How dumb do you have to be to insult voters in your own district on the eve of an election? Pretty friggin' dumb, that's what. Harry Enten, appearing on CNN this morning, called it the very definition of a gaffe, writing off a significant portion of a district just because Balderson is not expected to do well in Franklin County.

Here's what Enten said:

HARRY ENTEN: If you were to look up in the dictionary "gaffe" and then there would be a picture beside it or an audio rolling that is what you do. The reason he did that is because he recognizes his votes will come mostly from outside of Franklin. I think that this is a guy feeling a lot of pressure, recognizes the polls are closing in a district he should be winning easily and the pressure got to him.

Source: New York Magazine

Republicans have held Ohio’s 12th Congressional District for decades, but recent polling shows Tuesday’s special election is now a toss up. Though the GOP has little room for error, that did not prevent President Trump from initially tweeting his endorsement for the wrong candidate, and then picking a fight with NBA superstar LeBron James, Ohio’s favorite native son, hours before a rally in support of GOP candidate Troy Balderson.

But Balderson might have found a way to outdo the president. During his final campaign stop on Monday night, Balderson told a crowd in Zanesville, Ohio, that they need to get out and vote tomorrow because “we don’t want someone from Franklin County representing us.”

Balderson’s opponent, Democrat Danny O’Connor, is from Franklin County — but so are about a third of the district’s voters. The 12th District covers all of Delaware, Licking, and Morrow counties, along with parts of Franklin, Marion, Muskingum, and Richland counties.

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