In a release obtained by the Washington Examiner, the 16 law enforcement officials said they would back Dolan because of his “strong public record of supporting Ohio’s law enforcement community.” The list includes 14 county sheriffs and two county prosecutors.“Time and again, Matt has provided Ohio’s sheriff and police departments with the funding and programs we need,” the officials said in a joint statement.
The Republican candidate took a shot at Brown in the statement, saying the efforts by Democrats “like Sherrod Brown in Ohio and across America to demonize and defund law enforcement must be stopped.” Brown was elected in 2007 and has held the office since. Ohio has been trending Republican over the past decade, having gone for former President Donald Trump in the past two presidential elections. Also, in 2022 Ohio sent Vance to the Senate over former Rep. Tim Ryan , who ran as a centrist Democrat. Since 2011, Brown has been the only statewide elected Democrat in Ohio outside of the state Supreme Court justices.