A group of progressive candidates in the Hamilton County Democratic Party had hoped to reorganize the party.
But those behind the effort claimed just 43 seats of the roughly 560 precincts in Hamilton County on Election Day, according to unofficial results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
A group of Democrats formed the Cincy Precinct Project late last year because they felt the county party was too focused on money and power in choosing which candidates to endorse. The group recruited candidates to run for precinct executive in their neighborhoods with the hope of creating a progressive caucus within the party to evaluate elected officials and candidates.
Precinct executives make up the central committee of the county party, which votes on party leadership, campaigns for endorsed candidates and makes appointments if a county elected position is vacated.
Jack Cunningham, the project’s founder, said Election Day was successful for the project’s first attempt. He said the project has a lot of learning to do for the next precinct executive election in four years.
“We just feel very confident that this was a great milestone for the progressive movement in Hamilton County, and we are very proud that we got a lot of support from people in the county who believe in us,” he said.
How many Cincy Precinct Project candidates won?
Cunningham said the project recruited 150 candidates, though the project’s website lists 77 candidates. Of those 77, 43 won their precinct primaries. Twenty-two of those candidates won in uncontested primaries.
Cunningham is a political organizer who also worked on Rank the Vote Ohio and Fair Share for Cincy. He lost his own primary to be a precinct executive in Woodlawn to Cofi Higgins, who owns an herbal tea business.
Democrats’ chair said results show ‘enthusiasm’
Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair Alex Linser said the party elected 425 people to the central committee on Election Day, which he believes is a record. There are roughly 560 precincts in Hamilton County, but vacancies mean the number of committee members changes with each election. The party currently has 301 members on its central committee.
“ We saw a huge increase in the number of people who voted in the Democratic primary compared to past midterm election years,” he said. “That combined with electing 425 members to the central committee just shows the enthusiasm and how fired up Democrats are to elect Amy Acton governor and Sherrod Brown senator.”
Linser said the party will likely have its reorganization meeting the last week of May or the first week of June.
The meeting is when new precinct executives are sworn in and the central committee votes on party leadership positions. Linser said it must be held between six and 15 days from the certification of the official election results, but a recount may delay that certification.
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Progressive candidates hope to form caucus in Hamilton County Dems
Reporting by Erin Glynn, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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