Tag: GOP Caucus

Ohio House Republicans Call on New Speaker to Reconsider Megan Fitzmartin as Communications Director

Hannah Poling

In a letter dated Monday, state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township) and his leadership team urged new House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) to rethink hiring Megan Fitzmartin as the taxpayer-funded position of the House GOP policy and communications director because she was “a chief campaign operative” of former Speaker Larry Householder, whose corruption trial is set to begin next week.

The letter claims that Fitzmartin’s appointment is “extraordinarily ill-advised and demonstrates questionable judgment” and that a “sizable number” of House Republicans are unlikely to cooperate with her.

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Republican Derek Merrin Elected as New Speaker for the Ohio House of Representatives

Hannah Poling

State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township) has been elected as the new Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 135th General Assembly as reported by a release from the Ohio House.

The GOP Caucus selected Merrin, a 36-year-old Realtor, and real estate investor as the House Republicans’ pick for speaker over two rivals. State Representative Bill Dean (R-Xenia) organized and led the leadership election. The caucus’ newly elected and returning members participated in the vote.

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The Tennessee Star Asks Chairman Cameron Sexton to Make Monday’s House GOP Caucus Meeting Open to the Public

Laura Baigert

  The Tennessee Star sent a letter on Thursday to State Rep. Cameron Sexton (R-Cookeville), Chairman of the Tennessee House Republican Caucus, asking that he make Monday’s House Republican Caucus meeting called to discuss Speaker Glen Casada open to the public. “On behalf of our readers and all Tennesseans, I am requesting the meeting of the Tennessee House Republican Caucus scheduled for Monday, May 20 be open to the public and available for live audio and video broadcast,” Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy said in the letter, dated Thursday May 16. “Though the May 10 letter sent to you by State Rep. Jerry Sexton and 11 other members of the Tennessee Republican House Caucus asked that the meeting be closed to the public, it is clear, based on recent actions, that such a request for privacy will not be honored by some participants, and that the proceedings of the meeting will be made available to other media outlets in either a live or recorded format,” Leahy continued. “Therefore, the only result of any decision to attempt to keep the meeting closed will be the leaking of the meeting results to some, but not all, media,” Leahy added.…

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Ohio State House Battle for Speaker Continues Amid Veto-Override Effort

Andrew Shirley

As early as Thursday, December 27th, Ohio House Republicans may vote to elect a new speaker as well as a new GOP caucus dean, following a dramatic schism from within the House leadership. Normally, following an election, the GOP caucus dean calls for an informal meeting, a new speaker is voted on, and the leadership selection is finalized. However, GOP caucus dean Jim Butler (R-Oakwood) has declined to set a date. On November 29th, he stated “There is growing demand among the caucus to hold a leadership vote. We are going to have a vote.” Since then he has made no public attempt to schedule or organize said vote. From December 19th to 21st, outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich vetoed three conservative-backed bills; A self-defense gun bill, a pay raise for elected officials, and a pro-life bill that would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected. Kasich did pass several other bills, including a ban on one of the most common second-trimester abortion procedures. Many GOP lawmakers are hoping they can overturn the vetoes during the December 27th meeting, in addition to finalizing their leadership. However, a potential speaker would have to earn 50 of the 61 GOP caucus member votes. Many believe the…

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