Cincy Reporter

Despite Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's (R-OH) refusal to participate in the gubernatorial debates this year, challenger Jim Renacci confronted the governor at a virtual meeting for the editorial board of the Cleveland Plain Dealer earlier this week.

According to a report by Cleveland.com, Renacci called DeWine out for touting the new Intel facility as a triumph of Ohio's economy, while pointing out that DeWine had to offer Intel more than $2 billion in incentives for the company to decide to build its new semiconductor plant near Columbus. 

“One of the worst ways of doing business development in the state (is) when you have to pay to bring businesses in,” Renacci told Cleveland.com. 

Gov. Mike DeWine | governor.ohio.gov

While DeWine defended his pandemic mitigation strategies, Renacci accused him of failing to listen to the people of Ohio when he shuttered businesses and schools.

Renacci isn’t the first Republican in the state to take issue with DeWine’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, Ohio Republicans drafted articles of impeachment against the governor as a response to DeWine’s mitigation measures.

"While the chances of DeWine... being removed from office are very slim, the articles of impeachment reflect ongoing dissatisfaction from many conservative lawmakers about the governor's coronavirus response," Cleveland.com reported in August of 2020.

Among critics, State Rep. John Becker (R-Clermont County) listed ten reasons DeWine should be impeached, which included violating the separation of powers, unconstitutionally forcing businesses to close, failing to plan for and support "more than a million newly unemployed Ohioans," closing schools and violating First Amendment rights.  

DeWine also stood firmly behind his decision to appoint Sam Randazzo, who is now embroiled in the FirstEnergy scandal, as chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). This comes as the Ohio Capital Journal reported DeWine's former campaign treasurer put together an almost 200-page dossier detailing allegations that Randazzo was committing fraud with FirstEnergy.

DeWine's chief-of-staff received the dossier in January 2019, though the governor allegedly ignored the warning and appointed Randazzo to the position of chairman of PUCO less than a month later. 

While Randazzo’s term was supposed to last five years, his resignation came after just under two years when the FBI raided his home. In the summer of 2020, FirstEnergy admitted to paying Randazzo $22 million "for favorable PUCO rulings and other favors." Randazzo has not been charged with a crime.

The confrontation this week comes after DeWine chose not to participate in the Republican gubernatorial primary debate earlier this year. At that time, Renacci offered to debate the governor in any format he'd agree to, according to the Buckeye Reporter.  

"Mike DeWine needs to answer important policy questions,” Renacci told the Buckeye Reporter. “We don’t need a live audience, we don’t even need to be on TV.  We could use radio, livestream or meet at a church. A gubernatorial race needs a gubernatorial debate, and a gubernatorial debate needs a governor, not a coward who’s hiding from the voters who put him in office." 

DeWine will face off against Renacci in the Tuesday, May 3, GOP gubernatorial primary. The winner will go on to appear on ballots for the general election on Tuesday, November 8.