Happy Pi day, Cincinnati! I hope you enjoy that quick, nerdy distraction because it’s also less than one day until Ohio heads to the polls to vote in the primary election. Here’s a rundown of your morning headlines.
Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of more than 4,000 on Sunday at the Savannah Center in West Chester, making him the only presidential candidate so far to make a stop close to Cincinnati. The GOP frontrunner’s unscripted speech took many shots at Ohio Gov. John Kasich, his main republican rival in the Ohio primary, and leading Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Members of the audience asked Trump questions about education and care for returning war veterans — which he mostly failed to answer. The rally was mostly peaceful, as compared to some of Trump’s other recent rallies, with a crowd of around 100 protesters gathered outside the rally and a brief interruption by two Bernie Sanders supporters who were quickly escorted out.
• Meanwhile, the rest of the presidential candidates have been popping up all over Ohio, hoping to woo Ohioans at the last minute into voting for them. In addition to Trump, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and John Kasich made appearances across the state this weekend. According to a Quinnipiac poll released today, this election should be a close one. Kasich is tied with Trump, while Sanders is trailing former Clinton by five points.
• Democratic rivals Clinton and Sanders spoke to a crowd of more than 3,000 at the Ohio Democratic Party Legacy Dinner at the Greater Columbus Convention Center yesterday. Clinton spoke much longer than Sanders, clocking in 25 minutes as compared to less than 10 minutes for Sanders. However, both reportedly received standing ovations and considerable enthusiasm from the crowd.
• Even Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is trailing far behind Trump and Kasich in Ohio polls, made an appearance in Columbus at the Northland Performing Arts Center on Sunday, pushing himself as the only Republican to who could realistically knock off Trump.
• Gov. Kasich is scheduled to make an appearance Westerville and North Canton today. Sanders is scheduled for Cleveland and Youngtown, the latter of which Trump is also expected to visit today as well.
• More than 350 people gathered on Saturday in East Price Hill to march in support of the city’s undocumented immigrants. The Rally for Hope was organized by immigration activists in response to recent raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas. The rally featured testimony from local immigrants from Central America and a two-mile march through the neighborhood with protesters calling for the federal government to halt the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
• About a dozen people gathered in Mount Auburn Saturday night to celebrate what would have been Sam DuBose’s 44th birthday. Mount Auburn resident DuBose was fatally shot last July by former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop. Tensing is currently set to stand trial for murder in October. Attendees included DuBose’s fiancée DaShonda Reid, as well as several of his 11 children.
News tips go to nkrebs@citybeat.com and don’t forget to vote tomorrow!
This article appears in Mar 9-16, 2016.