Gov.-elect DeWine’s focus on children is admirable

We have no doubt that Mike DeWine will be up to the task of governing the state of Ohio starting in January. After all, De-Wine, currently attorney general and a Republican Party insider, has spent more than four decades in numerous elected offices preparing for the prize he ultimately won Tuesday night in a nail biter.

Complete, but unofficial results show DeWine with 2,187,619 votes to 2,005,627 for his Democratic challenger Richard Cordray, who also has served in government.

Polls leading up to Election Day had portrayed the race as a toss-up, and the 181,992-vote margin confirmed the closeness.

Nonetheless, DeWine will be taking office in January, continuing the streak of Republican governors in all but four of last 28 years.

But while we are confident in the governor-elect’s ability to lead Ohio, his connection to President Donald J. Trump gives us pause.

Although we did not endorse DeWine in primary or general elections – we remain highly suspicious about the way he handled the scandalous public corruption case tied to the Oakhill Renaissance Place racketeering conspiracy – we believe him when he says “I am committed to bringing our state together and creating an Ohio that works for everyone.”

Unfortunately, that isn’t President Trump’s modus operandi. The billionaire real-estate developer from New York City won the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 with a slash-and-burn campaign against the other contenders in the primary.

After that victory, Trump took on Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, with a no-holds-barred strategy that demonized her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Trump set his sights on blue-collar, white males who traditionally vote Democratic with the promise of reviving heavy manufacturing, rebuilding the American auto industry and getting rid of all global trade agreements between the U.S. and its partners. His pledge to dismantle NAFTA resonated in old industrial regions like the Mahoning Valley.

List of targets

But winning the presidency hasn’t changed Trump’s behavior. He has used the White House effectively in dividing and conquering the nation. As his list of targets grows – the mainstream media is featured prominently – so does the racial, ethic, religious and sexual divide in America.

Therein lies our concern about De-Wine’s relationship with the president.

According to the Associated Press, DeWine’s win followed an 11th-hour effort by him to embrace both Trump and Republican Gov. John Kasich, one of the president’s loudest and harshest critics.

Kasich, who will be leaving office and the end of the year because of term limits, broke ranks with Republicans in Ohio and nationally by expanding the Medicaid program, as permitted under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, more than 700,000 Ohioans who did not have health-care coverage now qualify for all the services provided by the program designed for the poor.

DeWine, who joined other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to have the ACA declared unconstitutional, did not support Kasich’s Medicaid expansion. But he finally came around after realizing that it was a major issue in the campaign. Cordray not only fully embraced the ACA – Obamacare – but was unwavering in his support of Gov. Kasich’s Medicaid expansion.

DeWine, 71, relied on his long record of public service as a former lieutenant governor, congressman and U.S. senator to make the case for his candidacy.

“Tonight’s victory is about moving Ohio forward,” he told supporters Tuesday night. “We are energized by the support you’ve shown us, and we will not let you down.”

In his endorsement interview with The Vindicator’s Editorial Board, De-Wine discussed his agenda as governor. Two of his top priorities: Fighting the opioid epidemic with a 12-point comprehensive plan; increasing state investment in early childhood development to give young people the skills they need earlier in life to succeed.

We are encouraged that the governor-elect has appointed LeeAnne Cornyn director of Children’s Initiatives. Cornyn was the deputy policy director for the campaign and previously served as director of Children’s Initiatives in the attorney general’s office.

She is a former teacher through Teach for America and has a law degree from Ohio State University.

We urge DeWine to continue focusing on such issues and not to be distracted by a far-right agenda, which some Republican lawmakers will pursue.