CLEVELAND — In his long political career, Gov. Mike DeWine believes that he's never seen an Election Day where voters in Ohio and the country were as divided as we seem to be now.
During an interview with 3News' Russ Mitchell on Tuesday's What's New, the governor wasn't sure what to make of a recent statement by President Donald Trump that the nation has never been more unified.
"I'm for the president. I love who he's put on the Supreme Court. I think he's been very good for the economy and will continue to be good for the economy. But I don't know what he meant by that," DeWine told Mitchell.
Governor DeWine serves as one of the co-chairs of President Trump's re-election committee in Ohio. He does believe that despite trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden in several polls, Trump will win in Ohio. "I think it's going to be a close race. I think the president's going to win," DeWine said.
Once the election is over, DeWine is hopeful that the state (and the nation) can unify to help battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "We're more divided as a country than we've ever been. When the sun comes up tomorrow morning, this election is over with. We need to pull together because this virus doesn't care if you voted for Joe Biden or Donald Trump. We have a common enemy and it's this virus," the governor added.
In addition, DeWine hinted that he may adjust the state's pandemic-related policies later this week. "What we're trying to do, frankly, is get people to understand the gravity of what we're seeing here," DeWine said, noting that the state has seen a significant rise in new daily cases and positivity rate over the past month. "The spread is in every single county. In the rural counties as well as the urban counties. We're looking at other things that we can do and we'll be talking about that on Thursday and Friday."