President Trump needs a stronger bench in the U.S. Senate to get his nominees approved and accomplish his agenda.

In 2016, Mr. Trump surprised the pundits and beat Hillary Clinton in Ohio by +8 points, helping Senator Rob Portman coast to an easy re-election victory. But 2018 is not 2016. President Trump is not on the ballot. And Senator Sherrod Brown has the advantage of incumbency.

Trump recently endorsed Rep. Jim Renacci in Tuesday’s Ohio GOP Senate Primary (May 8th). However, no matter who becomes the GOP nominee for Senate, the real opportunity to flip Ohio’s Senate seat red in November is actually in Ohio’s hotly contested gubernatorial primary. And her name is Mary Taylor. Let me explain.

Mary Taylor: A True Conservative

Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor is facing off against Attorney General and former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary.

Mr. DeWine has more money and was endorsed by most of the Columbus Establishment early. But he also brings a 42-year record as a career politician who voted for amnesty for illegals and chain migration multiple times. He earned an “F” from the NRA for partnering with Chuck Schumer in restricting 2nd amendment freedoms. And he has an atrocious record on judicial confirmations, including voting AYE on Sonia Sotomayor and Merrick Garland. That’s to name just a few things.

Ohio conservatives remember Mr. DeWine’s long, liberal record. And it was reinforced recently when, as AG, he mandated Driver’s Licenses be given to illegals in Ohio. AG DeWine’s 25-point lead in the polls has vanished over the past six weeks, despite his huge spending and media advantage. Now the race is a literal dead heat, with 25% still undecided.

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is the true conservative in the race. She chose Nathan Estruth, a strong Christian business leader known nationally as a conservative champion, as her running mate. Mary is also the only candidate that has worked with President Trump. In fact, President Trump has been in Ohio 3 times in the last 12 months, and Mary has been with him all 3 times. Mr. DeWine has failed to appear with the President and has chosen instead to continue Governor Kasich’s team and legacy. (Indeed, DeWine’s campaign manager, Dave Luketic, ran Kasich’s Presidential Super PAC!) Further, Mary Taylor worked an important jobs and energy investment by private companies in southeast Ohio directly with President Trump in the Oval Office last fall.

The Candidate With a Broader Appeal

More pertinent to switching that Ohio Senate seat, Mary Taylor is without a doubt the stronger general election candidate. Mary is an accountant and mom who has much broader appeal amongst Independents and conservative Democrats than 42-year career politician Mike DeWine.

Private polling shows having Mary Taylor at the top of the ticket will lift all GOP candidates’ chances.

In fact, the last really tough election cycle in Ohio was in 2006, when I lost the race for governor and DeWine lost the race for Senate to Sherrod Brown. Only one GOP statewide candidate won that year. Her name was Mary Taylor. Running for State Auditor, she outpolled sitting Senator DeWine by over 175,000 votes.

Private polling shows having Mary Taylor at the top of the ticket against Obama/Elizabeth Warren protégé Richard Cordray, will lift all GOP candidates’ chances. Meanwhile, having Mike DeWine as the nominee puts an anvil around the GOP Senate nominee’s neck, pulling him down 10 points or more, as many conservatives will choose to sit it out.

Ohio deserves and needs conservative champions like Mary Taylor and Nathan Estruth. And the GOP Senate nominee needs them as well to defeat Sherrod Brown and flip the seat red in November.

Ken Blackwell a Senior Fellow at the Family Research Council, serves on the Boards of Directors of the NRA and the Club for Growth. He was a Domestic Policy Advisor to the Trump/Pence Presidential Transition Team.