Same-sex marriage plaintiff Obergefell runs for Ohio office

Aug 2, 2022, 5:23 AM | Updated: 5:04 pm

Ohio House Democratic Leader Allison Russo, left, and Ohio House House District 89 Candidate Jim Ob...

Ohio House Democratic Leader Allison Russo, left, and Ohio House House District 89 Candidate Jim Obergefell, right, laugh during a meeting of the Democratic Women of Erie County at Strickfaden Park, Monday, July 18, 2022, in Sandusky, Ohio. Obergefell is hoping that Democrats can win back seats at the Ohio Statehouse and beyond this fall with a message grounded in his landmark U.S. Supreme Court fight for same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

(AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) — Jim Obergefell, whose landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationally, is hoping he and fellow Democrats can make gains in the Ohio Statehouse this year with a message grounded in equality.

“It really just all comes down to: Can’t we all just get along and treat each other like human beings? Can’t we be decent people?” the celebrity plaintiff -turned-Ohio House candidate told the Democratic Women of Erie County on a recent summer evening. “And we all deserve to be part of ‘We the People.'”

Obergefell, 56, won in his unopposed primary Tuesday for a state legislative seat representing Ohio’s Lake Erie coast through Ottawa and Erie counties. He’s now looking toward a November faceoff against second-term Republican Rep. D.J. Swearingen, 36, a Sandusky attorney who has focused his campaign on “kitchen table” issues.

The race marks the first time that Obergefell has moved from activism into a political run for office. He’s campaigning at a sensitive time for the LGBTQ rights movement after the U.S. Supreme Court in June repealed the constitutional right to abortion, raising fears that other rights may also fall away, including same-sex marriage.

With that in mind, the U.S. House overwhelmingly voted last month to approve legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriages. The legislation is being considered in the Senate.

Obergefell became among the most visible figures in the marriage equality movement after he and his longtime partner, John Arthur, who was dying, flew to Maryland and were wed in a plane on a tarmac because the Cincinnati-area couple couldn’t do so legally in Ohio. Arthur died a few months later, and Obergefell’s fight to be listed as spouse on the death certificate led to his role in the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

In Ohio now, Obergefell’s pitch for inclusion is running into a heated political environment. The primary election itself had to be split because of a contentious and protracted political mapmaking fight, with a federal panel of judges ultimately setting the date and imposing maps that a different court has declared unconstitutional. Legal battles continue.

GOP mapmakers redrew the 89th House District that Obergefell is seeking in the face of his candidacy, and the district now leans nearly 57% Republican, according to Dave’s Redistricting App, a political mapmaking website. That should favor Swearingen in a state that former President Donald Trump twice won by wide margins and where Republicans control every branch of government.

Obergefell appears to remain a threat, however. He is the best-known state legislative candidate on Ohio’s 2022 ballot and among its top legislative fundraisers so far, having outraised Swearingen more than 4 to 1, according to campaign finance reports.

That’s in part because his popularity as a civil rights icon has drawn support from a host of deep-pocketed national progressive groups — including the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the Human Rights Campaign and Democracy for America — as well as in-state donors.

Obergefell said he believes his party can reach moderate Republicans and independents with their message of inclusiveness if voters “see the Democratic Party being obvious, being clear, being direct on what they believe in and what they will fight to protect and support.”

But Swearingen said district voters he’s spoken to are not focused on social issues, but on pocketbook ones.

“What I continue to hear from people is gas, groceries, feeding their families — very kitchen table issues that are very relevant and important to them. They’re immediately in front of them,” he said. “The social issues do not appear to be very high on the list.”

That’s not the case for Darlene Walk, a Sandusky native and vice president of the Democratic Women of Erie County. She said she plans to vote for Obergefell and is encouraging friends of all partisan persuasions to do the same.

“We’re ready for a change, and you have to accept people as they are, where they are and what they do and what they stand for,” she said. “And he stands for progress.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              Ohio state Rep. DJ Swearingen, left, smiles as he talks to a supporter during a Get out the Vote Super Saturday rally in Port Clinton, Ohio, Saturday, July 30, 2022. Republican Swearingen, a Sandusky attorney who has focused his campaign on "kitchen table" issues, will face Democrat Jim Obergefell, who is unopposed in a primary Tuesday, Aug. 2 for the state legislative seat representing Ohio's Lake Erie coast through Ottawa and Erie counties. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
            
              Ohio state Rep. DJ Swearingen takes part in a Get out the Vote super rally, July 30, 2022 in Port Clinton, Ohio. Republican Swearingen, a Sandusky attorney who has focused his campaign on "kitchen table" issues, will face Democrat Jim Obergefell, who is unopposed in a primary Tuesday, Aug. 2 for the state legislative seat representing Ohio's Lake Erie coast through Ottawa and Erie counties. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
            
              Ohio House House District 89 Candidate Jim Obergefell speaks during a meeting of the Democratic Women of Erie County at Strickfaden Park, Monday, July 18, 2022, in Sandusky, Ohio.   (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)
            
              Ohio House Democratic Leader Allison Russo, left, and Ohio House House District 89 Candidate Jim Obergefell, right, laugh during a meeting of the Democratic Women of Erie County at Strickfaden Park, Monday, July 18, 2022, in Sandusky, Ohio. Obergefell is hoping that Democrats can win back seats at the Ohio Statehouse and beyond this fall with a message grounded in his landmark U.S. Supreme Court fight for same-sex marriage.   (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

AP

(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

Associated Press

Florida police search for 3 gunmen who wounded 9 at crowded beach on Memorial Day

Police are responding to a shooting near the beach broadwalk in Hollywood, Florida.

2 days ago

Crew members assemble the main stage ahead of the 2023 Scripps Nations Spelling Bee on Sunday, May ...

Associated Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.

2 days ago

FILE - Gabby Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt, wipes a tear from her face during a news conference o...

Associated Press

Mother of man who killed Gabby Petito said in letter she would help son ‘dispose of a body’

The mother of the man who killed Gabby Petito told her son in an undated letter that she would “dispose of a body” if needed because she loved him so much, according to copies of the note shared publicly for the first time this week by attorneys for Petito's parents.

5 days ago

A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags in front of e...

Associated Press

5 things to know about Memorial Day including its controversies

Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.

5 days ago

FILE - This artist sketch depicts the trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, left, as he test...

Associated Press

Officers describe chaos, fear on Jan. 6 as judge weighs prison time for Oath Keepers’ Rhodes

Police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and public servants who fled the mob's attack told a judge on Wednesday that they are still haunted by what they endured, as the judge prepares to hand down sentences in a landmark Capitol riot case.

6 days ago

Pride month merchandise is displayed at the front of a Target store in Hackensack, N.J., Wednesday,...

Associated Press

Target on the defensive after removing LGBTQ+-themed products

Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

7 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Same-sex marriage plaintiff Obergefell runs for Ohio office