Finding success for the Ohio Democratic Party will require input from Democrats across Ohio that gives them a sense of ownership in how the party operates, newly elected party chair David Pepper said.
Pepper was elected chairman Tuesday by members of the party’s executive committee. He will assume the post in January, replacing Chris Redfern, who announced election night he would step down.
As chairman, Pepper will be challenged to rebuild a party that was swept in statewide elections in 2010 and again in 2014, despite the state voting twice for Democratic President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.
In November’s election, Republicans maintained their strong majority in the Ohio Senate and collected a handful of seats in the Ohio House to push their advantage to nearly 2-to-1. Among the House seats Republicans won was the one Redfern holds in Ottawa County.
Since the election, Pepper has been traveling the state, courting support for the party chairmanship and listening with others to what Democrats think needs to be done to build a stronger party.
At those meetings he has heard “a lot of input from people all across the state who are frustrated we aren’t doing better,” Pepper said in an interview Tuesday.
The listening needs to continue, Pepper said, as the party looks toward election seasons in 2015 and 2016.
“One of the reasons we want to keep reaching out to people is no one knows better than those on the ground.”
To build success at the ballot box, Democrats will need to do two things — better identify and discuss issues voters identify with and then get them energized for voting, Pepper said.
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