For a Republican to win the electoral votes in battleground Ohio, they need to carry places like Van Wert County by a landslide.
Donald Trump carried the northwest Ohio county with 76 percent of the vote in 2016, burying Hillary Clinton who barely reached 20 percent.
So it was a bit surprising to see the happy band of Van Wert Democrats raise thousands of dollars in just hours to erect six huge Biden/Harris billboards along the local roadways.
“Hey fellow Democrats, our goal has been met and our campaign is ending as of now,” organizer Jim Clay wrote on the GoFundMe page. “In a little over 24 hrs 93 donors raised $4500! I’ve done several fundraisers in my life but nothing like this.”
In the end, $4,665 was raised for the billboards.
Billboards promoting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris go up around Van Wert, Ohio.
The six billboards are located at various locations: 224 on the way to Decatur, Fox Road by the Senior Citizen Center, 127 by Cooper Foods, two on US 30 for eastbound and westbound traffic, and West Main Street next to Eaton.
They were put up this week and will remain in place through the November election.
“This isn’t about Biden winning Van Wert County,” one local activist told me. “It’s about getting every vote away from Trump in the rural areas. Do that, with a big turnout in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, and Joe wins the state.”
No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio’s electoral votes.
The last candidate to manage winning the presidency without carrying Ohio was John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Correction!!
There are 5 billboards, one additional on 127 by Cooper Foods.
#6 goes up next week along US 30 for eastbound traffic. The current one is for westbound traffic.
Thank you for the coverage!
We have made the correction! Thanks for informing us.
that’s not an actual biden picture it is easy to tell the difference… like that pic the guy has more hair … just one difference
Actually, it is an older stock photo of the former vice president.