GOP consultant tells Ohio delegation: Unite behind Trump or lose

By David Skolnick | July 20, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

CLEVELAND

The message was rather sobering for Republicans: “If you leave here divided, you have no shot at this.”

Frank Luntz, a prominent GOP consultant and pollster, addressed the Ohio delegation to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

If Republicans don’t unite behind Donald Trump, the party’s presidential candidate, he’ll lose, Luntz said.

In between the numerous Bill and Hillary Clinton jokes, Luntz told the delegation he’s “frustrated with how Republicans communicate.”

Bill Clinton, he said, doesn’t read off a Teleprompter, but he sees too many Republicans doing so – and doing it badly.

“Stevie Wonder reads Teleprompters as well as we do,” he said.

Luntz also said if the election was today, Hillary Clinton would win the election by 3 percentage points even though many Americans don’t find her to be trustworthy.

He called Trump “the epitome of the ‘American Dream,’ but people find him to be “too harsh.”

Luntz said Republicans lost voters between the ages of 26 and about 34 “a long time ago,” but hinted that Trump could gain their support if he softened his message.

“Donald Trump represents change,” Luntz said.

Also, Luntz said it’s vital for Ohio to re-elect U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican being challenged by ex-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat. The Senate has a Republican majority, but several national polls show there’s a decent chance Democrats can regain control during this election.

“Something bad will happen to America if you’re not successful in re-electing Rob Portman,” Luntz said.

Tuesday’s breakfast was hosted by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, whose district includes southern Mahoning County and all of Columbiana County.

Matt Borges, Ohio GOP chairman, called Johnson “one of the absolute stars of our delegation.”

After 26 years in the Air Force, Johnson started his own business providing computer software engineering services to commercial and defense-industry companies. In 2006, he worked as the chief information officer for a Mahoning Valley company.

“But a few years later, something began to gnaw at me,” he said.

Johnson said, “I began to fear the ‘American Dream’ might not be available to my children and grandchildren.”

In 2010, he ran for the U.S. House against two-term incumbent Charlie Wilson, a Democrat, and won. He’s seeking a fourth term in November.

“After serving in government for the last six years, I’m even more concerned about America,” he said. “You see we’re more divided today than at any point since the Civil War.”

The country needs “quiet, thoughtful and responsible leadership,” Johnson said.

He specifically said Hillary Clinton is not that person. Johnson, who supports Trump, however, never mentioned the Republican presidential candidate in his speech.

“The path to unity starts here in Cleveland,” he said.

Johnson said Republicans have “always been the party of responsible leadership, and when we unite as a party, we can win.”

That includes, he said, stopping “Clinton from ever sitting down at that Oval Office desk in the White House.”