Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald has had a rough few weeks.
Questions raised about a pre-dawn drive with a woman not his wife, and revelations that he drove for years without a valid driver’s license have caused many to consider his bid derailed and deflated.
But FitzGerald still has friends….many of whom greeted him warmly at Cleveland’s Labor Day parade.
“Got the next governor of Ohio right here, girls!” yells one supporter, pointing out the candidate to her daughters.
“You got our vote!” says another backer, shaking FitzGerald's hand.
"Thank you,” smiles FitzGerald, who then pauses for a photo with a woman's children.
When asked if he had any new appeals or ad campaigns in the final weeks of the race, FitzGerald said they’re sticking to the original playbook.
“We’re going to be talking about the things really we’ve been talking about for the last two years," says FitzGerald. "And that is that this state’s been run for the benefit of a small group of people while the average Ohioan, the average middle class family has been left out. We’ve got about 64 days to go, and we’re just going to try talk to as many people as we can, knock on as many doors as we can, call as many people as we can, and just say this election is important.”
Fitzgerald is also counting on a strong turnout among union households and voter’s memory of Republican efforts to rollback collective bargaining.
Meanwhile, Governor Kasich issued a Labor Day proclamation touting "the ingenuity, skill and motivation of American workers that have helped our state and nation to be leaders in an increasingly competitive global economy.”