Two big announcements in the governor's race - the Democratic field narrowed as two candidates teamed up, and the Republican field is full with the announcement from the only candidate who hadn't named her running mate. First, Richard Cordray and Betty Sutton formally merged their Democratic gubernatorial campaigns in a crowded room at an Akron restaurant. M.L. Schultze of WKSU reports on the Richard Cordray/Betty Sutton announcement from Akron. Sutton, who was a Northeast Ohio state lawmaker and congresswoman, gives Cordray — a central Ohioan -- entrée into the heaviest Democratic area of the state. She also provides gender diversity. But in her speech, Sutton focused on what the two share, and what she says they’d bring to governing and politics. “We’ll change the tone. We’ll stop tearing people down. We’ll build things up. We’ll build people and this state into something that works for everyone.” In Congress, Sutton co-sponsored the law creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray became its first director. While there, Sutton says he championed the causes of regular Americans against Wall Street banks and other large institutions that took advantage of them. His Republican critics maintain he was an obstructionist bureaucrat. And then a few hours later in Cincinnati, Mary Taylor revealed her choice as running mate - a political outsider. Tana Weingartner from WVXU reports on the Mary Taylor/Nathan Estruth announcement in Cincinnati. Nathan Estruth is CEO of Hamilton-based imflux, a proctor and gamble subsidiary that works with plastics technologies. Taylor says Estruth will be the perfect COO to her CEO role. “Nathan is an experienced, proven business leader with a track record of creating jobs in the private sector. His 26 years at Proctor & Gamble, his experience at multi-national companies, and his ability to move at the speed of business make him an ideal lieutenant governor candidate. It is something I know a little bit about.” Estruth is retiring from Proctor and Gamble to join the campaign.
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