biden for President Black Press Call Tuesday, Stacey Abrams, the Democratic party's nominee in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election and the first African American female major party gubernatorial nominee in the United States, said the presidential choice in this election cannot be more crucial.
“Americans need a President who takes responsibility,” Abrams said. “That is what Vice President Joe Biden is about, for he has Stacey Abrams Photo provided proven it, and he is accountable, she said. “He has said this election is not about him and his family or Trump and his family, but about our families.
“Joe Biden will also restore the full measures of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which the Trump Administration is in the process of ending, leaving millions of Americans without healthcare during the middle of a global pandemic. No plans have been revealed to replace the act.”
Abrams added that Trump blames others for what has been broken during his administration, including the COVID-19 rampage that has infected millions and killed almost 250,000 people in the country, for the economic collapse and civil unrest, while not taking leadership in addressing these issues.
“The Trump Administration is not living up to its basic charge of protecting Americans. A Biden administration would follow the science in dealing with the virus, get us to the point we can rebuild our economy and employment, and improve on all of that. This nation is strong enough to face systemic racism and police reform, which Biden plans to deal with.
“This election is about the future of our country, not the stock market, but the kitchen table market.”
While Democrats are fighting voter suppression in some states, Abrams said in the larger context 45 states have absentee voting.
“When you see voter suppression, you see long lines at the polls. The long lines have a seminal effect on the election, for when you see long lines, that shows voter enthusiasm. People then are speaking loudly for change,’’ she said.