“The race is on to replace JD Vance in the U.S. Senate,” WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau noted Wednesday, following the Trump/Vance ticket’s presidential election victory. “[Ohio Governor Mike] DeWine has a big decision to make. Vance will need to resign from his coveted Senate seat, and the governor will appoint his replacement.”
Who DeWine will pick is crucial to the interests of gun owners and Trau has compiled a list and overview analysis of names being considered that is admittedly “not exhaustive” but nonetheless “reflects the views of two dozen Ohio political insiders.”
“I’ll look for someone who wants to get things done every day and will stay focused on it,” DeWine had told Trau in July. “We also have to have someone who will be able to stay there a while.” And, according to Republican strategist Bob Clegg, he may “choose someone with more in common with his own ideology and mild-mannered personality.”
That would not be the best outcome for a number of reasons. Note the qualities of “get[ting] things done” is silent on what things, and DeWine’s on again/off again affinities for citizen disarmament edicts show a politician who views the right to arms as a political expedient rather than a keystone for freedom. In short, he’s gone from engendering headlines like “Principled Statesman Mike DeWine Endorsed by Brady Campaign” to being endorsed by NRA. After a mass shooting in Dayton, he returned to his gun-grabber roots stumping for supposedly “bipartisan” infringements, including raising the firearm purchasing age, “expanded background checks,” and so-called “safety protection orders.”
With that background in mind, gun owners need to pay close attention to who the likely candidates are, and how likely they are to protect and promote their interests:
Vivek Ramaswamy: The entrepreneur/Republican primary presidential candidate has been described as a “Second Amendment absolutist” who “endorses gun ownership for convicted felons,” which, if they’ve been deemed safe enough to release back into society hardly seems the radical danger prohibitionists make it out to be. He is also a close and longtime friend of Vance, which would give him a special ear in White House circles.
Jane Timken: “Frederick Douglass said: ‘Our rights rest in three boxes. The ballot-box, the jury-box, and the cartridge-box.’ I own guns, and I’ll always fight for your Constitutional right to do the same,” Timlen pledged on her campaign website. “‘Shall not be infringed’ means shall not be infringed, and as your Senator, I will fight to stop Democrats’ unconstitutional push to take away our Second Amendment rights.”
Matt Dolan: “With RINO-Republicans like Ohio’s Matt Dolan, who needs Democrats?” this correspondent asked in a 2022 AmmoLand article. In addition to being “described by CNN as a ‘non-Trump Republican’,” Dolan supports a host of gun prohibitions including raising the purchase age, red flags, and ending private sales.
Troublingly, this is the candidate DeWine endorsed in the race won by Bernie Moreno to unseat Sherrod Brown.
Frank LaRose: “There are a lot of good Second Amendment advocates in Ohio who support our agenda. However, Frank LaRose is a longtime partner who has always gone the extra mile to improve our laws and protect the rights of Ohio’s 4 million gun owners. He’ll be a great senator representing us in Washington, D.C.,” Dean Rieck, Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association noted in February. “LaRose is one of just a handful of candidates to ever boast of a 100% score from BFA PAC, earning him not only an ‘A’ grade for gun rights, but also a well-deserved endorsement.”
Robert Sprague: “Buckeye Firearms Association PAC endorses Robert Sprague for Treasurer of State in the 2018 general election,” the state gun rights group informed Ohio gun owners. “In his eight years in the Ohio House, Sprague has racked up a perfect 13-0 voting record. He has supported every bill BFA has advanced.” And per a 2017 Ohio Gun Owners post, Sprague was a Constitutional Carry bill co-sponsor.
Dave Joyce: He was my congressman until redistricting. NRA gave him an A grade and called him “a solidly pro-gun candidate with a record of support on Second Amendment issues.” Up to a point. By supporting Democrats on the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” he’s placed himself in the “can’t trust anymore” camp.
Mike Carey: “Criminals, the mentally ill, and individuals who are underage should be prevented from buying firearm. It is also important that the laws already on the books are enforced. In addition, maintaining and integrating the databases used to conduct background checks is another important tool to keep guns out of [illegal] hands,” he asserted in 2022. “The Constitution IS absolute and the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Strict gun regulations only make things harder for law abiding citizens. In Congress, Mike is working to protect our 2nd Amendment rights by co-sponsoring bills like the RIFLE Act. Mike Carey will always defend your right to bear arms and oppose any legislation that infringes on your rights.”
How he squares enforcing existing Intolerable Acts with “shall not be infringed” has been left unsaid.
That’s the short list, and it may not be the last of it. For now, there are several good choices for gun owners that DeWine can make, a few problematic ones, and one that’s completely unacceptable, his previous pick Dolan.
Of them all, Ramaswamy is the one with the most national prominence and his relationship with Vance is an added bonus. The main problem: In the above-linked Forbes article, he opined that “background checks are ‘absolutely a legitimate part of the process,’” which disregards that they are a prior restraint infringement.
Per the National Institute of Justice, their “Effectiveness depends on the ability to reduce straw purchasing, requiring gun registration…” And per the Bureau of Justice Statistics, criminals don’t get their guns that way anyway.
The thing is, even with the Trump victory, don’t look for elimination of the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) to be on the table, and none of the other names on the list have called for its repeal, or are likely to. As always, our work to educate not just the public, but legislators receptive to listening, will be ongoing. It’s up to us to ensure they do and to expose those who don’t.
You don’t need to be an Ohio gun owner to weigh in— after all, a senator’s votes affect us all.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
