Dayton, Cincinnati mentioned in leaked Wikileaks emails from Podesta

Ohio politicians and local cities — including Dayton and Cincinnati — were mentioned in the latest Wikileaks release of hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta.

Many of the emails that reference Ohio cities and politicians are written by or sent to people in the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Progressive Media, which is a pro-Barack Obama communications group affiliated with Podesta, and a liberal group called Progressive Accountability, sent other emails that reference the state.

Additionally, Dayton Daily News articles appear at least seven times, and are either referenced in the emails or printed in entirety.

The emails that mention the Dayton Daily News are collections of news clippings, giving updates on stories about the 2008 Obama campaign or Clinton’s current campaign.

References to Ohio in the latest batch of emails include:

• In March 2016, three campaign workers for Clinton email back and forth about questions the presidential nominee was likely to face. Campaign workers were worried about Clinton being asked about her stance on the death penalty. The email states, “Not everyone likes her answer,” when she’s asked about Ohio and the 30 other states that still allow the death penalty.

• Some Clinton staffers were concerned over anyone, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, winning the Republican nomination except for Donald Trump. In a March 2016 email, former congressional staffer Brent Budowsky emails Podesta about the nominee: “Right now I am petrified that Hillary is almost totally dependent on Republicans nominating Trump….she has huge endemic political weaknesses that she would be wise to rectify…..even a clown like Ted Cruz would be an even money bet to beat and this scares the hell of out me.”

• HIV activist Keith Molter emails Podesta in March 2016 to tell him he’ll most likely vote for Kasich over Clinton because of her claim that Nancy Reagan was responsible for a national conversation on the AIDS crisis. Podesta said the comment came from “sheer exhaustion” and was a “terrible mistake.”

• Podesta receives an automated email from Progress Ohio about a video that highlights Ohio’s “harshest anti-abortion laws.” The email says Kasich “intentionally concealed his role in the assault on women’s reproductive rights because he did not want to risk alienating the majority of Ohio voters.”

• A 2008 email from a Progressive Accountability team member highlights Sen. John McCain’s list of scheduled presidential campaign events, including a fundraiser in Dayton. The event was said to be hosted at the home of Ed Hughes at 5057 Rolling Woods Trail, according to the email.

• A 2008 email from the League of Conservation Voters lauds a speech given in Dayton by Obama during his presidential campaign. “Today in Ohio, Senator Obama put forth an inspiring vision to meet the critical challenge of our time: America’s energy future,” the email said.

• A 2014 email from American Bridge, a liberal super PAC for Democrats, eludes to a trip Clinton took to Dayton in June of that year. “Hillary spent the morning in Little Rock, Arkansas, then traveled to Dayton, Ohio — Swing state. Cough — for another book signing later that afternoon.”

• Podesta received a press email from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an organization focused on strengthening trans-Atlantic cooperation. The email references U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s work with Bosnia. “Congressman Turner was the mayor of Dayton, Ohio from 1993 to 2001 and established a sister-city partnership between Dayton and Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1995, he hosted a month-long negotiation process between Bosnian, Croat, and Serb leaders, which culminated in a peace accord known as the Dayton Agreement,” according to the GMF.

• A 2008 email from Progressive Accountability describes a Democratic “tracker” who went to a McCain rally in Dayton to online stream the event and report details back to the Obama campaign. The crowd in Dayton sung “Happy Birthday” to the Republican nominee.

• A 2015 email from sidney.blumenthal@gmail.com to an undisclosed amount of recipients shares an image of demonstrators at the University of Cincinnati protesting the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi attack.

About the Author