COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, one of the state’s best-known politicians, and Democrat Richard Cordray, who headed a federal consumer protection agency in the Obama administration, are headed into their third career match-up this fall after a raucous roller-coaster of a primary season left them damaged as they seek to replace Republican Gov. John Kasich.
November’s general election will feature two moderates who fought off challenges from the Republican right and the Democratic left.
DeWine’s victory over Kasich’s lieutenant governor, Mary Taylor, followed a bitter and expensive campaign in which Taylor likened DeWine’s record to that of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and questioned his loyalty to President Donald Trump.
The 71-year-old DeWine served two terms in the U.S. Senate. He was endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party and was bolstered by his partnership with Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted, who dropped his own governor bid to become DeWine’s running mate.
Cordray, who’s 59 years old, faced a surprisingly rigorous primary challenge from former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Cordray led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by Democratic Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, under Obama, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican. He featured Obama in his ads and campaigned with Warren.