OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden is set to not appear on Ohio’s presidential ballot in November, as confirmed by the state’s secretary of state.
In a letter to Ohio Democratic Chairwoman Liz Walters, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said, “Today, the Speaker of the Ohio House told members of the media there would not be a legislative solution,” adding he was “duty bound to instruct boards of elections to begin preparing ballots that do not include the Democratic Party’s nominees for president and vice president of the United States.”
The Democratic National Convention won’t officially name Biden as the nominee until August 19. This goes against an Ohio law that says presidential candidates have to tell the secretary of state’s office about their nomination 90 days before the election.
It’s too late to change the law by the Aug. 7 deadline because the legislature in the swing state has already been hung up.
Leaders in Ohio’s Senate passed a bill that would fix the problem by letting certification happen 74 days before the election. However, the House of Representatives left without taking up any version of the bill.
The Democratic Party could still end the fight by moving their convention to a different date or by suing, saying that a random and long deadline that keeps Biden from running violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
“A legislative fix, which would have pushed back the certification deadline to accommodate the late date of the Democratic National Convention, stalled out this month as Republicans in the Ohio Senate tacked on a partisan measure that would ban foreign donations to state ballot initiatives. Mr. LaRose has previously said that passing the ban is the price that Democrats must pay to ensure that Mr. Biden is on the ballot and that he would otherwise enforce the law as written,” the New York Times reported.
I’ve said from here to Colorado that it’s in the best interest of voters to have a choice in the race for president. I’m also duty-bound to follow the law as Ohio’s chief elections officer.
As it stands today, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee will not be on the Ohio… pic.twitter.com/Y5AkZBoow2
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) May 21, 2024
Charles Lutvak, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said that “Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states.”
“Election after election, states across the country have acted in line with the bipartisan consensus and taken the necessary steps to ensure the presidential nominees from both parties will be on the ballot. And this election is no different,” Lutvak said in a statement.
Democrats in Ohio were angry that there wasn’t a legislative solution, and on Tuesday, the chairwoman of the state party said that Republicans were trying to get Biden taken off the ballot.
“Republican politicians at the statehouse made clear that they want to take away Ohioans’ ability to choose who they want to be president,” Elizabeth Walters, the party chair, said in a statement. “Throughout this process, corrupt politicians in Columbus have politicized the process and used it to play political games.”
Biden and the Democratic National Committee went into the 2024 election cycle with a decided financial advantage over prospective GOP nominee Donald Trump and a beleaguered, depleted Republican National Committee, but the situation appears to be changing rapidly.
Trump and the RNC outraised Biden and the DNC in April, $76 million to $51 million, respectively, as the RNC, which is co-led now by Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, appears to be gaining ground against its Democratic rival.
Biden’s reelection campaign reported having $192 million in cash-on-hand at the end of last month, a figure it described as higher than that of any Democratic candidate in history. However, this amount was approximately the same as what was reported at the end of the first quarter on March 30, indicating that the campaign might be spending funds as quickly as it is raising them, The Associated Press reported.
“April’s totals were also down sharply from March, when the president’s campaign and the DNC announced taking in more than $90 million,” the AP added.
Biden and his party have consistently out-fundraised his predecessor, but Trump’s fundraising received a significant boost in April, thanks to a record-setting $50.5 million raised during a single donor event early in the month. That event took place at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson.
The event at John Paulson’s home was Trump’s response to a March fundraiser featuring former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, where Biden’s campaign raised $26 million. Looking ahead, Biden’s campaign is organizing a major fundraiser in Los Angeles next month, set to feature Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Trump and the GOP raised over $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash, the AP noted.
