Ed Gustin, left, gets signed up for a raffle by volunteer Sanna Hill-Aikin, both of Sidney, in the Shelby County Republican tent on Tuesday at the Shelby County Fair. Gustin had received a Trump lawn sign from the tent earlier which he had attached to the back of his wheelchair. Gustin said he has gotten a lot of compliments on the sign while driving around the fairgrounds. Both the County Republican and Democratic parties have tents at the fair. Volunteers for both will be talking with visitors following a wild week in national politics.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — A wild week in national politics caught everyone off guard, including the chairmen of the Shelby County Republican and Democratic Party.
But both chairmen, and the volunteers working at each party’s respective booths at the Shelby County Fair, have adapted the messaging they’re bringing to visitors this week.
The wild week started on July 13 when former President Donald Trump was brushed by a would-be assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. After surviving the shooting, Trump named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential nominee on July 15.
The two gave keynote speeches at different nights at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee later in the week.
The Shelby County Republican Party held a regularly-scheduled meeting last Tuesday, which chairman Dan Cecil said was well-attended.
“I think what helped a lot was that we immediately went into the national convention, with the theme of unity and taking our country back, from our perspective,” Cecil said on Sunday at the party’s booth. “And so I think that just energized and helped the people of Shelby County to look forward instead of having animosity and stuff like that (regarding the assassination attempt). Trying not to be angry at that.
“I thought it was just the perfect timing to allay the anger and just focus on, ‘let’s get the job done.’”
President Joe Biden was diagnosed with his latest bout of COVID-19 in the middle of last week following growing calls from some Democratic elected officials for him to stop seeking reelection.
Biden, who had been losing some support since a poor debate performance late in June, announced Sunday he is no longer seeking reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.
“Regardless of what happens in the near term, President Biden’s decision to exit the race and set aside his own ambition secures his place in history as the true ‘America First’ president,” Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Chris Gibbs said on Sunday.
Cecil said while some talking points are changing, Republicans’ focus from the local to national levels aren’t affected much by the change at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“We want to just focus on getting our message out and getting Trump elected, and getting Bernie Moreno in the Senate to replace Sherrod Brown, so that Trump can be more effective in what it is that he needs to get done when he does get elected,” Cecil said.
Vance beat Tim Ryan in a U.S. Senate race in 2022 and campaigned in Shelby County several times through the primary and general elections.
Cecil said it’s exciting to have an Ohio politician on the presidential ticket.
“I think probably almost every member of our (Shelby County Republican) Central Committee has met him and dealt with him some. We were extremely pleased that he got chosen,” Cecil said. “Obviously our first concern is who’s going to be appointed to take his place in the Senate? We’ll see what Governor DeWine will do about that.
“… But (Vance) is extremely conservative. I think he fits right in line with the values of the Republican voters and the conservative voters of Shelby County. So I think he’ll serve us extremely well.”
The Shelby County Democratic Party has reestablished a presence at the Fair after an absence of several years. Volunteers are passing out the Party’s new platform, which it recently adopted after a convention in early June.
Among the campaign materials the Party had on display on Sunday was Biden/Harris yard signs. They became out-of-date that afternoon when Biden announced he was no longer seeking reelection.
The County Party had continued to support Biden following the lackluster debate performance and a few subsequent gaffes in media appearances. But calls for Biden to cease seeking reelection had grown louder; Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown called for Biden to cease seeking reelection on Friday.
“Two weeks ago, I put out a video on behalf of the party that we were going to stand behind Joe Biden for as long as he needs us, and as long as it takes, and that stands today,” Gibbs said on Sunday. “Now he needs us to look forward to another candidate that wins the nomination in August, and this party and the party chair will be behind that candidate, 100 percent.”
Both party’s booths at the Shelby County Fair have yard signs, campaign flyers, voter registration and other information.
The Fair continues through Saturday.
