An African American lawmaker — a Democrat — is charging the Ohio Democratic Party and chairman Chris Redfern with racism and defamation in a lawsuit filed this week, telling reporters there is a “plantation mentality” in the party that treats black lawmakers as a monolithic voting bloc.
Last week, Chris Redfern, head of the Ohio Democratic Party, resigned in disgrace after presiding over sweeping losses of every statewide office, a record-breaking majority of Republicans elected to the Ohio legislature, and the utter collapse of the Democrats’ candidate for governor. Redfern also lost his own seat in the Ohio House on Tuesday. As it turns out, all of that may have only been the tip of the iceberg of the Ohio Democratic Party’s problems.
◼ Related: And the Prize for Biggest Loser, Election Night Edition, Goes To… - Paula Bolyard/PJ Media
There were plenty of contenders for Biggest Loser, Election Night Edition, on Tuesday, but no one had a worse night than Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, who has led the state party since 2005. Redfern presided over not only a sweeping loss of every statewide office, but also the epic failure of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald’s campaign, which made Politico’s list of the Worst Campaigns of 2014. This was the second statewide election in a row that Republicans cleaned Redfern’s clock. To make matters worse for Democrats, Republicans picked up an additional five Ohio House seats, giving them the largest majority held by either party since the number of districts was reduced in 1967.
