WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Joe Biden’s campaign for president tries to win over crucial Midwest voters, several Ohioans played a role in formally nominating the former vice president on Tuesday night.


What You Need To Know

  • As virtual DNC pushes on, Ohio Democrats say the Buckeye State is in play

  • Ohio lawmakers say the Biden-Harris campaign is approaching the Midwest right

  • Democrats hope to win back voters who supported Obama then Trump

“Ohio casts 20 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders and 134 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. OH!” Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) said.

“IO!” responded union organizer Josh Abernathy, who joined Ryan in a video to cast Ohio’s nominating votes for Biden.

Earlier in the evening, Portage County Commissioner Kathleen Clyde was featured in a keynote address delivered by “rising stars” in the Democratic Party.

“Joe knows we can’t have a healthy economy if people can’t afford health care,” Clyde said in the video.

It all underlined the importance of catering to Midwest voters who will help decide whether President Trump or Biden win in November.

“Biden needs to continue to run a campaign through the eyes of workers, pledging to govern through the eyes of workers,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a recent virtual interview.

Brown and fellow Ohio Democrat Rep. Marcia Fudge (D, 11th Congressional District) are working closely with the Biden-Kamala Harris campaign to make sure the Midwest is not forgotten.

In interviews this week, they said they feel like they are making progress that voters will notice — even though Biden and Harris are from the coasts.

“Somewhere down the road, they may not know it’s me, but they will know that there has been work done specific to Ohio that is going to make Ohioans be engaged and want to go out and vote for the Biden/Harris ticket,” Fudge said in a Skype interview on Tuesday.

The Democratic Party is trying to delicately thread a needle that will keep progressives close while bringing back Obama supporters who voted for Trump in 2016.

Ohio lawmakers said the goal of the convention is to project a type of calm that will welcome everyone in.

“Most Americans just want to move on,” Ryan said in a virtual interview on Monday. “We have a president now that throws jet fuel on all these fires. I think that the Biden-Harris combination is a combination that can help us heal and move forward together, as opposed to being so divided.”

No Ohio lawmakers are scheduled to address the convention in primetime, but Obama will speak Wednesday night.