There’s a special election happening today in Ohio and it’s getting a lot of attention.
It’s between Troy Balderson (R) and Danny O’Connor (D), and it’s a barn burner. In fact Real Clear Politics put this race as a TIE:
As you can see, the race looks like anyone’s guess at this point. But almost two months ago, polls were showing Balderson with a healthy 9-11 point lead over O’Connor, and one of those polls was from Monmouth. Clearly O’Connor has gained a lot of momentum.
The thing is, this district has has been reliably red for almost 40 years. And now it looks like it could turn blue!
Fox News reports that in the last month O’Connor has far out-raised Balderson:
Between July 1 and July 18, O’Connor raised $587,875. Balderson raised $138,776. O’Connor had $129,201 in the bank, while Balderson had $208,032.
This is why Trump tweeted this morning to see if he can help keep it red:
Ohio, vote today for Troy Balderson for Congress. His opponent, controlled by Nancy Pelosi, is weak on Crime, the Border, Military, Vets, your 2nd Amendment - and will end your Tax Cuts. Troy will be a great Congressman. #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2018
Trump also held a rally there this past weekend and has been tweeting in the run up to this race in the last week:
Troy Balderson, running for Congress from Ohio, is in a big Election fight with a candidate who just got caught lying about his relationship with Nancy Pelosi, who is weak on Crime, Borders & your 2nd Amendment-and wants to raise your Taxes (by a lot). Vote for Troy on Tuesday!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018
A great night in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District with Troy Balderson! Troy loves Ohio, and he loves the people of Ohio. He will be fighting for you all the way...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
...Danny O’Connor is a total puppet for Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters – Danny wants to raise your taxes, open your borders, and take away your 2nd Amendment. Vote for Troy on Tuesday!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
VP Pence has also been to Ohio in the last week.
Heading to Ohio today to support @Troy_Balderson. He’s tough on crime, strong on borders, loves our military & vets, and stand for the 2nd Amendment! Get out and vote for him on August 7! #OH12
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) July 30, 2018
And he tweeted this morning…
Get out and vote TODAY for @Troy_Balderson. He’ll be a STRONG fighter for the people of Ohio’s 12th District. #OH12
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) August 7, 2018
Clearly this race has Republicans worried, and giving the recent polling numbers I can see why. If Democrats win this special election race, it will give them energy and momentum at a crucial time going into November.
We’ll definitely be monitoring this race tonight and let you know how it develops.