SUDDES: Tressel dropping out marks end of ‘Midwest moderate Republicanism’ tradition

The Voinovich-Kasich-DeWine triad in particular – differ though their personalities did – calls to mind what Chicago’s David Axelrod, the Democratic campaign operative, said about another successful GOP governor, Jim Edgar, of Illinois, who died Sept. 14: “[Edgar] was part of a tradition of Midwest moderate Republicanism that has kind of faded.” (“Faded” is a kind word for it.)

Tressel’s decision all but hands the 2026 Republican gubernatorial nomination to Upper Arlington tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy, age 40, a Cincinnati native. His likely Democratic opponent: Amy Acton, a Bexley physician and Youngtown native who served in DeWine’s Cabinet as state Health director.

Ramaswamy is married 24-7-365 to Donald Trump, whose political formula is to figure out which complexions or sexual identities enough voters hate, then unite those voters behind him.

There’s no – repeat, no – necessary reason to think a Gov. Ramaswamy would mobilize supporters to mimic hatreds the General Assembly and president stoke. But if Vivek Ramaswamy wants to succeed Trump, he can’t get there – at least not at this point – by separating himself from the president.

After all, plenty of voters, who can’t figure out why they aren’t sitting pretty, claim presidents before Trump rigged the job market to ease “unqualified” (and ... um ... ethnic minority) applicants onto high-dollar payrolls.

For example, a Black Ohioan may be a top-flight graduate of Ohio State’s (Fisher) business college, or Case Western Reserve’s Weatherhead school, but (wink ... wink) she or he is only, say, a corporate V.P. because of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion rules, right?

Can anyone imagine such a straight-shooting Republican as Saxbe (Ohio’s House speaker, Ohio attorney general, then a U.S. senator) railing about such “issues?” Saxbe instead spoke his mind on things that mattered. And Saxbe helped spawn America’s colossal advances in personal communications (cell networks, etc.) by spearheading break-up of the stodgy Bell System’s phone monopoly.

It’s a cinch that DeWine appointed Tressel lieutenant governor (succeeding now-U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, an Upper Arlington Republican) because DeWine saw in Tressel a governor who’d approach the office like DeWine.

But by the time DeWine picked Tressel, Ramaswamy had momentum. Besides, these days, what Mike DeWine wants doesn’t necessarily matter in a Trump-worshipping party nor in a legislature with many members whose self-importance fantasies make James Thurber’s Walter Mitty seem like a realist.

Ramaswamy obviously wants to capture the White House. (That will require nudging aside Vice President J.D. Vance, of Cincinnati, no easy task)

With the White House Ramaswamy’s goal, how likely would a stepping-stone governorship effectively tackle Ohio’s school-funding mess, and skyrocketing property taxes? (In fairness, no governor of either party in the last 60 years has effectively addressed school funding.)

Bliss, the Akron insurance agent who mastered GOP politics in Ohio and later was Republican national chair, had a guiding principle for Republican victories in Ohio: “Keep issues” – as in divisive issues – “out of campaigns.” But Tressel’s decision, a real loss for constructive government in Ohio, means they’ll figure big-time in 2026’s Statehouse derby.