A trip through Southeast Ohio

Starting in Lancaster, then rolling on through Athens, and down to the riverside of Pomeroy and Gallipolis.

Hey — Dave DeWitt here, #OHDems Deputy Communications Director, man of sport and leisure, and noted bus tour enthusiast.

I’m taking the blog over today to bring you on a journey through the rolling foothills of Appalachian Ohio and the picturesque college halls of my beloved Athens, Ohio, where I was a newspaper journalist for nine years.

We had a sunny start to our adventure towards the Ohio River and the West Virginia border. After an early departure in Columbus, we made it to Lancaster just in time to meet up with our good friends: the Fairfield County Dems.

We rolled into Lancaster with candidate for US Congressional District 15 Rick Neal, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper, Secretary of the Democratic National Committee Jason Rae, and met up with candidate for HD77 Brett Pransky, and candidate for HD78 Amber Daniels.

Thanks to all our Lancaster friends! We’ll see you soon!

Next stop was Ohio University in Athens. A return to my own alma mater. This past weekend was homecoming at Ohio University, but Monday was my own hOUmecoming, though surprisingly not my first with the Big Blue Bus — we rolled through the Ohio State parade earlier this month.

OU Oh Yeah and O-H — I-O.

Right on the steps of the historic Scripps Amphitheater where I learned the newspaperin’ trade, we heard from Rick Neal, candidate for US Congressional District 6 Shawna Roberts, and candidate for HD94 Taylor Sappington.

After the event, we moseyed down Court Street to the iconic Casa Nueva for some classic Athens cuisine before grabbing some coffee and treats at Fluff Bakery and hopping back on the bus to Pomeroy.

The road to Pomeroy and the Ohio River was long and winding, but the drive is well worth it. The historic town opens up onto a beautiful riverfront just steps from the Meigs County Courthouse. We went straight to work sharing the message written on the side of the bus: putting #PeopleFirst.

Jason told us about how much he was thinking about two different headlines on election day: “Dems win big” or “So close.” The difference between the two? Getting out the vote.

Float down river — Vote down ballot

It was time to leave — we hugged our friends and followed the river all the way to Gallipolis. We met up with the Gallia County Dems for an autumn dinner with candidate for Auditor of State Zack Space.

Of course, before we ate everybody had to get a photo with the bus

After dinner it was time to wave one last goodbye — we still had a long drive home ahead of us.

15 days to go!

-Dave from the Bus