There are a lot of ways to launch a campaign for attorney general. You could talk about fighting crime, protecting consumers, or maybe even just smile and wave at a county fair. Ohio Democrat Elliot Forhan decided to go a different route entirely by opening a campaign video with the words "I am going to kill Donald Trump," which as The American Tribune reported, went over about as smoothly as you would expect.
Forhan, a former one-term state representative running for the Democratic nomination for Ohio attorney general, posted the roughly 40-second video on social media. After dropping that opening line, he then clarified that he was talking about prosecuting the president and obtaining a death sentence through the legal system. "I mean I'm going to obtain a conviction rendered by a jury of his peers at a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, based on evidence presented at a trial conducted in accordance with the requirements of due process," Forhan said, before adding that it would result in "a sentence duly executed of capital punishment."
So it was a riddle wrapped in legalese wrapped in the worst political instincts known to man. And here is the kicker: as ABC 33/40 reported, Forhan never actually identified which crime would make the president eligible for the death penalty. He just kind of skipped that part, which is a bold strategy for someone auditioning to be Ohio's chief legal authority.
Republicans wasted no time piling on. Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, himself a Republican candidate for attorney general, released a response video calling Forhan unfit for the office. "That kind of vile comment makes it clear that Elliot Forhan is not qualified to be attorney general," Faber said. He also called on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton to reject the remarks, though Acton had not publicly addressed the video at the time of the report.
Former state Rep. Jay Edwards, a Republican running for state treasurer, pointed out that this was not exactly a one-off moment for Forhan. Edwards noted a previous social media post in which Forhan wrote an expletive about Charlie Kirk shortly after Kirk's assassination. Edwards described the campaign video as a "deranged fantasy" from a man who wants to run the state's law enforcement apparatus.
And the background does not do Forhan any favors. Back in 2023, Democratic leaders in the Ohio House stripped him of his committee assignments and restricted his office access following allegations of abusive behavior toward staff and colleagues. So this is a guy whose own party sidelined him, and his big comeback strategy was to film himself saying he wants to kill the president and then explain that he meant it in a totally normal, legal, hypothetical, capital punishment sort of way.
Somewhere, a campaign consultant is updating their resume.
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