Local Democrats reach voters at candidate forum; Republicans opt not to attend
Three Oxford residents running for office joined three other Democratic candidates at a forum to speak to voters. All Butler County candidates in contested races were invited to attend, but two Democrats and all Republicans opted out.
Six candidates spoke to roughly 50 Butler County voters at a candidate forum hosted by Miami University’s Menard Center for Democracy and the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 7. Event organizers invited 16 candidates running in contested local races, but all eight Republican candidates and two Democratic candidates opted not to attend. The six attendees were all Democrats.
Candidates present included Vanessa Enoch, running for Ohio’s 8th Congressional District against incumbent Warren Davidson; Tom Cooke, running for Ohio’s 4th Senate District against incumbent George Lang; Benjamin McCall, a candidate for Ohio House District 46 running against incumbent Thomas Hall; Vanessa Cummings, a candidate for Ohio House District 47 running against Diane Mullins to replace outgoing Republican representative Sara Carruthers; Chantel Raghu, a candidate challenging incumbent Don Dixon for his seat as Butler County Commissioner; and Tamara Small, a candidate challenging incumbent T.C. Rogers for his seat as Butler County Commissioner.
No candidates running to represent Ohio House Districts 40 and 45 attended the event despite being invited. In the 40th District, which includes Milford Township, incumbent Republican Rodney Creech is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Bobby Arnold. Incumbent Republican Jennifer Gross will face Democratic challenger Landon Meador for her race in the 45th District.
During the forum, each candidate spent roughly 10 minutes discussing their platforms before breaking off to speak with voters one-on-one for an additional 30 minutes. Three candidates — Cooke, Cummings and Raghu — are Oxford residents.
Butler County voters have heavily favored Republican candidates in previous elections, winning more than 60% of votes in each state house district race in 2022. According to reporting by the Journal-News, a Democrat hasn’t won countywide office in a partisan election since 1998.
Multiple candidates at the Oct. 7 forum discussed the need for bipartisan collaboration to address issues facing voters in Butler County and Ohio. Each candidate cited economic development and support for small businesses as a priority.
Enoch, Cooke, Cummings and Small each spoke about women’s reproductive health, with Small saying Butler County women “need safe access to care.” McCall described himself as “pro-life and pro-choice” and spoke about his personal experience with reproductive care. During one pregnancy, McCall’s wife learned that her baby would be stillborn at roughly 20 weeks. Some restrictive laws in other states would have prevented her from terminating the pregnancy, McCall said, putting his wife’s life in danger. Raghu did not discuss abortion or reproductive health but highlighted her goal to increase access to affordable childcare in the county.
Other topics included housing availability, gerrymandering, immigration, public education and school vouchers. The forum was recorded by TV Hamilton and is available to view on the TV Hamilton YouTube channel.
Next week, the Oxford Free Press will publish details on each contested local race that voters within the Talawanda School District will decide in the next print edition.
