Primary polling indicates potential DeWine-Cordray general election rematch

A poll released last week by Fallon Research shows gubernatorial candidates Mike DeWine (R) and Richard Cordray (D) both leading their respective party's races for governor, with DeWine also having a big lead over Cordray in a head-to-head matchup.

From the Dayton Daily News:

Here are the poll results released by Fallon’s firm Thursday:

In the Republican primary, DeWine has 54 percent support compared with 14 percent for Taylor.

In the crowded Democratic Party field, Cordray has support from 23 percent, followed by Dennis Kucinich, 16 percent; Joe Schiavoni, 4 percent; Bill O’Neill, 3 percent; and Connie Pillich, 2 percent.

The poll also found that DeWine leads Cordray in a head-to-head matchup, 49 percent to 28 percent.

In 2010, when the two faced off in a statewide race for Attorney General, DeWine defeated incumbent Cordray 48% - 46%.

Since that time, DeWine has done just about everything a person in the position of Attorney General can do to convince gun owners that his anti-gun record in the U.S. Senate should be forgiven.

In the past seven years, Dewine has:

• Joined the Attorneys General of 21 other states and the territory of Guam in signing a letter urging the U.S. Senate to take action on the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act.
• Worked to expand the number of reciprocity agreements with other states, including Louisiana, New Mexico and Kansas, for Ohio's concealed handgun license-holders.
• Called for passage of HB 495, which eliminated the "demonstrated competency" requirement for second and future CHL renewals, making CHL training similar to a hunting license, fixed the definition of a "loaded gun" to match the commonly accepted definition, and allowed law-abiding gun owners to have their firearms stored in their cars in the state-owned parking garages such as the one under the Statehouse.
• Testified in favor of HB 234, which contained a long list of improvements for gun owners.
• Backed legislation that would strengthen laws which target criminals who are the real problem behind gun violence.
• Supported efforts to arm teachers or school administrators in the immediate aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre (and many times since then).
• Signed on to a letter opposing an ammo ban proposed during the Obama-era.
• Filed an amicus, or “friends of the court,” brief petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari and take up Friedman v. City of Highland Park and strike down Highland Park's ban on modern sporting rifles and magazines holding more than ten rounds.
• Voiced support for the deterrent effect of concealed carry on crime.
• Filed a joint amicus brief in Peruta v. San Diego petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn San Diego's unconstitutional laws which prohibit nearly every citizen from carrying a firearm outside their home.
• Sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to utilize the Congressional Review Act to reverse a last-minute Obama administration regulation that would have canceled the Second Amendment rights of certain senior citizens without due process.
• Worked with Senator Frank Hoagland to draft an amendment to a budget bill that would have changed Ohio law to allow the sale of new products such as the Mossberg Shockwave. The amendment was not included in the final bill. DeWine continues to work to find a solution.
• Filed a joint amicus brief in Grace v. District of Columbia in the U.S. Court of Appeals, successfully arguing that D.C.'s requirement that a person demonstrate so-called "good reason" to need a concealed carry license is the same as an outright ban on all concealed carry.
• Joined 20 other state Attorneys General in filing a joint amicus brief supporting the petitioning of the U.S. Supreme Court by plaintiffs, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, to take up Kolbe v. Hogan, the case in which the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Maryland could ban semi-automatic modern sporting rifles on grounds they are “like” firearms in use by the military. DeWine and the other attorneys general ask the court to consider whether the lower court inappropriately limited the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms by banning certain firearms typically owned by citizens by finding that those firearms would be most useful for military service.

Late last year, DeWine's campaign got a huge boost when Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that he was ending his own gubernatorial run, and would instead join forces with DeWine as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Jon Husted has a flawless record in supporting Second Amendment rights. Under Husted’s Speakership, the state legislature took huge strides toward making Ohio a more friendly state to Second Amendment rights by loosening restrictions on lawful gun ownership. When Governor Bob Taft (R) vetoed common-sense legislation to ease restrictions on concealed-carry license holders, Husted worked with members of his caucus to return to the House Floor. On December 7, 2006, Jon Husted’s House of Representatives stood with Buckeye Firearms Association and other Second Amendment supporters when they overrode that veto and put House Bill 347 into state law.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.