Voter Files Mandamus Suit with State Supreme Court After Ohio Election Commission Blows Off Her Blystone Complaints

An Ohio voter filed a writ of mandamus petition with the state’s Supreme Court Monday, asking the high court to order the Ohio Elections Commission to hold an expedited hearing on her two complaints filed April 7 against gubernatorial candidate Joe Blystone and his campaign committee.

“It was filed on behalf of Mary Capella, who’s a voter in Butler County, and it’s a challenge to the inaction and the avoidance responsibility by the Ohio Elections Commission to enforce the campaign finance laws of the state of Ohio,” said Curt C. Hartman, the Cincinnati elections attorney.

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Renacci Tops DeWine, Others in New Ohio Gubernatorial GOP Nomination Poll

Jim Renacci

The campaign manager for former congressman James B. “Jim” Renacci told The Star News Network that the March 28-conducted Harris poll of 1,342 Ohio Republican voters showed Renacci leading Gov. R. Michael DeWine with 46 percent support compared to the governor’s 30 percent, just over a month before the May 3 GOP primary.

“That recent Harris poll actually corroborates some massive internal data that we’ve collected over the last week or so with our phone banking operations,” said Tom Weyand, who is helming the former congressman’s campaign.

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Paduchik Rules: The Ohio GOP Central Committee Votes 36-26 to Endorse DeWine, Others Unlocking Party Support Before May 3 Primary

The embattled chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, Robert A. Paduchik, successfully oversaw a contentious 3.5-hour meeting Friday of the state party’s central committee held at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center here, culminating in the committee voting 36-26 in a secret ballot to endorse Gov. R. Michael DeWine, along with the other statewide Republicans incumbents as a slate.

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Scott Presler Brings #ThePersistence to His Ohio Tour Supporting Jim Renacci for Governor

Scott Presler

The conservative activist whose tagline is “Make Kindness Great Again” is bringing his #ThePersistence vibe to his tour of Ohio in support of Republican James B. “Jim” Renacci’s gubernatorial campaign.

“Well, I’m not on a bus tour, but I am in a rental vehicle traveling this state of Ohio, and I’m driving myself. I’m not living a fancy life with a chauffeur,” said Scott Presler, who worked as a dog walker and also for a Northern Virginia school system before he dedicated himself to electing Donald J. Trump president in 2016. “I take care of my own business, but I started in Medina, Ohio, doing a Super Bowl, anti-Woke party with Jim Renacci running for governor.”

Presler said he is traveling all over the state to get the word out before the May 3 primary, when Renacci faces Gov. R. Michael DeWine.

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New Poll Shows Ohio GOP Voters Have Walked Away from DeWine as Ohio GOP Central Cmte. Poised to Endorse the Unpopular Governor

Mike DeWine

A new poll of 626 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Public Policy Polling, and commissioned by the Democratic Governors Association, has brutal implications for Ohio Gov. R. Michael “Mike” DeWine, showing his Favorable/Unfavorable rating six points underwater.

The poll shows Republican primary voters are divided over DeWine’s job performance, with 40 percent approving of the job he is doing and 41 percent disapproving,” wrote Minami Yoshizawa, a PPP polling associate, in her analysis memorandum for the DGA.

“His approval rating when it comes to handling the Covid-19 pandemic is also underwater by four points, 40-44,” she said of the poll that was conducted Jan. 25 and Jan. 26. The poll carries a 3.9 percent margin of error.

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Shock Poll: 73 Percent of Renacci’s GOP Supporters Think 2020 Election Stolen From Trump, Only 39 Percent of DeWine’s GOP Supporters

President Donald J. Trump’s one-time campaign manager, now advising James B. “Jim” Renacci’s gubernatorial campaign, touted a new internal poll in an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star that found the former congressman is leading Gov. R. Michael “Mike” DeWine in the race for the Republican nomination to be decided in the May 3 primary.

Trump is playing a major role in Republican voter preferences for the 2022 campaign, said Brad Parscale, who tracks Renacci’s messaging and other facets of the campaign, in an exclusive interview about the poll.

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Senior Consultant to Gibbons’ Ohio Senate Campaign Mike Biondo: ‘We’re in a Very Good Position in This Race’

In an exclusive interview, the general consultant for Mike Gibbons’ campaign for the Ohio Republican Senate nomination explained to The Ohio Star the investment banker’s path to victory.

“If you take a look at any of the polls that have been released by any of the candidates, the one constant is Mike Gibbons has consistently been moving up,” said Michael G. Biondo, a partner in Ascent Strategic, who has held senior positions in national political campaigns, including serving as national senior advisor to Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

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Ohio GOP Reformers Reflect on Ohio GOP Central Committee Meeting Paduchik Cut Short

Members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee, who have been punished for demanding more transparency and accountability, shared with The Ohio Star their thoughts on Friday’s meeting, which ended suddenly with items still on the agenda.

Party Chairman Robert A. Paduchik had gaveled the meeting in recess until two Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies cleared out everyone from the sitting in the two dozen chairs set up in the public gallery and the people standing, who crowded the roped-off space in the back of the room.

Two of the five resolutions on the agenda were left to consider when Paduchik and his allies quickly ended the recess and adjourned the meeting on a voice vote.

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Paduchik Gavels Short Unruly Ohio GOP Central Committee Meeting; Two Resolutions Left Unaddressed

The Ohio Republican Party chairman gaveled shut the December 3 meeting of the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee held at the Nationwide Conference and Hotel Center here roughly 90 minutes in, leaving two resolutions unaddressed on the agenda.

“We are taking a recess until the hall is cleared,” said Robert A. Paduchik, who took over leadership of the state party from Jane E. Timken in February, shortly after 11:30 a.m., after members of the committee complained that individuals in the public gallery participated in voice votes.

The public gallery had two dozen chairs in a roped-off section in the back of the room for the roughly 100 people who showed up for the open to the public meeting. A handful of protesters held signs and during the meeting and burst into applause or cheers.

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Exclusive: GOP Governor Hopeful Renacci Tells Why He Named Pro-Life Filmmaker Joe Knopp His Running Mate

The former congressman and main challenger to Ohio Gov. R. Michael DeWine for the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination announced today, Joe Knopp, the producer of the pro-life film “Unplanned” agreed to be his lieutenant governor running mate.

“I picked a guy who’s going to help me get elected and help me govern,” said James B. “Jim” Renacci, who June 9 announced his own candidacy for governor.

In addition to being a producer for “Unplanned,” the 2019 true-life film about Abby Johnson’s transformation from a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director to becoming an advocate for the unborn and a leader in the pro-life movement, Knopp also produced the 2015 film “Woodlawn” and the 2018 film “I Can Only Imagine.”

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Lawsuit: Five Ohio Republicans Claim Ohio GOP Missing $3 Million; Demand Court-Ordered Forensic Audit, Funds Claw Back

A band of five members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee filed suit against the Ohio Republican Party, Party Chairman Robert A. Paduchik and Party Treasurer David W. Johnson November 29 at the Franklin County Courthouse petitioning for the court to grant their four requests:

– An injunction against Paduchik and or a temporary restraining order stopping him from reassigning members of the party’s Central Committee from their subcommittees or otherwise reorganizing the Central Committee outside the process set out in the party rules;
– Production and recovery of financial documents for a court-ordered forensic audit of the party’s books going back to the party’s fiscal year 2017, or going back as far as necessary to track down impropriety and illegality;
– Accountability and transparency sufficient to make auditable books and records that the petitioners claim has not been accomplished in 12 years, leaving the party with entirely corrupted and un-audited financial records; and
– The party’s adoption of the necessary management and officer accountability and an investigation towards the recovery of funds illegally transferred or converted from the party.

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