Trump lays claim to DeWine

At 7:29 Tuesday night, just as the Election Day polls were closing, the Ohio Lottery’s three-digit number flashed on the TV screen: 911.

By the end of the evening, Ohio Democrats would be dialing 911 – figuratively speaking, of course – to report an emergency: their party’s political implosion in the midterm general election.

Democrats were beaten so badly in statewide races, from governor on down, that the blood they spilled turned politically red Ohio even redder.

Democrats are on political life support, and there’s nothing to suggest they’ll recover anytime soon.

Indeed, so long as Republican President Donald J. Trump is in office, the GOP’s fortunes in Ohio will continue to be greatly enhanced. That’s because Trump, who is not a traditional Republican and at one time was a Democrat, has lured blue-collar white voters, especially men, away from the Democratic Party.

But while Democrats are fighting for their political lives, Republican Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, currently Ohio’s attorney general, is also facing a 911 emergency of sorts.

DeWine has become a captive of the president of the United States.

Wednesday, during a White House press conference on the results of the midterm elections, Trump told the nation that he was the key to DeWine’s victory over Democrat Richard Cordray.

Trump, who rattled off the names of Republican candidates he embraced and the names of those who told him to stay away from their races and ended up losing, wasn’t being self-aggrandizing. He was sending an unambiguous message to his minions: You owe me.

In talking about the De-Wine-Cordray race, Trump was on the mark in saying the contest was neck-and-neck going into the final lap. He contended that his presence in Ohio gave DeWine the boost he so desperately needed.

Indeed, Trump appeared with DeWine on Monday, on the eve of the election, in Cleveland at a rally attended by a huge crowd of Trumpsters, including Democrats who switched parties in 2016 to vote for the billionaire real-estate developer from New York City.

“If you want a safe and prosperous future, vote for Mike DeWine,” Trump told the packed hall of the I-X Center in Cleveland.

But here’s a reality check for the governor-elect and all the other Republican candidates who received the president’s kiss on the cheek: His support for you had nothing to do with altruism or good governance.

There will be a day when Trump calls with a request – make that a demand – and he won’t take no for an answer.

That’s how he ran his global businesses that made him a billionaire, and how he’s running the country. Just ask those Republicans in Congress or around the country who have crossed him.

Indeed, ask recently fired U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump when he launched his presidential campaign.

But Sessions soon fell from grace when he recused himself from the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election.

That recusal placed the probe in the hands of his assistant, Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Robert Mueller to serve as special counsel.

Trump wants to bring the Russia probe to a screeching halt and needs someone willing to make life difficult for Mueller.

There’s another reason Trump will expect allegiance from soon-to-be Gov. DeWine: The current occupant of the governor’s mansion hasn’t rolled out the welcome mat for him.

Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is leaving office at the end of the year because of term limits, has not only criticized the president for his slash-and-burn politics, but has publicly berated him for his win-at-any-cost style of governing.

Kasich ran for the Republican presidential nomination and didn’t pull any punches when it came to taking on Trump for his rants against women, blacks and other minorities, immigrants, the handicapped, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and queers, Muslims and the mainstream media.

Kasich’s refusal to jump on Trump’s bandwagon after he secured enough delegates to win the nomination was highlighted during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The governor showed up before the presumed nominee arrived in the city and left prior to Trump’s coronation. As the top Republican in Ohio, Kasich’s boycott of the most important day of the convention was a political snub that was memorialized around the world.

Since he has been in office, Trump has had to live with the fact that a Republican governor of one of the must-win states in a presidential election doesn’t give a damn about him.

Indeed, the president is undoubtedly aware that Kasich’s name is being mentioned as a possible challenger to his reelection bid in 2020. It would be an uphill battle, but many traditional Republicans have grown weary of Trump’s commandeering of the Grand Old Party.

In contrast to Kasich’s highly principled stance against one of the most divisive presidents in recent history, DeWine has shown great reluctance to publicly criticize Trump for his degradation of the most powerful office in the country.

During his endorsement meeting with The Vindicator’s Editorial Board, the attorney general was asked how he is able reconcile his core beliefs with the very divisive rhetoric that is Trump’s trademark.

He punted. DeWine said that while he does not agree with everything the president texts or tweets, he fully supports the sweeping tax cuts pushed by Trump and approved by the Republican majority in Congress. He also said he is pleased with the conservative judges the president has appointed to courts nationwide.

But once he’s sworn in as governor, DeWine will find out that punting does not work when it comes to Trump. The president has told the country that DeWine won election solely because of him, so he will not take kindly to having his demands ignored.

It’s only a matter of time before Ohio’s new governor finds out just how costly Trump’s support can be.