Even stalwart Republicans who spoke to Newsmax from Ohio on Tuesday agreed that Issue 1 — the controversial measure crafted by GOP legislators to raise the bar for amending the state constitution from 50 to 60 percent — was headed for a major defeat when votes are counted tonight.
"I think it's going down hard — hard!" Franklin County (which includes Columbus) GOP Chairman Doug Preisse said Tuesday morning, "It's going down big here. That's no surprise, but it's a bigger turnout than we ever anticipated."
Preisse also pointed to neighboring Delaware County, which is historically a reliable Republican bailiwick.
"Democrats are outvoting the Republicans [in early voting]," he said.
Opponents of Issue 1 say it is designed to make it more difficult for voters to amend the state constitution to maintain legal abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Others came out against Issue 1 on the grounds that a simple majority has been the means Ohioans have used to amend their constitution for more than a century without complaints.
The four living former governors of Ohio — Democrats Dick Celeste and Ted Strickland and Republicans Robert Taft II and John Kasich — have all weighed in against it.
Incumbent GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, who has always had the strong backing of the state's right-to-life movement, favors Issue 1.
A few Republicans who requested anonymity predicted that a resounding defeat for the controversial measure will lead to Ohio shifting from a reliably Republican state to one in which Democrats can win more statewide offices. Right now, Sen. Sherrod Brown is the lone Democrat holding a statewide office.
"The patterns associated with this vote will be very informative about the newly-shaped electorate here and I suspect will see clear evidence of both a 'diploma' and 'gender' divide that will grow as we approach 2024," said one veteran GOP operative from Columbus, "In short, you will see areas that would have noted 80% GOP be flipped to 80% no on Issue 1. Demographically, Republicans in this state are screwed in 10 years as the population ages and is replaced by younger cohorts."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
John Gizzi is in Japan until Aug. 18. His column will resume the following day.
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