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ENDORSED BY GIFFORDS
Candidate

Nan Whaley

Governor Ohio Democrat
Challenger2022
Leading Dayton through some of its biggest crises has prepared Mayor Nan Whaley to confront everything that’s wrong in Columbus—and build a better Ohio for all. After falling in love with Dayton as a college student, she ran for city commission and then mayor, taking on the city’s toughest challenges like the opioid crisis and a broken education system. Now, she is running for governor to expand the scope of her work and to implement commonsense solutions that will keep Ohioans safe from the pain of the gun violence epidemic. 

Unfortunately, Mayor Whaley knows the devastating impacts of gun violence all too well. As the mayor of Dayton, she led her city through the aftermath of a senseless mass shooting in which nine people were killed. Since then, she has dedicated her life to preventing other communities from feeling such immeasurable sorrow. Following the shooting, Dayton residents held a vigil in which thousands of people chanted “Do something,” in an effort to compel legislative action to address the scourge of gun violence. Mayor Whaley vowed to listen to them—and she intends to keep that promise as governor. In 2019, she put partisanship aside and stood with Governor Mike DeWine when he proposed expanding background checks and closing the boyfriend loophole. However, Governor DeWine caved to the extremists in his party and his gun lobby donors, and instead chose to sign laws that were opposed by law enforcement—all of which make our communities less safe by allowing dangerous people easier access to weapons of war. Unlike him, Mayor Whaley won’t abandon the promise she made to Daytonians after that horrific night and will do all she can to pass commonsense legislation. 

Mayor Whaley is running for governor because she knows Ohioans deserve to live in a state where they can live their lives free from the fear of senseless gun violence. As gun deaths spike across the country, we must elect governors who can achieve real results and who will put their constituents above all else. Mayor Nan Whaley has a proven track record of leadership and empathy, making her the governor Ohio needs in this critical time. 

We are proud to endorse Nan Whaley for governor of Ohio.