Chris Redfern
This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (January 2015) |
Chris Redfern | |
---|---|
Member of the Dennis Murray | |
Constituency | 80th district |
In office September 8, 1999 – December 31, 2002 | |
Preceded by | Darrell Opfer |
Succeeded by | Shawn Webster |
Constituency | 53rd district |
Personal details | |
Born | South Bend, Indiana | October 1, 1964
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Port Clinton, Ohio |
Alma mater | Bowling Green State University |
Chris Redfern (born October 1, 1964) is an American politician, former
Political career
Redfern is the only Ohio Democratic Party Chairman on record to have served as chairman when the Democratic Party won gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections.[2] In 2008, The Columbus Dispatch wrote:"Democrats made history -- marking the first time a party that did not draw the district lines was ever able to take control of the House chamber."[3] Following President Barack Obama's successful 2012 re-election, Redfern became the only State Party Chairman in Ohio's history to help a Democratic presidential candidate carry Ohio twice with more than 50% of the vote.[4] Since taking office in late 2005, Redfern has helped raise more than $100,000,000 for Ohio Democrats.[5][6]
Before becoming party chairman, he was the Minority Leader in the Ohio House of Representatives.[7] During Redfern's term as Minority Leader, he was the first Democratic Leader to oversee multiple gains in the Ohio House of Representatives (during the 2004 election) since former Speaker of the Ohio House Vern Riffe.[8] Redfern was also an Ottawa County commissioner from 1993 to 1999 - the youngest in the state when his term began in 1993.
In 2008, Redfern set the party’s sights on the general election and began constructing the largest field operation ever envisioned by a state political party.[
At a September 20, 2010 Democratic Party event hosted by the
Following a national Republican wave in 2010, Redfern led Ohio Democrats back to victory in 2012 by championing one of the largest campaign investments in Ohio's history. Between the Ohio Democratic Party and the President's Ohio campaign, Democrats made an unprecedented 16,261,643 attempts to talk to Ohio voters from more than 170 field offices, staffed by more than 750 paid employees and tens of thousands of volunteers across the state. On election night, Redfern's gamble paid off as Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1940 to carry more than fifty percent of Ohio voters' support twice.[11]
Ohio Democrats' early investment was also successful for Senator Sherrod Brown who was able to overcome an unprecedented $40 million spent against him in attack ads in part because of the infrastructure his campaign and the Ohio Democratic Party put in place. Despite a redistricting period controlled by the opposing party where three Democratic State House incumbent seats were eliminated, Ohio Democrats also won races that were supposed to be out of reach, and overcame a 3-1 financial disadvantage and for the first time in 12 years, Democrats won a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
In 2014, Republican Governor John Kasich, once seen as one of the most vulnerable Republican governors in that year's elections, was re-elected over Cuyahoga County commissioner Ed FitzGerald. Redfern resigned the following month.
Personal life
Redfern attended Bowling Green State University where he earned both a bachelor's degree and then his master's degree in state and local government. He received the BGSU Accomplished Graduate Award in 2004. Redfern lives on Catawba Island with his daughter, Reese. In 2014 he opened Rocky Point Winery in Marblehead, a boutique winery and inn specializing in Lake Erie region wines.[12]
Notes
- The Toledo Blade. November 2012
- ^ "Ohio Election Results". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Dems wrest back control of Ohio House". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Chris Redfern says Obama the first Dem in 75 years to get two majority wins for president in Ohio". PolitiFact Ohio.
- ^ "FEC Committee Viewer". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Campaign Finance Search". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ Williamson, Dan. "Nice guys finish last." Columbus Monthly. May 2007
- ^ "Chris Redfern (80th District)". Archived from the original on October 12, 2007.
- ^ "Ohio Democrat Chair Fires 'F-Word' at Tea Party - News Story - WTOV Steubenville". Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ "Ohio Democrat Curses Voters Who Oppose Health Care Law". Fox News. 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Tipping the Scale: A Look Inside the Ohio Democratic Party's Decisive Wins". Ohio Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
- ^ "About Us". The Redfern Inn at Rocky Point Winery. Retrieved 30 November 2014.