Ohio

Josh Mandel runs Ohio GOP Senate campaign ‘through churches’

Published

3 years ago

April 16, 2022

Josh Mandel runs Ohio GOP Senate campaign ‘through churches’

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (AP) — Earlier than digging into his six-egg omelet at a bustling northeast Ohio diner, Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel stopped to bow his head.

“Bless our meals, our time, our dialog, in Jesus’ identify,” mentioned Pastor J.C. Church, who joined Mandel after a marketing campaign occasion at a neighborhood church. ”Amen.”

The scene encapsulated Mandel’s marketing campaign technique as he competes in a crowded discipline of Republican contenders forward of Ohio’s Might 3 main. He’s a Jewish candidate who makes no secret of his religion, however who’s centering his marketing campaign round evangelical church buildings as he tries to win over non secular, conservative voters.

“Normally, when somebody’s working for U.S. Senate or governor or Congress, they’d go to all of the Republican rubber rooster dinners and clam bakes and hog roasts, stuff like that,” Mandel mentioned in a current interview between marketing campaign stops. “We’re blowing up the playbook. I’m sidestepping the entire Republican Get together teams and, as an alternative, I’m working a marketing campaign by way of church buildings.”

Certainly, Mandel’s marketing campaign is steeped in Christianity. His web site includes a image of a cross and an American flag. He pledges to make choices in Washington with “the Bible in a single hand and the Structure within the different.” And he holds most of his marketing campaign occasions at evangelical church buildings.

Raised within the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Mandel is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, attended B’nai B’rith Perlman summer time camp and was married in Israel. His kids are enrolled at a contemporary orthodox Jewish day faculty the place they examine Torah half the day.

Mandel describes himself as a “proud Jew” and dismisses these, together with some GOP main rivals, who’ve portrayed him as insincere in his emphasis of conservative Christian values.

Some critics say they’re extra involved with Mandel’s historical past of controversial statements. He was briefly kicked off Twitter after working a ballot on which “illegals” would commit essentially the most crimes, “Muslim Terrorists” or “Mexican Gangbangers,” and has characterised Black Lives Matter protesters as “thugs.”

The Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, mentioned Jesus devoted his life to caring for many who had been forsaken and forgotten, “so to make use of his identify to additional divide folks is basically sick.”

“The issue that I’ve is whenever you actually take what’s the Christian religion and switch it right into a political marketing campaign, it’s abusive of the religion,” he mentioned.

Nonetheless, Mandel’s alliance is a part of a broader shift in U.S. politics, with Republicans like former President Donald Trump working to win over conservative Christians by aligning themselves with pro-Israel insurance policies. With Jewish Individuals overwhelmingly voting Democratic, in line with Pew Analysis Heart, some conservative Jewish teams have banded with white evangelical Protestants — who’re extra doubtless than Jews to favor stronger U.S. assist for Israel — to kind new allegiances on the appropriate.

It’s unclear whether or not that shift will profit Mandel. In a serious blow to his marketing campaign, Trump endorsed rival JD Vance on Friday.

Mandel sees no contradiction between his religion and his marketing campaign strategy.

At his occasions, the boyish Marine veteran usually introduces himself by telling the story of how “brave Christians” sheltered his grandmother throughout the Holocaust, saving her life. And he explains that, on the subject of his assist for Israel, he usually has extra in widespread with evangelical Christians than he does with liberal Jews.

“From my perspective, you already know for me, I’m a proud American, I’m a proud Marine Corps vet and I’m a proud Jew,” he defined. “And once I take a look at the U.S.-Israel relationship, I believe liberal Jews in America must be ashamed of themselves for supporting anti-Israel teams like J Avenue. And I believe the perfect pals of the U.S.-Israel relationship in America are evangelical Christians.”

Mandel touts his opposition to abortion and a perception that “there is no such thing as a separation between church and state,” signaling a willingness to assist insurance policies comparable to prayer in public faculties and allowing non-public companies to show away clients based mostly on their non secular beliefs.

“, folks need religion instilled within the classroom, within the office, in all elements of society,” Mandel mentioned.

Fred Zeidman, a longtime GOP donor and Mandel supporter who labored on Jewish outreach for a number of Republican presidential campaigns, famous that evangelicals are among the many get together’s most constant voters.

“If you wish to win an election, you’ve obtained to go the place the voters are,” he mentioned. “So I believe it’s important for him, if he needs to win, that he lets the faith-based group know that he thinks like they do. He doesn’t suppose like 80% of the Jewish group that votes Democrat it doesn’t matter what.”

The technique has additionally garnered him consideration. In a world the place tweets equal visibility for a politician, Mandel’s explicit tackle non secular matters gained him greater than 27,000 mentions on Twitter from October to December — greater than religion-related mentions for all different candidates, Republican or Democrat, mixed, in line with an evaluation for The Related Press by Zignal Labs.

Stephanie A. Martin, a professor of communications at Southern Methodist College in Dallas, mentioned Mandel’s embrace of Christianity might serve to neutralize worries amongst Republicans about his Jewishness in a rustic the place antisemitism continues to be a potent pressure.

When Mandel describes his platform as defending “the Judeo-Christian bedrock of America,” he’s invoking what students time period “founders rhetoric,” she mentioned, which creates “a type of narrative logic that positions evangelicals because the rightful heirs and the rightful defenders of genuine American values.”

“It’s a really good option to orient round a shared understanding of the founding narrative and what it means to have a standard outlook on what the nation means,” she mentioned, noting that imaginative and prescient leaves little room for variations of historical past that aren’t white, patriarchal and Christian.

A few of Mandel’s longtime Jewish pals and supporters described feeling misplaced once they first attended his occasions. However they mentioned they got here to see the evangelicals as a pure base of assist for Mandel, given their shared assist for Israel, even when his efforts might make others within the Jewish group really feel uncomfortable.

“I wouldn’t say it feels bizarre, however it undoubtedly feels totally different. However a fantastic distinction,” mentioned Yoel Mayerfeld, a longtime pal and supporter who lives in Mandel’s native Beachwood, which boasts the second largest Jewish inhabitants per capita exterior Israel. Mayerfeld, who’s Jewish, mentioned he’d been to Mandel occasions the place he’d met non secular and evangelical Christians who share a lot of his values.

“I believe it’s actually distinctive. I believe it’s actually lovely in some ways,” he mentioned.

Wealthy Soclof, one other Jewish Mandel pal and supporter, mentioned he “was admittedly a bit hesitant, not concerning the idea, however even what it’s going to be like once I obtained to this occasion.” However he, too, was pleasantly shocked, particularly by the truth that Mandel has not tried to downplay his personal faith.

“I like it. I can’t inform you if I’d have liked it 10 years in the past,” he mentioned. “He’s discovering this synergy, in a artistic means, by ’working it by way of church buildings’ and being embraced by them.”

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Ohio

Ohio State Rallies Back from 13-Point Halftime Deficit to Upset No. 11 Purdue, 73-70

Published

7 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Ohio State Rallies Back from 13-Point Halftime Deficit to Upset No. 11 Purdue, 73-70

A great week for Ohio State sports continued at Mackey Arena on Tuesday night.

The Ohio State men’s basketball team trailed by 13 points at halftime but rallied back to defeat No. 11 Purdue, 73-70, for its biggest win of Big Ten play so far.

TEAM	1	2	FINAL
OHIO STATE	28	45	73
#11 PURDUE	41	28	70

Ohio State never led in the first half as the Boilermakers took a 41-28 lead into halftime. But the Buckeyes started the second half on a 17-2 run to take a 45-43 lead. Purdue went on a 14-8 run from there to pull back ahead by six, but a 12-0 run that included a trio of 3-pointers from Micah Parrish propelled the Buckeyes to a 68-59 lead.

Purdue tightened the game back up with an eight-point run that cut Ohio State’s lead to one, but a jumper by John Mobley Jr. with 29 seconds left extended the Buckeyes’ lead back to three, and the Buckeyes were able to hold on as the teams traded fouls and free throws from there.

Parrish led the Buckeyes with 22 points while Devin Royal added 16 and Bruce Thornton added 11. Trey Kaufman-Renn led Purdue in defeat with 26 points and seven rebounds.

OHIO STATE	STAT	PURDUE
73	POINTS	70
24-45 (53.3%)	FGM-FGA (PCT.)	26-54 (48.1%)
11-23 (47.8%)	3PM-3PA (PCT.)	3-9 (33.3%)
14-17 (82.7%)	FTM-FTA (PCT.)	15-19 (78.9%)
18	TURNOVERS	11
28	TOTAL REBOUNDS	26
6	OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS	9
22	DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS	17
10	BENCH POINTS	8
3	BLOCKS	0
5	STEALS	5
13	ASSISTS	15

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Buckeyes, who are now 11-8 overall for the season and 3-5 in Big Ten play.

Ohio State will look to keep the positive momentum going Monday when it hosts Iowa at Value City Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on FS1.

Game Notes

Ohio State freshman forward Colin White suffered an injury in the first half and did not return to the game. He was in a walking boot coming out of halftime.
Mobley left the game after a hit to the head in the first half but was able to return for the second half.
It was the first road win for Ohio State at Purdue since Feb. 7, 2018.

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Ohio

Ohio State football fans storm ‘The Horseshoe’ to celebrate national championship

Published

15 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Ohio State football fans storm ‘The Horseshoe’ to celebrate national championship

Ohio State football broke through, and then its fans broke in.

The Buckeyes won college football’s national championship Monday and the celebration into the wee hours of the night included an impromptu Ohio Stadium field storming by a group of intrepid fans back in Columbus, Ohio.

Students began flooding onto campus almost as soon as Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame was over, the Columbus Dispatch reported, despite frigid temperatures in the Midwest. A crowd chanting “O-H,” “I-O,” eventually converged on “The Horseshoe” and successfully forced their way inside the venerable home of Ohio State football.

Videos shared on social media show swarms of fans ‒ some with flags, some dressed for the weather and some not wearing shirts ‒ holding up their phones to chronicle the scene as they walked en masse through the stadium tunnel and then spilled onto the familiar turf. Witnesses said police officers got in on the fun, taking photos for the fans reveling in the Buckeyes’ first national championship in football since 2014.

“It’s crazy. I was surprised that the cops are so supportive,” Natalie Freihammer, an Ohio State senior who took part in the celebration, told The Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio State underwent a remarkable turnaround over the past two months, rebounding from a loss to Michigan in its regular season finale to reel off four-straight wins and emerge on top of the sport once more after the first 12-team College Football Playoff. Losing to the Wolverines again led to more scrutiny about coach Ryan Day and the disappointment lingered into the Buckeyes’ first-round playoff game against Tennessee, when a larger-than-normal contingent of Volunteers’ fans were inside Ohio Stadium.

But Ohio State’s title run has muted those concerns and the fans returned in droves again Tuesday to welcome the Buckeyes back from Atlanta. The festivities will continue during an official celebration with the team and fans inside Ohio Stadium on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET, according to the university’s athletic department. Admission and parking are free, with more details to be released this week.

“There was a point where there was a lot of people that counted us out,” Day said after Monday’s game, “and we just kept swinging and kept fighting.”

Perhaps a few of those doubters were among the people breaking into Ohio Stadium after what these Buckeyes pulled off.

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Ryan Day shuts up critics with Ohio State title. ‘What they gonna say now?’

Published

23 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Ryan Day shuts up critics with Ohio State title. ‘What they gonna say now?’

Ryan Day becomes third active college football coach to win a national championship.
Team meeting with Ryan Day after Michigan loss galvanizes Ohio State.
Buckeyes players take up for Ryan Day, who won his first national championship in Year 6, same as Kirby Smart.

ATLANTA – Ryan Day stood at the back of the stage behind a wall of his jubilant players, beaming like a kid while a confetti cannon blasted paper into the air.

Ohio State’s coach earned that grin. He deserved that joy, after a season that brought unrelenting pressure, unapologetic blowback and, finally, triumph. Day is a national champion, one just three active coaches with that distinction.

“What they gonna say now?” Ohio State senior safety Lathan Ransom said, before exalting his coach.

The critics can’t say squat now, after Ohio State’s 34-23 win against Notre Dame, and the trolls crawled back into their caves. Day shut them up after his Buckeyes laid waste to the field in this College Football Playoff.

“Seeing Coach Day hoist up that trophy after seeing all the flak he got, all the, excuse my language, (crap) he’s gotten, it’s just amazing as a player to see our coach in the position that we know he should be,” senior offensive lineman Donovan Jackson said.

And what of Ohio State’s “lunatic fringe,” as Kirk Herbstreit dubs them? Those Bucks nuts probably will pretend they never wanted Day’s head on a platter just two months ago and chanted for his ouster after he suffered his fourth straight loss to Michigan.

“It’s funny now, right?” Ransom said, when a reporter reminded him of those angry chants after the Michigan loss. “We never stopped believing in Coach Day. We always had Coach Day’s back, and he always had our back.”

Don’t confuse this as the story of a plucky eighth-seeded underdog getting off the mat. Nobody could match Ohio State’s talent. This is the story of an embattled coach and a two-loss team realizing their potential.

“We stuck together,” Day said. “We hung in there like a family does when things get hard.”

Ohio State plays to billing after team meeting with Ryan Day

The annals of history might indicate that Ohio State’s loss to Michigan became a turning point, but Buckeyes players point to a team meeting that occurred days after that result as the fork in the road.

Day joined his players for a meeting that became an open forum to clear the air, offer critiques and unify behind a common goal.

Ransom won’t detail the specifics of what was said within those four walls, but he’ll tell you this much: Day let himself be vulnerable in that meeting. The Buckeyes respected him that much more because of that.

“Anything that anyone wanted to say, they got a chance to say it,” Ransom said. “Coach Day took some critiques from the players. That shows how great of a leader he is. That’s why we go out there and we play so hard for him.”

Try to imagine Nick Saban or Kirby Smart, for that matter, opening himself up to player critiques throughout a meeting. Yeah, I’m not seeing it. There’s more than one avenue to becoming a championship coach, although the common thread between Saban, Smart and Day is that all are elite recruiters who magnetize talent.

“Coach Saban was a more stoic person. Coach Day has a different type of relationship with the players, and I respect him for that,” said Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs, an Alabama transfer who touts the virtues of both coaches. “You’ve got to run your organization as who you are.”

Outside the program, the pitchforks came out after that Michigan loss. The headlines got spicy, the hot boards filled with potential replacements for a job not open, and an athletic director, for perhaps the first time in the sport’s history, needed to offer a vote of confidence for a coach who’d lost just 10 games throughout six seasons.

Inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility, the confidence remained strong in Day.

“We trusted in him,” senior defensive end JT Tuimoloau said.

The Buckeyes trusted, too, that despite two regular-season losses, they possessed a national championship team.

“Getting an opportunity to get in the playoffs, that’s all we needed,” Jackson said. “We just needed our foot in the door.”

Ryan Day nears Kirby Smart territory

Day, 45, is a year younger than Smart when the Georgia coach won his first national championship. Day’s first national title arrived in Year 6, just as Smart’s did, but Smart never faced an onslaught of criticism like that directed at Day after Michigan stunned the Buckeyes in November.

Couple of explanations for that that. Georgia does not define its self-worth based on the result of one game. Also, Smart wasn’t replacing Urban Meyer, and, even before his first national title, he lifted Georgia to heights Mark Richt never reached.

Day, in contrast, got shackled with the reputation that he started the job on third base, inheriting a blue blood in fine shape from Urban Meyer, and he couldn’t advance the remaining 90 feet to home.

Truth is, Day’s become a home-run hire, and if we conducted a draft of active college football coaches tomorrow, who would come off the board before Day, other than perhaps Smart? This list is short. It’s getting shorter.

Day built, developed and retained an unmatched level of talent. Yes, Ohio State’s NIL war chest helped, but the Buckeyes didn’t win this crown with an army of mercenary rent-a-players. The roster’s tentacles trace to Day stacking one elite recruiting class after another. Senior standouts found throughout Ohio State’s offensive and defensive starting units trace to Day’s 2020 and ’21 recruiting classes, before NIL came aboard.

The coordinator combo of Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles highlighted an elite coaching staff that schemed up a beautiful plan for this playoff romp, after Ohio State’s perplexing offensive approach against Michigan.

Day, in the offseason, completed the roster puzzle with portal prizes like Downs and quarterback Will Howard. As Howard peaked in the postseason, Day served a reminder of his deft hand developing quarterbacks.

Howard was a decent player at Kansas State, but he transcended into an ace throughout this playoff run, bringing his A game in four straight games while the Buckeyes averaged more than 36 points against four of the nation’s top defenses. That culminated with Howard completing his first 13 passes throughout a master class of quarterbacking against a Notre Dame team that failed to defend Ohio State’s vaunted assembly of wide receivers.

The Buckeyes buried Tennessee, routed Oregon, held firm against Texas and bent Notre Dame with a stretch of dominance that relegated the Michigan loss to a curious footnote in the story of a national champion.

“We’re resilient, man,” Jackson said. “At the beginning of this run, everyone had us dead. Everyone had us thrown aside.”

They’d thrown aside the coach, too, but what are they saying now?

Nothing left to say, except that Day persevered, and now he can smile the way champions do, while confetti blasts into the air.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

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