Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine called a special session on Thursday for the state Legislature to obtain President Joe Biden at the polls this November, saying his patience has “run out” with his Republican colleagues who seem less than inclined to offer a legislative solution to a timing problem with the Democratic convention.
“The Legislature had [a] session yesterday and again failed to take any action. This is simply unacceptable,” DeWine said in statements to the press. “Ohio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting president of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Not doing so is simply unacceptable. This is ridiculous – this is an absurd situation.”
“The goal of this session will be for the General Assembly to pass legislation that ensures the two leading presidential candidates will be on the ballot in Ohio in November, as well as legislation that would prohibit campaign spending by foreign nationals,” DeWine said.
NBC News has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment on DeWine’s comments.
The deadline for this year’s Democratic convention, at which Democrats must certify Biden as their nominee, comes after Ohio’s legal deadline to certify presidential candidates for the November vote. In the past, such issues were addressed with quick legislative solutionsbut several Republican lawmakers refused this year.
The special session will begin on Tuesday.
DeWine expressed anger at his party’s state House lawmakers who did not appear to do significant efforts to put Biden on the ballot.
“The Senate has passed several bills that could remedy this situation,” DeWine said. “Yet the House of Representatives has failed to do so.”
The office of state House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
DeWine has I was in disagreement with the state Legislature dominated by the Republican Party in the past. In 2021, lawmakers voted to limit their authority to issue public health orders. By votes of 23-10 in the Senate and 62-35 in the House, lawmakers overrode his veto of a bill that aimed to give them more power to reject his measures. The repeal triggered a power struggle with DeWine, who required masks and balanced other social distancing regulations with the reopening of schools and businesses.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters criticized the “corrupt politicians of the Republican Party” in a statement following DeWine’s announcement.
“Meanwhile, Republican politicians who hold supermajorities in both chambers of the House must put politics aside and pass a clean bill to get Joe Biden on the ballot,” Walters said. “Despite the Republicans’ political gamesmanship, we are confident that Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio.”
On the other side of the aisle, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex M. Triantafilou agreed with DeWine’s decision to call a special session, “although we are confident that Donald Trump will win decisively.”
Ohio used to be considered a vital swing state, but it has trended right in recent elections.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump won the state with about 53.3% of the vote, compared to Biden’s 45.2%. Four years earlier, Trump won with 51.8% against 43.7% for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. President Barack Obama won the state in 2012, marking the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won Ohio.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
