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David Skolnick

Portman exit brings options

To most Democrats, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is a spineless partisan hack who blindly follows what other Republicans, particularly Donald Trump, tell him to do. To some Trump supporters, Portman has not given enough support to the former president, particularly after the 2020 election results came in, even though he voted 88 percent of the time with him, didn’t vote to impeach in the first Senate trial and almost certainly won’t in the upcoming one. And to longtime Republicans, Portman, R-Terrace Park, is viewed as a smart statesman who was able to cut through the partisan divide he ...

Portman exit brings options

To most Democrats, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is a spineless partisan hack who blindly follows what other Republicans, particularly Donald Trump, tell him to do. To some Trump supporters, Portman has not given enough support to the former president, particularly after the 2020 election results came in, even though he voted 88 percent of the time with him, didn’t vote to impeach in the first Senate trial and almost certainly won’t in the upcoming one. And to longtime Republicans, Portman, R-Terrace Park, is viewed as a smart statesman who was able to cut through the partisan divide he ...

Nation likely to remain divided

The nation is deeply divided and despite rhetoric to come together, don’t expect that to happen. Many Republicans still dislike — even hate — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and feel the same about Joe Biden. Plenty of Democrats despise George W. Bush, and I can’t print what several think of Donald Trump. We have been a nation of partisan division for a very long time, and while numerous Democrats and Republicans called for unity with Biden’s inauguration, there are hard feelings on both sides that won’t ever go away. There is a large number of Republicans who still ...

Ins, outs of party leadership

Kevin Wyndham said he is resigning Feb. 1 as Trumbull County Republican Party chairman primarily because the job is too demanding. This is the third time a Mahoning Valley political party chairman left the position early in recent years. Mark Munroe retired Feb. 21, 2019, as Mahoning County Republican Party chairman after nine years, saying it “is not an easy job. You make a decision and you make half of your supporters unhappy. Then you make another decision, and you make the other half unhappy.” Soon after, Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras resigned ...

Walters expected to lead Ohio Dems

The Ohio Democratic Party’s executive committee will meet Thursday to select a new leader and will elect the first woman to the position. It’s almost certain Liz Walters, Summit County Council president and former state party executive and political director, has the necessary votes. While there are five other candidates in the race, the only serious challenger to Walters is Antoinette Wilson, a Columbus political consultant with a lot of wins under her belt. The biggest shakeup in the race occurred when Lou Gentile, a former state legislator from Steubenville, withdrew as ...

More money helped GOP victories

One lesson from the recent state legislative races in the Mahoning Valley is Republicans in Ohio are better funded and better organized than their Democratic counterparts. Despite the $1.3 billion nuclear power plants bailout scandal involving the former speaker of the House and four other Republicans that was expected to hurt that political party, voters backed the GOP. Republicans, who already had a super majority, actually picked up seats in the General Assembly. That included a House and a Senate seat in Trumbull County. Republicans nearly grabbed the other House spot in ...