Despite criticism, Vax-a-Million raises Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s national profile ahead of reelection bid
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s Vax-a-Million has been the subject of jokes during late-night talk shows. It made headlines in news outlets across the country, and satirical news source The Onion even took a jab at it.
At the forefront of the conversation is Gov. Mike DeWine, who says raffling off $1 million prizes and college scholarships to vaccinated residents will help motivate those who have yet to get the shot.
Experts say the program has raised DeWine’s national profile a year before his reelection bid and shifted the conversation around COVID-19 in Ohio — but the move is unlikely to ingratiate him with Republicans who were unhappy with his pandemic response.
“There’s no back-end reward for being a national leader on this,” said David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. “It’s a very severe bind he finds himself in — governing the state versus pleasing a base vote that’s very skeptical of him and frankly very skeptical of COVID in the first place.”
over 1 million entries for the cash prize along with thousands for the scholarship.
DeWine said the program aims to get more shots in arms sooner, noting that some Ohioans weren’t in a hurry to schedule theirs. He contends Vax-a-Million was worth trying as vaccine numbers plateaued and state officials ran out of other options to persuade people to get what DeWine called “our ticket out of this pandemic.”
“The power of this vaccine and what we know about it has increased,” he said. “It’s much more powerful than anyone thought it would’ve been.”
A gimmick, but ‘a good gimmick’
Ohio is not the first state to offer vaccine incentives, but it was the first to go this big — and politicians elsewhere took notice. DeWine said he’s heard from 10 other states that wanted more information, although his office declined to identify them.
scratch-off lottery tickets to residents who get vaccinated at a state-run site. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced last week the state will conduct a vaccine lottery, giving out a total of $2 million in prizes.
Not everyone is convinced, though. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, lauded DeWine’s leadership but cast doubt on using relief funds for that purpose. DeWine and Evers joined Midwestern governors in April to encourage people to get the shot.
waste of taxpayer dollars. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who is considering a run for governor, called it “ridiculous” and said the money could be better spent helping residents and small businesses or fixing the state’s unemployment system.
“Giving just $5 million to five people in the end is going to make five people happy and over 11 million people unhappy,” he said.
Herb Asher, a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, disagrees, saying the program will likely be well-received overall and enhance DeWine’s reputation with rank-and-file Ohioans.
“It’s a gimmick, but it’s a good gimmick,” he said.
DeWine’s efforts to combat COVID-19 will be at the forefront of his reelection bid next year, and Niven said the governor’s greatest challenge will be his party primary — not the general election. At that point, he said, Vax-a-Million may serve as a reminder to voters that DeWine tried every tool he could think of to slow the virus’ spread.
“For Ohioans as a whole, this fits one of his core strengths which is, he tried,” Niven said. “No single person could solve the pandemic, but he tried to make it better.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.