Social conservatives from Ohio and other key states in this upcoming presidential contest have been invited to a closed-door meeting with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump next week. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler talked to one of them – the head of the state’s leading anti-abortion group.
Mike Gonidakis with Ohio Right to Life says he wants to ask Trump specifically about his campaign strategy.
“Simply put, unless he has a more inviting message, it’s going to be very difficult for him to win Ohio. And without winning Ohio, you’re not going to win the White House. So I’m going to ask him simply to explain the strategy and what he’s going to do in addition to what’s he's currently doing, because the current strategy doesn’t work.”
Gonidakis says to win Ohio, Trump needs social conservatives, but they also need him, since Gonidakis says they can’t vote for likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Gonidakis says Trump needs a more unifying message to attract pro-life voters in Ohio, but he admits that Trump is the only option most of those voters will consider.
“We’re sort of in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t position, but it’s the position we find ourselves in because America voted. So at the end of the day, our only option truly is to vote for Donald Trump, because the thought of Hillary Clinton will set our movement back for generations to come.”
Gonidakis says he and the other conservative leaders were invited to the private meeting by the Trump campaign Tuesday in New York, and it will be closed to the media.
