With 42 percent of its residents having received at least one shot of a corona-virus vaccine, Ohio trails the national average. So on Wednesday, Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, announced a “vaccine lottery,” giving Ohioans who roll up their sleeves the chance to win million-dollar prizes or college scholarships.
What might seem strange for a state lagging in immunizations is that the governor simultaneously announced that all coronavirus-related restrictions would be lifted June 2, with the exception of some nursing home limitations. Roughly two months ago, DeWine insisted that restrictions would remain until a benchmark was reached of 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks. On Wednesday, the ratio was still over 120 cases per 100,000 people.
On Wednesday, DeWine acknowledged that the pace of vaccinations is too slow, hence his lottery scheme. Details are still being worked out, but there will be five weekly drawings for a $1 million prize, open to all residents 18 years or older who have received at least one shot.
Teenagers can sign up for a separate lottery to win one of five four-year scholarships with room and board to a public university in Ohio. The first drawings will be May 26.
There was blowback, including from Republican Senate candidate and former state treasurer Josh Mandel, who tweeted, “RINO governor Mike DeWine is now doing an INSANE $5 million bribe to get more vaccines in Ohio. Here’s a better idea, Open Up Ohio and let our people get back to work! Ohioans don’t want handouts, we want FREEDOM!” Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, a Democrat, called the lottery “a grave misuse of money.” DeWine faces the dilemma of many Republican governors today: His handling of the pandemic is more popular with Democrats than Republicans. He would probably cruise to re-election in next year’s general election, but danger lurks months earlier in his own party’s primary.
Former U.S. Rep. James Renacci has one foot in already, and some among the large Senate field could change course and instead seek to unseat DeWine, as Mandel’s caustic tweet hints.
After trailing in the polls in 2018, DeWine staged a comeback to win the governorship. As his vaccine lottery attests, he’s willing to gamble, and he’s betting that most Republicans will ultimately empathize with the difficult choices he faced. “It’s a heavy burden knowing the decisions you are making not only impact people’s lives, lots of times they are life and death decisions,” he said recently. “We certainly don’t get everything right.” Whether all Ohioans get to weigh in on DeWine’s performance a year from November will depend on whether he wins over enough Republicans by next May. He’s ready to roll the dice, after he hands out a few million dollars in cash and prizes.