As I’m sure most of my readers already know, this weekend John Kasich won the endorsement of the Columbus Dispatch.
If you haven’t read it, make sure you do so by clicking here.
It eviscerates Ted and will surely put a smile on your face.
While some on both sides seemed split prior to this weekend on whether the Dispatch endorsement was going to happen or not, whether it was expected is inconsequential. What matters is that it happened.
And while many voters aren’t necessarily swayed by endorsements, that doesn’t mean they aren’t influenced by them.
While Kasich currently dominates the Independent vote, a small but important percentage of swing voters are still undecided on this race. Much of Strickland’s strategy has been based on scaring this important swing vote into believing Kasich is too risky a choice to serve as Governor. The endorsements of the Plain Dealer and Columbus Dispatch highlight that strategy’s failure. While many will likely not read each endorsement, commercials from Kasich highlighting the endorsements will communicate to the undecided Independent vote that the GOP candidate has been deemed acceptable by a trusted source. They will think to themselves, ‘if Kasich were as bad as Strickland says, these guys wouldn’t endorse him’.
Make no mistake. These endorsements are major victories for Kasich.
