Medina Today

Gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci is doubling down on criticism of Gov. Mike DeWine in the wake local school systems notifying parents of mandatory masking for students.

Highland Local Schools in Medina County and Cincinnati Public Schools and are reinstituting mask mandates after going mask optional in mid-November.

“Ohio’s students are now entering the third year in an education climate that is not conducive to learning. It’s a climate that fosters fear, not education and is causing irreparable harm to our kids,” Jim Renacci said in a campaign press release.  “It’s clear that Ohio families and children can’t rely on Mike DeWine to end this insanity, but as Governor, I will."

Renacci will face DeWine in the May 22 GOP primary.

In a previous announcement on the issue Renacci called making in schools “child abuse.”

“Let's be honest—masking our kids in schools for 8 hours a day is child abuse. Kids need to breathe properly, interact with others and to be heard. The long-term educational and psychological ramifications of these reckless policies are abhorrent. I immediately call on Mike DeWine to condemn the child abuse being pushed by state health leaders,” Renacci said in a earlier campaign press release.

Across the country, DeWine has been one of the leading mask advocates among governors. In particular he stands out among those in the GOP ranks.

DeWine backed the Ohio Children's Hospital Association’s announcement suggesting mask usage in the state’s schools.

DeWine has been called the most egregious of “lockdown governors.”

Renacci, 63, is an accountant and entrepreneur who once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football Team. He won election to U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement, and later endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 primary for president.

Renacci announced his bid for governor in June.

DeWine, 74, was Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019. He is one of the longest-serving public officials in state history, having been in elected office for 41 years. That includes stints in the Ohio State Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and as Ohio attorney general and Ohio lieutenant governor.