WelcomePAC welcomes Portage Republicans, independents into 'big tent' Democratic party

WelcomePAC has been scouring Northeast Ohio — including Portage County — looking for candidates to run as moderate Democrats for the state legislature and other positions.

WelcomePAC Project Engineers Ben Krapels and Hugh Jones visited the Marc's store in Kent Tuesday afternoon hoping to learn from voters who they think would make strong leaders.

"One guy said he'd like to see a problem solver," Krapels said. "Someone else said they'd like to see young candidates and wants somebody else to step up."

Lauren Harper, co-founder of WelcomePAC, said the organization's goal is to create a "big tent" Democratic party.

"We really believe that at this stage in our country that the only political party in our two-party system that can sustain and protect our democracy in the years to come is the Democratic Party," she said. "So we do everything that we can to bring in disaffected Republicans and independent voters to the Democratic Party to make a big tent Democratic party, where people feel welcome."

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Harper said it's important to get out in the community and talk to people on the street.

"We try to take the approach of meeting people where they are and really going into communities and saying, 'Do you think that there is someone in your community that you want to recommend and nominate to run for office to represent people in the area?'" said Harper.

The organization started its drive to find new Democratic candidates in Northeast Ohio because the date to file for election is next Wednesday, explained Harper. For now, WelcomePAC's focus is Northeast Ohio, but Harper said she hopes to expand the search for new Democratic candidates into other states where the filing deadline is not so soon.

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Harper said she believes there are probably some in the Republican Party who may not support former President Donald Trump's brand of Republicanism. She hopes to provide them with a new political home.

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez is a perfect example of a Republican who may feel he doesn't have a home in Trump's Republican Party, she added. He voted last winter for Trump's impeachment and has since announced he doesn't plan to seek re-election.

"In order for Republicans these days to have success in office, it appears that they have to be completely on the bandwagon of the extreme right, or they don't get the support they need to have sustainable careers or candidacies," said Harper. "So, that said, what are you supposed to do with all the amazing leaders who want to be public servants, but they can't be Republican because they don't agree with the ideology? We want to welcome them to the Democratic Party, to be able to again know the issues that matter to people in Portage County, and be able to run as candidates who can represent those interests."

Portage County Treasurer Brad Cromes, the second vice-chair of the Portage County Democratic Party, said it's critical that society can agree on a common set of facts.

"The most important thing we can do for our democracy going forward is to get a common set of facts, and, whatever we need to do to get to that place, that's how you build consensus and have a society that's actually functioning is when everybody has the same basic truth," he said. "And until we get to that place, we're going to struggle."

The goal of the initiative, at its core, is to protect the country's democratic ideals, irrespective of Democratic or Republican policy, said Harper.

"At WelcomePAC we don't have a purity test or an ideological test for what you have to stand for," said Harper. "We are saying, 'You have to be pro-democracy. You have to be committed to protecting our country's constitution and the rules of law and governance."

Cromes said candidates must protect voting rights.

"I think, for me, the red line is whether or not you support expansive voting rights and making sure that every voice is heard and has the right to be heard," he said. "In Ohio, Republicans have a really poor track record on that front over and above 'The Big Lie' and everything that's come out of the past couple of election cycles. We've seen at least a decade, if not more — like two decades worth of legislation in the state that has systematically made it harder for people of color, for college students, for transient populations to make their voices heard, and for our democracy that's a real problem."

The United States was recently identified as one of several countries with "backsliding" democratic systems by the International Institute For Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

"Over the past two years, some countries, particularly Hungary, India, the Philippines and the U.S.A., have seen a number of democratic attributes affected by measures that amount to democratic violations—that is, measures that were disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unconnected to the nature of the emergency," states the organization's Global State of Democracy Report 2021.

Given the discomfort Trump causes for Republicans who don't buy into the fiction that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen, Harper said his opponents who value democratic ideals, the constitution and voting rights need to circle their wagons, regardless of their differences on tax policy, foreign policy, the importance of the social safety net and other policy matters.

"We had a failed coup, essentially, at our nation's Capitol last year," she said. "We have to be able to come together and say, 'I want to have a country to argue over in the next few years.' I don't want to yield to a Republican tyrannical regime. I want to be able to have a fair balanced system in governance."

Do you have a business or healthcare story you'd like to share? Reporter Bob Gaetjens can be reached at 330-541-9440, bgaetjens@recordpub.com and @bobgaetjens_rc.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: WelcomePAC recruits Republicans into 'big tent' Democratic party