In early April, Marlboro Township resident and state Representative Christina Hagan (the 50th Ohio House District) announced, though living in the 7th congressional district (represented by Republican Bob Gibbs), announced that she is running to become the Republican Party nominee for the 16th congressional district.
I can remember Stark County/16th district Republicans climbing all over John Boccieri (a Youngstown area Democrat) for announcing for the 16th district seat (which then included all of Stark County) before eventually moving to the Alliance area.
Even then, Alliance area elected Republican leaders would snicker and implied that they questioned whether or not Boccieri was actually living in the 16th.
There is no requirement that a candidate within a given state actually live in the district he/she is running for a seat in Congress.
But in a Republican primary, Hagan living outside the district may become a difference making distinction.
There is an additional touch of irony in Hagan living outside the district.
She was all on board when in 2012 the Ohio legislature controlled by supermarjority Republicans gerrymandered Stark County:
- placing the northeast corner of Stark in Democrat Tim Ryan's 13th congressional district,
- putting the northeast sector of the county in Jim Renacci's reconstituted 16th congressional district (notice the spike down the center of Stark County to capture the Timken Company complex within Renacci's district), and
- then locating the rest of Stark County (including the Hagan residence) in the 7th congressional district
See all of Ohio's 2012 Republican gerrymandered district at Ohio secretary of state Jon Husted's website.
(Note: the SCPR acknowledges that if in power, majority elected Ohio statehouse Democrats would do the same thing; but gerrymandering is not in the public interest but rather in political party interest, whichever one of the two majors it might be. In benefiting the election fortunes of their respective political parties, Republican/Democratic controlled legislatures undermine the vitality and continued viability of our democratic-republican system of government.)
(Note: the SCPR acknowledges that if in power, majority elected Ohio statehouse Democrats would do the same thing; but gerrymandering is not in the public interest but rather in political party interest, whichever one of the two majors it might be. In benefiting the election fortunes of their respective political parties, Republican/Democratic controlled legislatures undermine the vitality and continued viability of our democratic-republican system of government.)
Current Congressman Jim Renacci has decided to run for Ohio governor.
Hmmm?
What is that about?
After all, it is a bill cobbled together by Republican governor John Kasich with substantial input from the supermajority Republicans controlling the Ohio General Assembly.
Hagan was not the lone lower House Republican (note: bill currently under consideration by the Senate) to vote "no" on the budget. She was one of twelve. Nonetheless the bill easily passed the House.
On May 7th, I both as the author of The Stark County Political Report who happens to be a Hagan constituent sent Hagan this e-mail:
No answer until the May 12th edition of the Hartville News, an extract of which appears in the lead graphic of this blog.
To repeat Hagan's position on Medicaid (highlighting added):
I suspect that Hagan was responding to my e-mail through the Hartville News because she cannot handle the prospect that as response might lead to an exchange of e-mails in which she has to deal with questions she does feel comfortable in answering.
That she failed to give a direct answer to my e-mail should be problematical to Republican voters who will vote in the 2018 Republican primary election.
Should she be elected to Congress, it is predictable that she will only converse with constituents who see eye-to-eye with her.
One of Hagan's plays as a politician is to imply as a working woman having been to suggest that as a restaurant worker prior to getting appointed to the Ohio House in 2010, she understands and can relate to folks who are up against it financially/economically.
Pre-Obamacare many eighteen-year-olds and over stayed on their parents health care insurance by taking a minimum number of college course.
While a college student, she amassed an $80,000 debt for her education.
Of course, now, as a state legislator, her annual income is greatly increaseD and as the the recipient of state of Ohio provided health care insurance benefits she undoubtedly has lost her connection to medicaid eligible Ohioans/Stark Countians.
As a restaurant worker, she likely did not receive much if anything in health care coverage.
But she may have been covered under her parents' health care plan as a under age 26 eligible person as provided for under Obamacare.
If such was the case, then that would make her a typical hypocritical politician.
Perhaps Ms. Hagan will tell us all in particulars what her health care insurance was while she was a restaurant worker, single and living in the Marlboro Township home she was raised in?
It is always interesting to me that politicians who like to tout their connection to the struggles of everyday people by past personal experience forget soon: witness Hagan voting against the Ohio budget bill because it buttresses Republican governor John Kasich's compassionate commitment to helping "down and out Ohioans" in obtaining health care whereas Hagan apparently sees helping low income folks to attain health care as being a financial burden on Ohio's taxpayers.
I for one (and have to believe more Ohioan taxpayers than not) do not mind the extra tax burden of helping those who have nowhere to turn for basic health care needs.
Another position that Hagan touts for herself is that she is an independent minded Republican who and has and will continue to separate from "establishment Republican views" to chart her own political course.
Hagan does appear to have a penchant to thumb her her nose in at the GOP powers that be here and there but by and large is about a devoutly loyal Republican as one can be.
Given her anti-Medicaid-expansion statement in voting "no" (and, of course, specifically explaining the reason for her vote) on the state budget bill, among other telltale evidentiary signs to be presented in future SCPR blogs on the 16th congressional district race; I think Hagan is a perfect candidate to join up with the U.S. House of Representative exclusively Republican membered (31 members) "Freedom Caucus" which forced a defeat of President Trump initial try at repealing Obamacare; now a program that a majority of American population support as evidenced in recent polling.
Just take a look at what the Freedom Caucus stands for.
Seems to be the perfect connection for Candidate Hagan, no?
Ms. Hagan's largest hurdle to become the GOP 16th congrssional district nominee may be her ties to the Presidential Donald J. Trump administration.
Hagan was an early adopter of Trump as evidence at her attending both a fundraiser (Brookside Country Club), apparently, as a non-paying guest, and at Trump's Canton rally in September, 2016.
Everyday now it is more and more appearing that President Trump could be in deep political trouble as it was announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice has appointed a special prosecutor to assess his campaign ties to Russia which U.S. intelligence services (17 of them) have said tried to interfere with our presidential election of 2016.
Moreover, there is the Comey "you're fired" thing.
As far as the SCPR is concerned, Stark County elected officials who came out in support of Trump (now with unprecedented low national polling numbers) carry the burden for having been front runners for Trump as a matter of follow up accountability in terms of questioning the quality of their judgement and as an indication that political party identification may strongly suggest that with them political party identity "trumps" the American, Ohio and Stark County public interest.
The Republican index leaning of the 16th congressional district is not so favorable to a Republican candidate (espcially one likely to be a fringe Freedom Caucus member, if elected) that retaining the Renacci seat will be easily achieve.
Current polling data shows the American voting public favoring Democratic candidates by as much as 11 percentage points.
The one politically astute thing Hagan has done is to get out in front of potential Republican rivals in starting her campaign none of whom have announced.
But will smart political operations outweigh the political substance she brimgs to the Republican primary table next spring?
The Stark County Political Report, your most complete and thorough poliitical analysis resource for evaluating Stark County based/connected candidates for public office.
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