In yesterday’s special election to fill the vacancy in Ohio’s Sixth Congressional District, Democratic candidate Michael Kripchak — who was outspent 10 to 1 against a longtime statehouse member — far exceeded expectations by outperforming the 2020 presidential results by 19 percent.
The following is a statement from Brent Edwards, Organizing Manager for Ohio-based RuralOrganizing.Org:
“Yesterday’s results in OH-06 have shocked the national political media, but as someone whose work centers on rural organizing in Ohio, what happened makes sense. Democrat and AirForce veteran Michael Kripchak ran on a common-sense agenda of raising wages, empowering unions, and rebuilding our failing infrastructure. These are issues that RuralOrganizing.org has emphasized since its founding.
We know that addressing these issues will meaningfully improve the quality of life for small-town and rural communities. The voters of the 6th district agreed, as these kitchen-table issues led to a substantial over-performance yesterday. This striking result shows that voters have grown tired of the MAGA establishment’s dysfunction and finger-pointing. Instead of harsh rhetoric and division, voters are rewarding practical, effective leaders.
Much of Kripchak’s outstanding performance is built upon the work of RuralOrganizing and countless other groups who mobilized in 2023 to defend our constitution and reproductive rights in two statewide ballot initiative campaigns. Both initiatives won overwhelmingly — and did very well in rural areas. This year RuralOrganizing is expanding our focus, activating often-overlooked rural progressives in every corner of Ohio to support Senator Sherrod Brown and progressive ballot initiatives on minimum wage and redistricting.
Recent elections in our state have proven what we long knew: there are a lot of progressive and Democratic voters living in Ohio’s rural communities. We will keep engaging with them about the stakes of the 2024 elections every day until November 5th.”
The mission of RuralOrganizing.org is to rebuild a rural America that is empowered, thriving, and equitable. Follow us on Twitter @RuralOrganizing.
###
