Another exciting opportunity for this upcoming primary and eventual election in November is that Mark Welch is offering himself as a candidate for the 52nd State Representative seat in Ohio. With George Lang moving over to the senate his friend Mark is willing to cover that House seat and to keep a good thing going which the two of them have been doing for a long time in West Chester, only extending that same effort out into Ohio in a larger way. The tremendous success that Mark Welch has experienced as a trustee of the very successful West Chester township makes him the best pick in the primary to make the most out of that state seat and continue that good work on a larger stage. Like George, Mark has the highest grade possible from the Buckeye Firearms Association and has been endorsed by 80% of the precinct representatives in the 52nd District area, which is 80 total–19 in Fairfield Township, 25 in Liberty Township and 46 in West Chester. That’s an important thing to know because Welch’s primary opponent in this election is Jennifer Gross the retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force and current nurse. She’s a well-intentioned person but has not yet developed any political clout to play at that level. When it comes to experience and a ready built network to get things done with that Representative seat, Mark Welch is the clear choice.
Experience isn’t everything, Donald Trump did step out of his role as a real estate tycoon to run for office and win. But those were extraordinary circumstances and to be honest, these House of Representative seats are pretty tough to run and hold without losing yourself along the way. They are the ultimate middle management jobs where you get squeezed from both ends and you have to be pretty savvy to stay true to the voters, yourself, and the constitutional principles that got you involved in the first place. Mark has been a very successful trustee now for several cycles and West Chester has seen great success which he has been a major part of. It will not be difficult for him to take that experience to Columbus and work the House and network in the Senate in the same fashion. He has great passion for the job and I can say that I knew Mark in the beginning when he was just a bright eyed hopeful like Jennifer Gross is now looking to contribute something to the world around them. Before being a trustee Mark was a successful businessperson, and still is. The Republican Party is always in need of fresh new faces to fill some of these seats, but to be honest, the optimal way to get them is to get into the pool and get your feet wet, then start swimming in deeper and deeper water. The 52nd District House of Representatives seat is about a lot more than just voting yes or no, there is a lot of work that must go on that nobody sees and we want a person who can handle all that with a smile on their face and ambition for the job every morning.
For about 10 years, especially in Butler County, Ohio we have been going through a strong team building phase. We have had enormously strong Tea Party efforts at the height of that movement and many of those people are now office holders who are helping to shape the direction of the Republican Party and are natural extensions of the Trump administration coming directly out of the White House. Perhaps 10 years ago before any good groundwork was being done to reform good, honest politics in Butler County Jennifer’s jump into the deep end of the pool would be applauded. We would have wanted anybody to penetrate the castle wall and hope to unlock the door from the other side. They may have been slain in the process, but we would have thrown our support behind her in hopes that she might be a change agent for the better. But at some point, you do win the castle and now you have to switch from victim to aggressor and you have to hold the castle—because you’ve taken it. And at the same time, you must create a path for others to follow so that you can grow as an effort.
Its not enough to say that a candidate wants to change the political system for the little people, or like that Democrat woman in Butler County who wants to run against George Lang for the Senate seat of the 4th, “People over Politics,” those are clichés from the past. Going from a nurse to a powerful 52nd House Seat would be a tough step for Jennifer Gross because she hasn’t had time to do the proper networking that is involved in being successful in a seat like that. Sure, she might make it up as she goes, but the odds are, she will only be a fraction effective as she hopes to be where Mark Welch will be able to hit the ground running because he has done the work along the way. What a lot of people don’t know about these political seats is that you have to be able to raise money, do the ribbon cutting, deal with all the people who suck up to you, but you can’t lose yourself along the way, which has been a major problem for a lot of people in the past. We’ve done well with the 52nd Seat in Butler County for a long time with good solid people sitting in it, which is why Mark is the best choice in this election for it. While its true that Jennifer Gross has financial resources that make her somewhat independent, the raising money isn’t just for winning elections, its how people in Columbus measure the most valuable voice that matters in bill proposals and other voting matters, the leverage you bring to the table as a member of the House.
Raising money is the quiet capital that is valued the most in the world of politics and its how things get done. Not how the money is used, but in how much money a politician can get their hands on because it says that the people of your district trust you enough to write a check for thousands of dollars. If they’ll do that, then the weight of a vote in Columbus where everyone has their own district concerns means more than just someone who happens to win an election because they had their mortgage paid off and showed up to cast a vote. There is a big difference in such political capital and anybody who hopes to be effective in a state seat anywhere in the country has to solve that basic riddle just as someone must learn to swim if they are going to be in the part of the pool where they can’t touch the ground with their feet. A school board seat or a trustee position is the first logical step in building that network. By the time a candidate gets to a state seat, they need to have the ability to have fundraisers and to capture a significant amount because that is how Columbus measures the potency of a fellow member.
And for people who don’t know Mark Welch the way I do, as a tireless worker who is always upbeat in every setting, and is willing to do the reading and understanding that it takes to cast proper votes that are truly Republican and not some fence sitter waiting to see if conservative values are fashionable enough to cast a vote, the most valuable number to keep in mind is that Mark has 80% of the precinct vote which are the people who really count in all elections. And they are endorsing him because they have had time over the last several elections to get to know him. Jennifer hasn’t, it will take a while, but the truth is, she is untested. While she may be a good person and a nice nurse with a military record, she has to prove that she can handle the fundraisers, the ribbon cutting and all the temptations that come with a powerful office without losing herself in the process. And Mark Welch in this case is the only candidate who has proven he can handle it, and then some. And Welch is the only candidate in this election who could fill that 52nd House seat the way we have come to expect and do the good work there that we all require. I’d like to see more from Jennifer in the future, but she has some work to do before she starts swimming in a seat like this.
Rich Hoffman
The Gunfighter's Guide: 