No one is kidding themselves about Ohio’s sprawling 12th district in the central and eastern part of the state. It stretches from the Columbus suburbs into the rural Appalachian areas next to West Virginia. And it’s been pretty red in recent memory. Trump won the district both times, 53-42% in 2016 and 52 to 46% in 2020.

Troy Balderson, a college dropout who bankrupted his family’s car sales business, was first elected to the state legislature in 2008 and very narrowly (101,772 to 100,208) won the congressional seat when Pat Tiberi retired in 2018. In 2022 Balderson didn’t face a serious challenge and he was reelected 191,344 (69.3%) to 84,893 (30.7%) against Amy Rippel-Elton, who didn’t raise the $5,000 that would have triggered an FEC report, while Balderson spent over a million and a half dollars on his campaign. 

This cycle, Balderson has a much stronger opponent in progressive software engineer, small businessman and Navy veteran Jerrad Christian, who is running a vigorous campaign and has already raised over $150,000, around 70% of which came from small contributions (below $200). He’s been endorsed by Blue America and you can contribute to his campaign here.

Last year, the voters in 4 of the district’s counties— Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Athens— backed the constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion. Balderson, an anti-Choice fanatic, opposed the amendment, while Christian campaigned for it.

So… Christian is well aware he has to persuade people who have voted for Balderson in the past to flip their vote to him in November. He’s been going into rural Republican communities and talking with voters about healthcare, the environment and personal freedom and his team is knocking on doors everywhere in the district— and not just on the doors of Democrats, also on independents’ and Republicans’ doors. 

He also has a unique postcard campaign, which introduces voters to him and his campaign and gives them an opportunity to advocate for their own needs. “It's not enough to put yourself in front of voters,” Christian told us. “You have to give them reason to trust that you care about them, and that's what we hope to accomplish with these postcards.

I'm only running for office because I care about this community and our state. This campaign has given me hope I didn't have before, and I want every voter, regardless of party, to have hope for their family's future, too… If we raise enough, we’re going to mail an envelope to every Republican voter in the district. Inside will be one of these postcards and a letter from me. I’m not waiting until next year to find out what Ohio families need most from their government. I’m asking NOW. That’s how we’ll show voters that I care. That’s how we’ll bring hope back to OH-12. And that’s how we’ll win.”

Including the return postage, each card costs $1.30 to print, deliver and get back. In other words, if you contribute $13, that covers 10 cards, and $26 covers 20 cards. If you’d like to step up for Jerrad, here’s the place. This isn't a district the DCCC is helping with, which opens up the opportunity to elect a genuine progressive rather than the kind of GOP-lite corporate shill the DCCC always gravitates to.

Thank you for always doing what you can to help make this a better world,

Howie, for the entire Blue America team.