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8/23/2018
Ohio University students and Athens residents should expect most of the Republican and Democratic candidates in town and on campus in the months preceding the general election on Nov. 6.
Candidates with local constituencies such as U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, his Democratic opponent Rick Neal, State Rep. Jay Edwards and candidate Taylor Sappington will be frequently stopping by the city leading up to the 2018 midterm election.
Edwards, R-Nelsonville, said he often attends community events and he and his campaign door knock within the area he represents. He said they attend events such as the Meigs Heritage Day, a Salem Township ice cream social and various county fairs.
Edwards is the incumbent candidate for the 94th Ohio House District, which includes parts of Athens, Meigs, Vinton and Washington counties.
“There are no events that we don’t go to, we go to many,” Edwards said. “I would rather meet people one-on-one.”
Patrick Connolly | FILE
A sign made by the OU College Democrats encourages students to register to vote outside Baker Center on Oct. 1 2017. The OU College Democrats and the OU College Republicans actively tabled and held events leading up to the election in November.
Sappington, his Democratic opponent, said he visited Athens on July 31, but did not say if he has plans to visit the city again in the coming weeks.
The Ohio’s 15th congressional district, which is represented by Stivers, has a larger constituency than the 94th Ohio House district but he and Neal, his opponent, still make time to visit Athens during their campaign.
“Yes, I’ve been visiting Athens since launching my campaign for U.S. Congress in August of last year,” Neal said in an email. “I plan to visit Athens frequently between now and election day.”
He said that since announcing his campaign, he has visited Athens to meet with the OU College Democrats, sit down with local-elected officials and meet members of the Athens County Democratic Party.
“Athens is a pretty unique area because when you look at the election map, Athens is blue and all the surrounding counties in southeast Ohio are red”Missy Pedulla
Adam Rapien, Stivers’ campaign manager, said Stivers’ campaign will visit Athens prior to the election, but a concrete date has not been set. He said after Labor Day, campaign activities will increase.
Statewide candidates like Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, also have plans to campaign in Athens; however, events and visits will be more of a rarity due to the 88 counties they need to visit.
"Sherrod loves spending time in Athens, whether he's holding a roundtable with businesses and local officials or talking to students who attend OU,” Rachel Petri, spokesperson for Friends of Sherrod Brown, said in an email.
Brittany Martinez, the communications director for Renacci, said he will be in Athens in August.
"Meeting with Ohioans across the state, including the good people of Athens, is of great importance to me,” Renacci said in an email.
Many candidates agree that Athens is an important location to visit on the campaign trail, whether they are running for local, statewide or federal office. In previous years, presidential candidates and their campaigns have opted to hold speeches on campus, including in 2016 when former President Bill Clinton spoke on College Green for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“Athens is a pretty unique area because when you look at the election map, Athens is blue and all the surrounding counties in southeast Ohio are red,” Missy Pedulla, the president of the OU College Republicans, said.
Bailey Williams, the president of the OU College Democrats, said the Democratic candidates rely a lot on organizations, such as the College Democrats, to help drive up voter registration because Athens generally votes for Democrats.
“Just because it votes blue consistently it doesn’t mean that people should take voting lightly,” Williams said.
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