Ohio Democrat: Obama Endorsement Would Not Be Helpful

The candidate: Democrat Jennifer Garrison, former state lawmaker. The member: Two-term Rep. Bill Johnson, a Republican from Ohio. The state: In 2012, GOP nominee Mitt Romney carried the district with 55 percent . The candidate’s team : Charlie Hale (campaign manager), Mark Riddle (senior adviser), The Campaign Group (media consultant), Benenson Strategy Group (pollster), New Partners (research), New Blue Interactive (digital strategist)

Former state Rep. Jennifer Garrison said any campaign help from President Barack Obama would not help her chances of winning the 6th District in southeastern Ohio.

“Obama isn’t very popular in my part of the state, and I respect the office of the presidency of the United States,” Garrison said in an Oct. 8 interview with CQ Roll Call. “But I suspect that the president would not be campaigning for someone unless he thought that would be helpful, and in my case it probably would not.”

Obama won the Buckeye State by a slim, 3-point margin, but he lost the 6th District by a dozen points. Still, Garrison argued, her own campaign and background will be enough to defeat Johnson in 2014.

Garrison, a longtime resident of Marietta, Ohio, said she will campaign on the premise that she is a local who knows the 6th District better than Johnson. She accused the congressman of “district shopping” before he ran for the 6th District in 2010.

“He was going to run in the district he’d lived,” Garrison said. “He decided to run in the next district. He just moved into the district two years ago — two and a half years ago. He moved eight doors down from me in Marietta, and I never see him.”

Former Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, tried unsuccessfully to oust Johnson last cycle in a comeback bid. Wilson died earlier this year.

The race is rated Leans Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

This video interview series questions the scores of congressional hopefuls who visit the CQ Roll Call offices each cycle. Responses and questions have been edited and condensed. Have a question for a candidate? Follow us at @RollCallPols to learn about upcoming interviews. Previous candidate interviews: Michigan’s 1st District: Democrat Jerry Cannon Montana’s At-Large District: Democrat John Lewis New York’s 23rd District: Democrat Martha Robertson Senate in North Carolina: Republican Thom Tillis Senate in Alaska: Republican Mead Treadwell Senate in South Carolina: Republican Lee Bright Senate in Iowa: Republican David Young Senate in Kentucky: Republican Matt Bevin Illinois’ 12th District: Republican Mike Bost Idaho’s 2nd District: Republican Bryan Smith Michigan’s 14th District: Democrat Rudy Hobbs California’s 45th District: Republican Mimi Walters Senate in Iowa: Republican Matt Whitaker Senate in Nebraska: Republican Shane Osborn Minnesota’s 6th District: Republican Tom Emmer Minnesota’s 6th District: Democrat Jim Graves Florida’s 2nd District: Democrat Gwen Graham Pennsylvania’s 13th District: Democrat Daylin Leach

Ohio Democrat: Obama Endorsement Would Not Be Helpful

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