An undercover recording obtained by Breitbart News shows field organizers with OhioWins, the Ohio Democratic Party’s main canvassing and phone-banking program, laughing about shoplifting and instructing volunteers to lean on identity-based victimhood to win over voters.
The footage was captured during a canvassing training session. In one exchange, organizer Harrison Crone tells phone banking lead Julia Ellis about a pair of sunglasses he took from Walmart without paying.
Harrison Crone: This is how you know I’m gay, though, my diva sunglasses. I love them. Walmart. They were like 20 bucks. 20 bucks, but I might not have paid for them — Huh? Who said that? I was like, ‘Oh, wee! They’re in my pocket! Crazy!’
Julia Ellis: You’re like, ‘How did this happen…?’
Harrison Crone: I’m like, I don’t make that much. Like, I’m not paying $20 for sunglasses.
Julia Ellis: Especially not at Walmart. You gotta stick it to the man.
The pair go on to discuss keeping their theft below the dollar threshold that would turn it into a felony charge.
Julia Ellis: I’m telling you, if I — like if they’ve reached that, like whatever that like price limit of how much you can steal before they arrest you —
Harrison Crone: Yeah, before it’s a felony.
Julia Ellis: They — they would have had us. But Sutter Home Wine, they would have those tiny little wine bottles, and you could just pull them out of the cardboard carrier, and we would do that and, like, put them into this sweatshirt shirt sleeve.
Harrison Crone: Oh my gosh! Good thing you work for the party now!
In a separate training session, Crone instructs volunteers to use personal identity as a political tool when talking to voters, telling Ellis she can describe herself as “a victim of the system” to connect with women voters.
Harrison Crone: Notice how she said ‘affordability.’ And I know the talking points, I know Sherrod Brown loves talking about affordability. So it’s all about listening and like, pivoting. Some other good ones, um, LGBTQ rights. Um, you don’t have to necessarily name specific candidate talking points, but you can reference, ‘Hey, you know, Democrats are pro-gay, pro-LGBTQ.’ Um, for me personally, I’m a gay man, so I can be like, ‘Oh, well, I’m gay and I love the Democrats!’ Um, this is, you know, recognizing certain biases. So like, if they say women’s rights, Julia, you can capitalize on that.
Julia Ellis: I know, I’m a victim of the system.
Harrison Crone: Don’t be afraid to use your own identity in this. I think it makes a stronger message, especially with like, ‘I know I’m gay, I’ve been gay.’
Julia Ellis: And they’re like, ‘Oh, poor victim of society.’
Harrison Crone: Right! They’re not going to close the door on you now! Um, even on phone calls, when they’re like, ‘I love gay issues,’ I’m like, ‘Oh, you don’t say…’
OhioWins describes itself on its campaign website as running door-to-door canvassing, voter contact, phone banking, volunteer recruitment and voter protection and ballot access training for federal and state Democratic candidates across Ohio.
