Ohio

ae a + fs State Should Go Republican; Governor Lausche Democratic Aspirant for Presidency and Senate as Congressman-at- – large, and served in that capacity un- ~ til 1950 when he was elected from the 23rd district. Two years later he de- feated Senator (by appointment) Tom Burke to complete the unexpired term of the late Senator Taft. In the closing days of that campaign Mr. Bender was favored by two developments. President Eisenhower, speaking in Ohio, gave him a hearty endorsement; and the Democratic candidate, Mr. – Burke, announced that he was all for the censure of Senator McCarthy. The subject had not been an issue and Burke was under no compulsion to take a stand. He lost to Bender by 6,000 votes, thereby becoming the first – victim of the censure boomerang. On the basis of the relative strength -shown in the Bender-Burke race, Governor Lausche should win next _ November with the greatest of ease. The only five-term Governor in the state’s history, he is head and shoul- ders above any other politician in NarrionaL REVIEW SAM M. JONES Ohio, including Burke and Bricker. No living contender can count on such tremendous support from voters of the opposition party. There are nevertheless some polit- ical analysts who believe that Sena- tor Bender has a good chance of re- election. They base this opinion on 1) the fact that Ohio is normally Repub- lican in national elections; 2) that Bender has an immense state-wide acquaintance developed while Con- gressman-at-large; and 3) that Mr. Eisenhower will be the Presidential nominee. : There is a further reason which be- longs among the imponderables: Ohio has never elected a Democrat to the United States Senate. (Several have become senators, but in each case by appointment.) Moreover, Ohio voters have a long-established habit of re- electing candidates to state office (in- cluding the governorship) and then turning them down cold when they make a bid for national office. Despite its frequent lapses from or- thodoxy, Ohio is a Republican state, especially in national elections. Only three Democrats have won its elec- toral vote in the twentieth century. Woodrow Wilson carried it in 1912 and 1916; Franklin Roosevelt in 732, ’36, and ’40; Harry Truman in ’48. If present conditions prevail in No- vember, it seems highly probable that Mr. Eisenhower will win in Ohio against any Democratic contender. But like all the other highly indus- trialized states, Ohio is extremely sen- sitive to economic fluctuations. During several visits in the past few months, I found strong contrasts to conditions encountered in the same communities in 1954. In that year the recession had hit the automotive, rubber and many other industries with considerable impact, and political discontent was evident in many cities. Cleveland alone has seven General Motors plants, four Ford factories; it is the headquarters of Republic Steel, and the lighting division of G Electric. Alcoa has a plant ther Standard Oil has two large refiner world. Cincinnati is a world leader ; machine tools, electrotypes, soap, play- 7 ing cards. Toledo is the world’s larg. est coal-shipping port, and the home ‘of Owens-Illinois Glass, Libby-Ow- — ens-Ford, Willys-Overland, Cham- pion Spark Plug, Electric Auto-Lite, Toledo Scale. Ohio has 25,000 produc- ing oil wells and a 50-million-barrel reserve. : Even a slight downturn in the econ- omy, especially in the automobile in- — dustry, can have serious repercus- sions throughout Ohio. The present leveling off in the motor éar industry is having an effect not nearly as seri- ous as that of 1954. There is no lack of confidence among the people. An upturn is expected by summer, or at worst by early fall. “Prosperity” and “Eisenhower” are practically synony- mous in the public mind, and the same applies to “Peace” and “Eisenhower.” If this association is not disrupted by events, the Democratic Presidential – candidate will find cold comfort in Ohio. The division in the House of Rep- — resentatives may remain in statu quo. (There are now seventeen Republi- cans and six Democrats in the dele- gation.) Representative Oliver Bol- ton of the 11th district is retiring, but his constituents are virtually sure to return another Republican. Republi- cans Frank T. Bow (16th district) Williams H. Ayres (14th) and Demo- crat Wayne L. Hays (18th) may have hard fights but all are expected to win. Mike DiSalle, former price-control boss and one-time mayor of Toledo, may win the Democratic gubernato- rial nomination without a_ contest. There is a chance, however, that he may be opposed by former Senator Burke (a former mayor of Cleveland) in which case it would be a close race with the odds slightly in favor of Burke. : There are two Republican candi- dates for the gubernatorial nomination, Attorney General C. William O’Neill and Lt. Governor John W. Brown. — O’Neill is backed by the Party machine and is regarded as the probable win- ner. If the nominations result in a con- test between O’Neill and DiSalle, the odds will be heavy on the Republican. —