Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio and a Republican, has quietly held public office in his state for more than 40 years, rarely entering the national spotlight.
But his deft handling of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed that, reports the New York Times.
Not only has DeWine’s job-approval standing soared with Ohioans of nearly all political persuasions, but his refusal to follow Donald Trump’s erratic, churlish line on the virus has raised his standing from coast to coast.
“Now, Mr. DeWine is charting a way out of the shutdown, taking cautious steps while facing pressure from business leaders, conservative activists and some Republican lawmakers who vociferously question the economic costs of a state in quarantine,” the Times says.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, DeWine’s conservative credentials were solid, and his early response to the pandemic was tentative.
He is tentative no more.
Even though DeWine relaxed his own stay-at-home orders somewhat on Monday, the Times says, he also imposed new restrictions to blunt the spread of the virus, and announced a sharp increase in testing, in what he dubbed Ohio’s “Responsible Restart.”
“Beginning May 4, the governor said, manufacturers, offices and construction businesses can reopen, followed on May 12 by retail stores and service businesses,” the Times reports. “Masks will be required indoors in workplaces as well as six feet of separation.”
“No mask, no work, no service, no exceptions,” DeWine declared.
And for now, places like restaurants, hair salons and barber shops will remain shuttered.
“People want to get a haircut, people want to go back to restaurants,” DeWine said. “All those things we’re anxious to do as well, but we’ve got to see how we’re going with these numbers. We’ve got to watch it for a few weeks.”
Leaders of his party have called for an immediate end to all business restrictions, and like other governors he has faced angry protests against the shutdown and resulting unemployment.
But DeWine insists on taking it slow.
“Seven weeks into the crisis, Mr. DeWine is being guided by health experts while avoiding partisan fissures over stay-at-home orders that have been encouraged by Mr. Trump, who hopes a rebounding economy will carry him to re-election,” the Times says, adding that DeWine “is the rare Republican official who does not automatically fall in step with Mr. Trump….”
According to a Times database, new coronavirus cases in Ohio have declined for a week; the state has 137 cases per 100,000 residents, which puts it in 26th place among the states — right in the middle of the national pack.
A poll released Monday by Baldwin Wallace University, near Cleveland, found “overwhelming support for the governor” among Ohio voters.
“Eighty-five percent of respondents approved of his handling of the coronavirus, 89 percent said they trusted him as a source of information about the outbreak, and three out of four said he was doing a better job than Mr. Trump,” the Times says.
And that includes top Ohio Democrats.
“Until coronavirus, DeWine was somewhat in the back seat of Ohio governance,” says David Pepper, chairman of the state Democratic Party — but now the governor is at the wheel. “I’ve respected his approach from the beginning because he’s allowed the science and health experts to lead his response,” Pepper says.
