At a rally in Ohio last week, President Donald Trump told his supporters that, "Even if you hate John Husted, even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy, you have to go vote for them." It was a blunt assessment of the GOP’s respective candidates for Senate and governor, but one that Trump, who wins Ohio elections like Tom Brady won Super Bowls, knows is vitally important.Trump would laugh off the remark, saying that nobody really hates the GOP candidates.But he was making an essential point, especially in Ohio, which is the front line of the war between the traditional GOP and Trump’s MAGA base, much of it centered on the question of immigration.To hear from the Chamber of Commerce side, I spoke with Jim Lagos, who has lived his entire 75 years in Springfield, owns several buildings downtown, and has been a central figure in the attempts to revitalize the city’s downtown district.TRUMP TOUTS ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AT OHIO RALLY, URGES VOTERS TO DELIVER GOP MIDTERM WINS"You have to pull the trigger," Jim told me of efforts to bring the very pretty, but very empty downtown back to life.
"My father always used to tell me 'Christopher Columbus took a risk.'"Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen.Jon Husted and former NFL coach Jon Gruden listen as President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler-Vandalia Student Activity Center during a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio.
(Getty Images)Jim, as is customary for civic leaders, had nice things to say about Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, both of whom he has met.But he is all in for Husted and even more so for Ramasamy, who he hopes will slash regulations to speed up the recovery of towns like Springfield.RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION"We have temporary cuts on taxes for small business in Ohio," Jim said.
"But they need to be extended.Big companies got a permanent break, because they are smart enough to donate to both parties."Over ...