NE Ohio Times

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci recently condemned Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's leadership during the pandemic and said that if elected he will prioritize job creation and the economy. 

According to Renacci's release, since the beginning of the pandemic, Ohio has seen the 13th highest increase in unemployment claims during pandemic. According to the data linked, it's 26th. Renacci says that DeWine's decision to shut Ohio down early on, along with "deep blue" states such as California and Illinois, resulted in a loss of almost 900,000 jobs.

Ohio is lagging behind other states with Republican governors in terms of job creation, according to an RNC Research tweet Renacci cited in his newsletter.

"If RINO Mike DeWine had listened to President Trump instead of Dr. Fauci and the liberal media, he wouldn't have been one of the first governors to completely lock down their state," Renacci said. "Instead, DeWine chose to destroy nearly a million jobs and decimate Ohio families' livelihoods while massive corporate retailers got a free pass. Nearly two years later, it's clear DeWine has no real plan to fix it: Ohio is still struggling to climb out of the economic hole DeWine dug us into." 

The Columbus Dispatch reported in March of 2021 that Ohio lost 892,300 jobs in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic while the unemployment rate hit a state-record 16.4% in April of 2020. Only about two-thirds of those jobs had been recovered by the March 2021 article, according to the outlet.

As of November 2021, Ohio's unemployment rate was 4.8%, trailing the U.S. rate of 4.2%, according to the St. Louis FRED.

"As governor, I will apply the same job-creating conservative principles I've learned through my decades of experience in building successful businesses and turn Ohio around to become one of the top states in the country to create jobs," Renacci added. "Most importantly, I will let the world know that Ohio is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!"

Renacci is an accountant and entrepreneur who once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football Team. He won election to U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement, and later endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio governor John Kasich in the 2016 primary for president.

According to Ballotpedia, DeWine will face off against Renacci in the May 3 GOP gubernatorial primary. The winner will go on to appear on ballots for the general election on Nov. 8.