Ohio Democratic Party Reaches Out to Veterans and Military Families

The Ohio Democratic Party is taking affirmative steps to establish a base of support among military veterans and military families, a group that has historically skewed Republican.

Today the party announced that it has formed a Veterans and Family Members Caucus. The stated goals for the caucus are providing a political voice for veterans and military family members in Ohio, organizing and mobilizing veterans and military families across the state, and aggressively recruiting more veterans and military family members to run for political office.

The ODP has hired Bill Rausch, a former Army Captain, Iraq War veteran, and native of Marengo, Ohio, as its full-time director, becoming only the second state Democratic party in the nation to have a person in that role. Rausch was awarded The Bronze Star Medal for exceptionally meritorious service while assigned as the Operations and Assessments Officer for the Information Operations Task Force, Multi-National Force - Iraq. "Over the past decade I have been fortunate to be a part of so many great organizations, from the halls of West Point to the streets of Baghdad, and I am especially pleased to continue on that trend by joining the team at the Ohio Democratic Party," said Rausch.

Also today, Democratic elected officials confirmed their commitment to veterans by marking the establishment of the new Ohio Department of Veterans Services. Gov. Ted Strickland (D) signed the legislation today, accompanied by State Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard and member of the Governor’s Transition Team for Veterans Services, and State Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D-Toledo), a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Veterans Affairs that recommended creation of the new cabinet-level department. The legislation was introduced by another Democrat, State Sen. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown), who is a U.S. Air Force Reserve pilot and Iraq veteran.

These efforts by Ohio Democrats to serve and reach out to veterans echo developments at the national level. Democrats led the charge on the new G.I. Bill, passed by overwhelming margins in both the House and Senate, which provides for full higher education benefits for 1.5 million American men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is widely supported by key veterans groups, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern acknowledged the importance of veterans and military families as a political constituency in his remarks on establishing the Veterans and Family Members Caucus. "Veterans and military families will be a crucial swing vote in this election because the Republican rhetoric about 'supporting the troops' has not been supported by the actions of this president or his political party," said Redfern. "The historic, bipartisan G.I. Bill that recently passed both houses of Congress had the support of every single Ohio Democrat, but only one Ohio Republican. That is truly shameful." The only Republican member of Congress from Ohio to support the G.I. Bill was Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Twp), who faces a tough challenge from Vietnam Veteran and Bronze Star recipient Bill O'Neill (D-South Russell).