PX column: Could Democrat who defends Trump, sees UFOs, meets with dictators win in Ohio?

They made the eye-roll emoji for guys like Dennis Kucinich, Democratic candidate for Ohio governor.

After all, this is a guy who a decade ago claimed to see a UFO in Hollywood star Shirley MacLaine's backyard. He's willingly met with a brutal Syrian dictator – twice. He's gone on Fox News calling the Russian investigation a deep state political hoax.

Laugh all you want, but Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders wannabes like Kucinich have to be taken seriously in this crazy, post-2016 political world – and a recent poll shows voters seem to be doing that. Kucinich and establishment favorite Richard Cordray are tied with four weeks left until the May 8 primary, each garnering 21 percent in SurveyUSA.com's poll.

Kucinich and Cordray will be back on the same stage Tuesday night for the latest Democratic gubernatorial debate, this time at Miami University's Middletown campus. Candidates Joe Schiavoni and Bill O'Neill also will be part of the debate, which Cincinnati's WLWT-TV will air live beginning at 7 p.m.

CAN KUCINICH WIN? Ohio political experts David Niven and Herb Asher told Politics Extra that Kucinich could pull off the upset victory, but the political science professors each believe Cordray ultimately will win the primary once money starts getting spent and voters start paying closer attention.

Kucinich's favorable polling might be more a reflection of his statewide name identification rather than his Sanders-like eccentricity and Trump-like over-the-top comments – and defense of both. Kucinich has been on the political scene for five decades, a former congressman from Cleveland who ran for president twice.

Then again, the poll could reflect that voters aren't enamored by Cordray. He's painfully boring, and his "A" rating from the National Rifle Association nearly a decade ago is being used against him by Kucinich in the wake of the Florida school shooting.

Cordray has all the money, but Kucinich's polling should serve as yet another reminder to the establishment that this ain't the old days.

"Why haven't primary voters fallen all over themselves with support for Cordray yet?" the University of Cincinnati's Niven said. "The quiet, reserved, middle-of-the-road guy is a classic Ohio candidate, exactly what the Democrats would've ordered from central casting in years past. But his personality does not fit the moment. He is not a made-to-order 2018 candidate. His brand of politics is dated."

BERNIE-TRUMP HYBRID? Kucinich is a populist, willing to say unconventional things to try to appeal to the disenfranchised. Like Bernie, Kucinich is pushing an uber-progressive agenda that calls for single-payer health care and free college tuition for all. He's been endorsed by the Berning-backing Our Revolution organization.

But unlike Bernie, Kucinich has praised and defended Trump. Kucinich lauded Trump's inauguration speech on Twitter, a message the Democrat has since deleted.

Kucinich has defended Trump on the Russian investigation as a Fox News contributor, calling it a deep state hoax by intelligence officials to try to undermine the president. Now that we know the Russians have meddled in our elections, does Kucinich still believe that?

"The only thing I’m worried about as candidate for governor is Moscow, Ohio," Kucinich said during a recent news conference in Cincinnati (see above YouTube clip). "Have you heard me make any statements about foreign policy?"

But the governor has a responsibility to protect the integrity of Ohio's elections.

"Election integrity is very important," Kucinich told reporters. "I haven’t actually gone there in this campaign. Anybody else?"

Afterward, PX asked Kucinich to clearly state where he stands on the Russian investigation.

"My concern has always been to protect the presidency," he said. "That’s a constitutional matter. We must never let an outside group undermine the presidency. Are there elements inside the government who want to displace the authority of the president? That’s what I was pointing out."

Whoa.

Let's also not forget that Kucinich has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose military has killed hundreds of thousands of Syria's own people to help keep him in power. Kucinich most recently met with Assad in January 2017.

This all raises serious questions about Kucinich's judgment and ability to lead one of America's most powerful states.

POTENTIAL FALLOUT: If Kucinich wins the primary, the SurveyUSA.com poll has him losing to Republican Mike DeWine 51-38 in November. What would a Kucinich primary victory do to the Democratic Party?

"Then the question becomes: Is Dennis Kucinich a Democratic Donald Trump or is he a Democratic Ed FitzGerald?" Ohio State's Asher said. "For the Democrats, that's a very scary proposition. He could be such a weak candidate that he could bring the entire ticket down."

FitzGerald was the Democrats' disastrous gubernatorial candidate four years ago. At least Kucinich has a valid driver's licence. We think.

Politics Extra is a column looking inside Greater Cincinnati and Ohio politics. Follow Enquirer political columnist Jason Williams on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.