{"id":367,"date":"2016-03-16T20:39:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T20:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/campaignbattleground\/?p=367"},"modified":"2016-03-16T20:46:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T20:46:33","slug":"ohio-plays-critical-role-in-a-most-unusual-campaign-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/campaignbattleground\/2016\/03\/16\/ohio-plays-critical-role-in-a-most-unusual-campaign-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio plays critical role in a most unusual campaign season"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The current brand of presidential politics has created a historic campaign season that has surprised political experts and the Washington establishment, Dr. John Green told an audience today at the 2016 Power Players Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my career, I\u2019ve never seen a presidential nominating campaign like this one,\u201d Green said at the event, presented by Smart Business<\/em> magazine. Green is director of The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders have ridden a surprising wave of anger against so-called establishment candidates, Green said. \u201cI didn\u2019t see it coming either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohio\u2019s March 15 primary was critical to both Gov. John Kasich and Hillary Clinton but for different reasons, he pointed out. Ohio\u2019s governor had to carry his own state to continue in the GOP race, and Clinton had to regain the momentum she lost when Sanders beat her in Michigan on March 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cKasich and Clinton came into Ohio with must wins,\u201d Green said. \u201cA week ago, Clinton was surprised in Michigan. The Clinton campaign had already begun looking forward to the campaign in the fall. That\u2019s a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor both parties, if you carry Ohio, that bodes very well for the fall election,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Now, both the Republicans and Democrats can expect a protracted battle for their party\u2019s respective nomination before the summer conventions.<\/p>\n

The Republican establishment faces a critical decision, as it has to determine if it will support Trump, particularly if he comes to the GOP convention in Cleveland just short of the 1,237 delegates required for the nomination.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe GOP leadership has yet to sort itself out,\u201d Green said. The decision could lead to a contested convention that could damage the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump has the potential to scramble the usual electoral coalitions that we have in the United States,\u201d Green added.<\/p>\n

Among Green\u2019s other observations on Trump: \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n