Gov. Mike DeWine faced pressure to rapidly scale back coronavirus restrictions. He didn’t cave.

Mike DeWine April 10 briefing

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opted for an incremental plan for reopening the state's economy during his Monday announcement despite facing increased scrutiny from his fellow Republican Party members for a more rapid approach.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine resisted conservative calls to widely reopen the state’s economy, but is facing more political pressure as he tries to steer the state out of the public health and economic crisis caused by coronavirus.

DeWine’s limited approach is unlikely to sate some of his fellow Republicans who’ve publicly castigated the governor for overreaching with his office’s powers. But those who’ve worked with DeWine and his inner circle – and even some of his political opponents – said they didn’t think the governor was caving to interests who want a rapid resolution.

In a way, the easy part for DeWine’s response is over. Public health experts recommended limiting contact between people to help blunt the spread of the virus to increase hospital space to prevent a surge, both goals that have been accomplished by the state’s restrictions.

“Some will say we shouldn’t have opened at all. Some will say we didn’t do enough,” DeWine said at his Monday briefing. “To the best of my ability, I think we found the sweet spot. I think we found the spot that will do the least damage. It’s a risk and I fully understand the risk.”

Now the hard part begins -- trying to navigate out of the shutdown and address the economic struggles while living with the virus. Nearly a million people have filed for unemployment in Ohio and businesses face the increasingly approaching threat of having to shut down permanently with little-to-no revenue coming in.

“The theater that is the bull--- of the press conferences and protests, that’s one thing,” said an Ohio Republican who speaks frequently with the governor’s team. “The reality of how this is affecting real people is the pressure from the economic side. … They’re not caving to protesters or anything like that. There’s real hurt going on and they’re responding to that.”

The rollbacks to the state health orders include allowing most elective surgery and procedures beginning May 1, the phased-in return of manufacturing, construction, distribution on May 4 and retail opening on May 12. Restrictions will be in place, including social distancing requirements, occupancy limitations and requiring both customers and employees to wear face masks.

DeWine has received national accolades for his response to the pandemic. But as the crisis carries on, the pressure facing DeWine – mostly coming from within his Republican constituency – has increased.

A vocal minority of Republican officeholders and conservative groups have demanded the state reopen immediately. Business groups called for loosening restrictions citing very real threats of the economy worsening over the next year.

And there’s always the question of how President Donald Trump, whose unpredictability during the pandemic is well documented, will react.

Competing interests were always going to evolve from the onset of the pandemic. It was unavoidable. That it took as long as it did for them to show up in a big way in Ohio is somewhat surprising.

Ryan Stubenrauch, a crisis communications consultant who has worked on DeWine’s campaigns for the past decade, said the pressure is undeniable for DeWine. Along with people getting sick, the state’s economy is in the gutter.

“Absent the handful of idiots making fools of themselves, the vast majority of Ohio is concerned about the same thing: their personal health and their economic health,” Stubenrauch said.

A former adviser of DeWine’s who has known him since the 1980s said he expected the governor to follow his same mantra of prioritizing data and expert opinion.

“Everyone is entitled to their view and he’s going to listen to what everyone has to say, but at the end of the day he’s going to do what he thinks is right,” the former adviser said. “It’s not going to be informed by pressure.”

The former adviser pointed to the Lucasville Prison Riots in 1993 when 450 prisoners took control of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility – including capturing hostages – for 11 days as an example of DeWine not caving to outside pressure. DeWine was lieutenant governor then and the point person on the state’s response.

“The majority of the calls we got in the governor’s office were for us to storm the prison,” the former adviser said. “Just go in and take it back over. It turns out that had we done that, there would have been a pretty significant loss of life.”

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat who both vied to challenge DeWine in the 2018 gubernatorial race and worked with him closely after the Dayton mass shooting in 2019, said the governor has been operating pragmatically throughout the pandemic and she expects him do so as the state works to exit the restrictions.

“I have no sense to think he’ll stop following data and science because that’s what he’s using to make his decision, but he also has to be realistic with a very extreme legislature,” Whaley said.

The Statehouse certainly looks like the place that will remain the most antagonistic toward DeWine. While the groups protesting frequently will remain a public spectacle, Republicans in the Statehouse have the ability to force their policies on the governor if they decide to do so.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a fellow Republican, has appeared either officially or through back channels to be undermining DeWine since the start of the pandemic. A Householder ally challenged in court DeWine’s move to postpone the March 17 primary. The speaker said the governor should not expect the House to help with new revenue.

Just hours before the governor’s Monday briefing, Republicans on the House task force for examining the state’s economic recovery preempted DeWine by releasing their own recommendation that the state reopen immediately.

The science says that is not the best approach and could very well lead to a second wave of infections resulting in deaths. Conspiracy theorists and science deniers have pointed to the state’s low number of infections and deaths not as a victory call, but proof that the disease isn’t a real danger, conveniently ignoring the fact that prisons in Ohio have been the worst hotspots in the country.

DeWine called the idea of reopening the state entirely on May 1 reckless.

“To throw the doors open on May 1 and say get rid of everything would be totally irresponsible,” DeWine said. “I have an obligation as governor of this state to do two things right now and every day: get people back to work and keep them safe. That would not be consistent with keeping people safe.”

Trump’s response to DeWine’s decision, if any, is unpredictable. He’s supported causes diametrically opposed to DeWine, but never directly contradicted him and by most accounts, the two have had a good working relationship through the crisis.

Earlier in April, he supported protests in Minnesota, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania to reopen the economy. Trump did not mention Ohio, but the group’s leader, Chris Dorr of Ohio Gun Owners, and his brothers are the architects behind the demonstrations in those states.

Those three states have Democratic governors, but the erratic behavior has extended to GOP-led states as well. Trump reportedly called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to say he supported the state’s plan to begin loosening restrictions.

However, he later said he strongly disagreed with Kemp’s decision to open businesses quickly and said he would intervene if he saw “something totally egregious.”

Trump is eager for the economy to make a comeback to bolster his chances at winning re-election against Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden in November. But a haphazard reopening could cause a second wave of infections that might be more catastrophic to his chances than the current situation.

“DeWine and anybody else who is sensible agree that a thousand people dying is horrific,” Stubenrauch said. “They also agree that a million people out of work is horrific. Fixing both of those problems at the same time is difficult and requires some nuance.”

DeWine has broad backing from the public, even as a vocal minority of detractors have gained footing in the public consciousness. A poll released Monday from three universities showed 75% of Ohio voters viewed DeWine favorably while 85% said they supported his response to coronavirus.

The same poll shows that reopening the state won’t be something that happens overnight. Between 48% and 57% of respondents said it was too early to open restaurants, all retail stores, hair and nail salons or places of worship. More than 82% said they wouldn’t resume their normal activities anyway.

Read more cleveland.com politics coverage:

Mapping Ohio’s 16,325 coronavirus cases, Monday’s update, trends

Ohio’s plan to reopen after coronavirus is more cautious than many other states

Ohio Supreme Court rules courtroom trial can go forward despite coronavirus concerns

Poll: Most Ohioans don’t want mail-only election in November

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.