CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - If Syria is an issue in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, it didn't show Saturday night at a debate in this largely liberal Cleveland suburb.

Just days after news broke that former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich took $20,000 from a pro-Syrian government group for a speech in London, Kucinich along with former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill took the stage at the Cleveland Heights Community Center.

The initial news of Kucinich's payment - and the initial lack of disclosure - received condemnation on social media. The former congressman from Cleveland had already been lambasted numerous times for visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad - who multiple intelligence agencies have concluded used chemical weapons on his own people.

Kucinich's staunch refusal to condemn Assad for the chemical weapons attack has only compounded the criticism, with Kucinich's detractors saying he is providing cover to the Syrian dictator.

Former Gov. Ted Strickland, the only Democrat elected to the governor's office since 1990, slammed Kucinich in a call to press on Thursday while also publicly endorsing Cordray.

But any talk of Syria was nonexistent Saturday evening.

Not from the moderators. Not from Kucinich's opponents. Not from the crowd of more than 150 people who packed the room.

In what was likely the last time the four candidates will be on stage together in public, Syria just wasn't an issue.

"Frankly, I haven't missed a step because I've been going to ward clubs and engaging with people," Kucinich said. "And what do they want to know about? They want to know about jobs, health care, education, clean water. They want to know about assault weapons and what I intend to do. That's what they want to know about. They want to know about what Ohio is talking about."

Kucinich might be right. A half-dozen voters interviewed after the forum's conclusion said the disclosure either wasn't a matter or was less pressing than other problems in the state.

The issues voters like Ian Shakelton, 43, of Bratenahl, cared most about were in Ohio - education, infrastructure and making sure Republicans don't keep the governor's seat - not the Middle East.

"Not having Mike DeWine as my governor is probably number one," Shakelton said. "There's so many things Ohio can do better right now."

Angela Davis, 46, of Cleveland, said she didn't get her questions answered during the 90-minute debate. But her questions weren't about Syria. She wanted to know about alternative degrees for high schoolers who are failing.

As for Kucinich, Davis said she gladly voted for him regardless of his cozying up to Assad.

"Dennis is the only one of the candidates who has been coming to inner city Cleveland schools," she said. "I haven't seen Cordray in Cleveland at all."

Mary Zaller, 57, of Cleveland, and her spouse Mary Prevel, hadn't heard much about Kucinich's speech.

They said it was troubling because it spoke to Kucinich's decision making, but issues like equality and rebuilding the state were more important.

"It's not at the front of my mind," Zaller said. "Guns is a big deal to me."

The other candidates didn't bite either. Despite criticism from Schiavoni earlier in the week and a missive from Cordray's campaign just minutes before the forum's start, Syria just never came up.

Kucinich, ever confident, walked around the room shaking hands after the end of the forum with a smile.

As he's done all week during coverage of the news, he blamed what he called the "pro-war" faction of the Democratic Party for the media coverage and trying to sabotage his quest to take progressive politics to Columbus, but said he wouldn't let that bring him down.

"Their attempt to smear me isn't playing. Period," Kucinich said. "It's not playing. It went over like a lead balloon."