CLEVELAND — On a day both major political parties knew was coming, the local Republican Party said its message and mission won’t change. And it believes the U.S. House Democrats handed them an advantage in next year's election.
"If anything I think it has energized people, so our numbers are up and more people are signing on and people calling in asking how they can help,” Cuyahoga County GOP Executive Committee chairman Peter Corrigan told 3News. “If anything, it tends to polarize. And when there is polarization, there is more energy."
Corrigan said that only a few people in the party have raised concerns about the impeachment being a drag on its election prospects. He said other issues, such as trade and immigration, trump talk of impeaching the president.
"I think [Democrats] have missed the directive of trying to raise this as the number one issue, and that's another reason we are not so upset by it," he said.
Look for the GOP to talk to Ohio voters a lot about the economy.
"The one thing people don't talk enough about is the how well the economy is doing,” Corrigan said. “I came from the business side and I think the numbers are sensational."
Cuyahoga County’s Democratic Party leader also downplayed the impeachment actions today. Chairwoman Shontel Brown said its comeback has to be based on their own message.
"I don't think it has had as much as a local impact but it has had our nation divided," Brown said.
Brown said people are too busy to pay attention to a partisan battle inside the beltway.
"I think people are overwhelmed by everyday life issues and the impeachment hearings haven't garnered the attention and time of the people … contrary to some of the statistical data as it relates to employment, people are working two and three jobs to keep food on the table,” she said. “And that has to be the message."
Reaching independent voters turned off by partisan politics, she says, means talking less about Trump.
"The mistake the party has made is focusing on 'we are are not that,' so I think we have to focus on things that we are - and we are the party of equity, fairness and inclusion," Brown said.
For now, the Republican and Democratic leaders agree on one thing: That impeachment isn't enough in a swing state whose voters decide who sits in the White House.