With the beginning of early voting for this year’s midterm election, the Collegian executive staff would like to announce our endorsements for Tim Ryan (D), candidate for U.S. Senate, and Nan Whaley (D), candidate for governor.

Tim Ryan has served as the U.S. congressman for Ohio’s 13th district since 2013, and for the 17th district from 2003-2013. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Manufacturing Caucus, he has centered both his candidacy and his policymaking around the issues facing Ohio industry. He has a voting record that proves his concern for such matters. His platform going forward is clearly a continuation of this, as he plans to put “workers first” by means of a higher minimum wage and federal investment in sustainable Ohio industries, among other things.

While Ryan may not be the ideal, overtly progressive candidate that many Kenyon liberals likely want, there was no debate among the Collegian executive staff as to who we would choose to endorse. J.D. Vance is an inconsistent, inexperienced candidate at best, and a regressive Trump toady at his worst — which is most of the time. Vance’s use of extravagant fear mongering on his official platform proves that he is not in a place to hold leadership for Ohio, let alone the country. With the control of the U.S. Senate at stake and issues like abortion access on the ballot, electing the Hillbilly Elegy author is an irreconcilable mistake, and as such, we endorse his Democratic challenger, Tim Ryan. 

In Ohio’s gubernatorial race, Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton since 2013, is taking on incumbent Governor Mike DeWine. DeWine, who once garnered the favor of some Ohio progressives with his cursory COVID-19 measures, has since reverted back to the strict right-wing conservatism that won him the Republican vote in 2018. Just this year, he signed into state law a fetal heartbeat ban following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and though that measure was blocked by the Ohio Supreme Court, he has promised to “go as far as we can” to restrict reproductive rights in Ohio. Furthermore, though DeWine called for change after a Dayton shooting that left nine dead in 2019, he has evidently been inconsistent in follow-through. As the initial shock from the shooting wore off, DeWine started to sign regressive gun legislation into law, such as implementing “stand your ground” laws and allowing for local school boards to determine criteria for arming teachers, with a state minimum training of just 24 hours.  

Whaley, on the other hand, lifted Dayton up during times of conflict and grieving. In 2019, Whaley led her city through devastating tornadoes and pushed for long term change in gun legislation after the shooting. She has a clear drive to preserve abortion access in the state, even recieving an endorsement from Emily’s List, a group that focuses on improving health and economic outcomes for women. Whaley also envisions a “new Ohio” in her platform that pushes for sustainable industry and ethical governance — imperatives for a thriving state.

Early voting began on Wednesday and will continue until Election Day, Nov. 8. As Kenyon students, it is our responsibility to not only vote in the upcoming midterm elections, but also vote with our consciences: Mike DeWine and J.D. Vance are incapable of efficacious governance, and thus we fully endorse Democrats Tim Ryan and Nan Whaley. 

Sincerely,

Salvatore, Amelia and Reid

The staff editorial is written weekly by editors-in-chief Amelia Carnell ’23 and Salvatore Macchione ’23 and executive director Reid Stautberg ’23. You can contact them at carnell1@kenyon.edu, macchione1@kenyon.edu, stautberg1@kenyon.edu, respectively.