Ohio Endorsement Alert: Morgan Harper For U.S. Senate

It didn’t take much time for Blue America to endorse Morgan Harper for the open Ohio Senate seat.

We know her– and admire her– from her House race in Columbus last year. And this cycle the mealy-mouthed Democratic establishment candidate, moderate Rep. Tim Ryan, is a big yawn who, if he gets the nomination, will lose to any of the radical right Republicans who run. Ryan is probably the most uninspiring candidate Schumer has handpicked so far. This guy took a decade to work up the nerve to endorse women’s Choice! And even after he talked about it in secret, it took him years to work up the courage to say it publicly. Ryan is pathetic. Morgan is bold. Ryan is just a careerist. Morgan is about empathy, fiercely so.

Her campaign website emphasizes a dozen issues she’s running on, all geared towards “giving power back to communities.” She wrote that she “will be a fierce advocate for working people, fighting against the far-right and greedy corporations who have controlled Washington, D.C. for too long. We need policy written by the people of Ohio, not by lobbyists and special interests. Understanding why things have gotten so bad for so many families is the key to finding real solutions, universal protections, and true justice.” Among the planks she will run on are:

Medicare-for All
Universal Childcare
Universal Education
Ending the Pandemic
Racial Justice
Environmental Justice
Reproductive Rights
Workers’ Rights

Talking about fixing American democracy, she wrote that “The far-right has declared war on voting rights, the cornerstone of our democracy. We urgently need to fight back at the federal level. We need to pass the John Lewis Act and the For The People Act, and work to make our elections more secure. The citizens of Washington DC deserve statehood. Arcane Senate rules like the filibuster cannot stand between our people and their rights. The Supreme Court should be expanded to restore balance after Trump stole seats to push the Court far right. At a basic level, our communities cannot gain back their power if our people are denied their right to vote.”

In the NY Times‘ coverage of her campaign announcement yesterday, Trip Gabriel wrote that the Democratic primary “equation changed on Wednesday with the entry into the race of a second viable Democrat.” He interviewed her and reported that she will “run a campaign aimed at turning out Black voters, women and young people with a populist message of getting ‘the economy on the side of working people.’ The Democratic brand has been badly tarnished in Ohio since President Barack Obama twice carried the state. In contests as recently as this summer, Ms. Harper’s left-wing vision of her party has failed to revive it. College-educated suburban voters in Ohio may have swung to Democrats in the Trump era, but Republicans more than made up the difference by winning legions of white working-class voters.”

In her own announcement e-mail yesterday, Morgan wrote that

“This is a wide open U.S. Senate seat in one of the most competitive states in the country. But between you and me, I don’t think Democrats will flip Ohio if we nominate another establishment insider. Ohioans want a senator who’s on their side– someone with a track record of fighting the system, not upholding the status quo… I’ve committed my life to fighting inequality– so that every kid can have the opportunities I did regardless of the circumstances of their upbringing… I’m running for U.S. Senate in Ohio to take on systemic inequality and ensure every Ohio kid has a chance to succeed. It will not be easy. I’m not a career politician. I don’t enter this race with a rolodex of wealthy donors behind me. And, yes, I fully expect the Republicans to spend tens of millions of dollars to keep this Senate seat. But Ohioans are hungry for change. If millions of us come together now to demand it, we’ll be unstoppable. So I’m asking for your support now.”