Glossing over state incentives, Gov. Mike DeWine takes victory lap on Ohio Intel factory

NEWARK, Ohio — It’s not been an easy three years for Gov. Mike DeWine.

For months, DeWine appeared before Ohioans virtually, each day running through the latest depressing statistics of the coronavirus pandemic. After initial universal praise drifted into partisan divide, DeWine also took to defending his approach and fielding questions from reporters about legislative Republicans who sparred with him over his pandemic restrictions.

Heading into the 2022 elections, DeWine has been a punching bag on the Republican U.S. Senate trail, leading one candidate, Bernie Moreno to remark at an event in October: “It’s one of the most popular things to do on this circuit, to say nasty things about DeWine.”

Even an October announcement that was supposed to be fun — a new state license plate he designed with Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine — turned out badly after it turned out the design had a major factual error involving the Wright Flyer prototype.

And so it was striking how DeWine, addressing a crowded theatre in Newark, about 20 miles from where the factory is planned, on Friday was able to take several in-person victory laps as he announced plans from Intel to build a massive factory complex outside Columbus.

The announcement hearkened back to earlier in his term, during his pre-pandemic political honeymoon phase, when DeWine, who once studied to be a social-studies teacher, was able to talk about Ohio history and share his vision for a more prosperous future.

“This is a great day. This is a great day in Ohio history,” DeWine said, placing the development as the latest innovation in the lineage of the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison and Neil Armstrong.

Other politicians shared the stage with DeWine on Friday in the slick, elaborate production produced by JobsOhio, the state’s private economic-development nonprofit that helped land the deal.

The mood? Somewhere between self-congratulatory and jubilant.

“I want to do backflips up here and run around, start dancing,” said Rep. Troy Balderson, a Republican who represents the area, said from the stage.

Still, it’s unclear how the project will be received politically around Ohio by Republican primary voters. State officials have said they plan to spend more than $1 billion on infrastructure in the Columbus area, which already is doing better economically than the rest of the state.

And DeWine and other state officials refused to say Friday how much in additional tax credits and other incentives Ohio has promised Intel, although they have pointed to a state change that for “mega-projects” worth more than $1 billion, added another 15 years to the maximum length of tax credits officials can offer.

Details aside, announcing a giant jobs proposal is bread-and-butter good politics and allows DeWine to change the subject from the pandemic as he makes the case that Ohio is better off under his leadership.

And it should help him brush off other issues, such as a Friday press release from Jim Renacci, a Republican primary challenger, attacking DeWine for raising the gas tax in early 2019.

The Intel complex, two separate factories will cost $20 billion and employ 3,000 workers, and will support jobs for an additional 17,000 people in fields like construction, engineering, entertainment and restaurants according to state officials.

And Intel officials said Friday they eventually want to spend $100 billion and employ 10,000 people at the site over the next decade. Construction will begin before the end of the year and is expected to be finished in 2025, company officials said.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger dubbed the project “Silicon Heartland,” a political buzz phrase that sounds like the dream of midwestern politicians. Gelsinger also presented DeWine with a silicon wafer, mounted in a plaque engraved with the date.

“This is our first major site announcement in 40 years,” Gelsinger said. “And as we’ve seen and done throughout our history we come to a site and we build for a long time.”

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who took his lumps during the daily virtual DeWine coronavirus briefings defending the state’s overwhelmed, ancient unemployment system, also joined DeWine on stage on Friday to spike the football a few times.

Husted said after Friday’s event the DeWine administration has remained focused during its time running the state, disputing that the pandemic made for a tough term. But he described the announcement as a high point for the administration and him personally.

While remaining nonspecific about the incentives, Husted described the project a good return on Ohio’s investment that will create an entire industry sector of semiconductor manufacturing and related suppliers around the state.

“This is reputationally for our state, it’s a global day. Ohio doesn’t make global news for economic development projects very often. We are today and Ohio’s shining… It’s the tide that lifts all boats,” Husted said.