A farmer on a tractor sprays soybean crops. (Photo by Westend61/Getty Images)
Christopher Gibbs wants to start rebranding the Ohio Democratic Party by the time fall rolls around.
“I’ve got corn to shuck, and beans to cut, and cattle to take care of,” the Shelby County resident said.
Ohioans with those same priorities, based around the hard work of the harvest, are the people Gibbs thinks can bring about more success for Democrats in the state.
As the newly elected chair of the Ohio Democratic Party’s rural caucus, it’s the perspective of the rural voter that Gibbs wants to hear from the most right now.
“Rural Ohio and rural America in general, I believe, is an untapped resource, certainly for the Democratic Party,” he told the Capital Journal on Tuesday. “There’s a feeling that it’s been ignored.”
The 2020 U.S. Census found that Ohio had the fourth largest rural population in the country, with nearly 2.8 million residents in the state’s rural areas.
Gibbs is the owner of more than 500 acres of Ohio farmland, and also happens to be the former leader of the Shelby County Republicans. He thinks he can use both of those perspectives as a bridge to voters who might have fallen out with the Democratic Party in the state, or who did’t think it was for them in the first place.
“For far too long, I don’t believe voters have been heard in rural America,” Gibbs said. “Many times, candidates blow into an area with ideas and policies, but they don’t listen to the voters.”
The Ohio Democratic Party is trying to figure out its next steps in a state with a Republican supermajority in the Ohio General Assembly, and conservative candidates readying themselves for gubernatorial and other races in the next few years.
Also on the horizon is a redraw of the state’s congressional district maps that will determine competitive races on the federal level.
That could play into the Democrats’ strategies and their likelihood of success as Ohio’s former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown reportedly confirmed a run for another Senate seat. He’s eyeing the seat currently held by Republican (and former lieutenant governor) Jon Husted.
Brown was ousted from his long-time seat in the U.S. last year by Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the race.
In his new position, Gibbs and fellow caucus members Jordan Horstman and Troy Scott plan to travel across rural Ohio for a listening tour to “identify, discuss and address rural issues and accurately represent the needs of rural Democrats at all levels,” according to a press release announcing the new leadership and the listening tour.
“These individuals will serve as vital liaisons between the rural caucus and local Democratic parties and clubs, ensuring that every voice in the rural community is heard and represented,” the release stated.
The details of the tour haven’t been ironed out. Gibbs said the caucus is working with a consultant to choose venues and organize the process.
But the main goals of the listening tour are already formed in Gibbs’ head: to give a venue to current Democrats, disillusioned Democrats, “legacy Republicans” and independent voters.
“We need to be honest brokers, we need to be on the ground and we need to show up,” he said.
The “town-hall-ish” events will be centered around public comment on the core values of rural Ohioans, the expectations voters in that area have for their candidates and even their perspective on the Democratic Party.
“Good or bad, I want to hear it all, I want the truth,” Gibbs said. “Something about rural voters is if you ask them a question and shut up, you’re going to get the answer if you listen.”
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As for those “legacy Republicans” Gibbs wants to see at the events, he thinks there’s a group on the GOP side who aren’t happy with what their party is doing, and are “out there looking for a place that is safe to park their vote.”
To reach a place where every perspective is heard, the rural caucus leader said the needs common to all rural Ohioans must be a part of the discussion, from good schools and health care access to the role of the agriculture community, a piece the Ohio Democratic Party has perhaps not been good at connecting with in the past.
After seven years as the chair of the Shelby County Republican Party, Gibbs said he can also speak the language of the Republicans he thinks could find their fit on the other side of the aisle.
“I speak legacy Republican, I do not speak MAGA,” he said.
The Capital Journal reached out to the Ohio Republican Party to ask about any planned outreach to rural voters. The party has not responded as of Tuesday afternoon.
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