The yearlong civil war between two Republican factions in the Ohio House of Representatives entered an expensive new phase this month when the party's campaign arm, the Ohio House Republican Alliance, began what cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer reports is a $743,000 TV ad campaign to help six of Speaker Jason Stephens' supporters in the March 19 primary.
Stephens, who secured the top job last year with the support of the chamber's Democratic minority, is not one of the candidates that OHRA is advertising for, even though he has his own difficult intraparty fight ahead of him. State Senate President Matt Huffman, who is termed out of the upper chamber, wants to remain in the legislature by beating Stephens next month. The outcome could have major ramifications, as the Associated Press reported last fall that Huffman has his eye on claiming the speakership in 2025.
The current speaker, however, may be able to fend for himself without OHRA's help. Pelzer writes that recent campaign finance reports show that Stephens has turned around what had been a huge fundraising deficit. In the middle of last year, Huffman enjoyed a gigantic $863,000-to-$202,000 advantage in cash on hand, but now it's Stephens with a $760,000-to-$713,000 edge.
After Republicans gained seats in the 2022 midterms and secured a 67-32 supermajority in the lower chamber, hard-line state Rep. Derek Merrin seemed all but assured of becoming speaker last year after he won the support of the GOP caucus. Stephens and 21 other Republicans, though, unexpectedly joined with all of the Democrats to make Stephens speaker.
While Stephens went on to approve rules that give Democrats more representation on committees and let Minority Leader Allison Russo choose members for certain special committees, Republicans remained sufficiently united to push their conservative agenda forward.
But Merrin has continued to argue that he's the leader of the GOP majority, and his faction is suing to gain control of the well-funded OHRA. Those efforts aren't going anywhere fast, however, as a state judge on Wednesday denied a request from the Merrin camp to keep Stephens' people from spending OHRA's cash.
The termed-out Merrin, who is competing in next month's Republican primary to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the 9th Congressional District, won't be around next year, no matter what happens to Stephens and his backers. Other conservatives, however, have a vested interest in what happens next month. Americans for Prosperity began running digital ads against Stephens' allies over the summer, and with a month left to go, there's still time for this war to grow even hotter.
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Stephens, who secured the top job last year with the support of the chamber's Democratic minority, is not one of the candidates that OHRA is advertising for, even though he has his own difficult intraparty fight ahead of him. State Senate President Matt Huffman, who is termed out of the upper chamber, wants to remain in the legislature by beating Stephens next month. The outcome could have major ramifications, as the Associated Press reported last fall that Huffman has his eye on claiming the speakership in 2025.
The current speaker, however, may be able to fend for himself without OHRA's help. Pelzer writes that recent campaign finance reports show that Stephens has turned around what had been a huge fundraising deficit. In the middle of last year, Huffman enjoyed a gigantic $863,000-to-$202,000 advantage in cash on hand, but now it's Stephens with a $760,000-to-$713,000 edge.
After Republicans gained seats in the 2022 midterms and secured a 67-32 supermajority in the lower chamber, hard-line state Rep. Derek Merrin seemed all but assured of becoming speaker last year after he won the support of the GOP caucus. Stephens and 21 other Republicans, though, unexpectedly joined with all of the Democrats to make Stephens speaker.
While Stephens went on to approve rules that give Democrats more representation on committees and let Minority Leader Allison Russo choose members for certain special committees, Republicans remained sufficiently united to push their conservative agenda forward.
But Merrin has continued to argue that he's the leader of the GOP majority, and his faction is suing to gain control of the well-funded OHRA. Those efforts aren't going anywhere fast, however, as a state judge on Wednesday denied a request from the Merrin camp to keep Stephens' people from spending OHRA's cash.
The termed-out Merrin, who is competing in next month's Republican primary to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the 9th Congressional District, won't be around next year, no matter what happens to Stephens and his backers. Other conservatives, however, have a vested interest in what happens next month. Americans for Prosperity began running digital ads against Stephens' allies over the summer, and with a month left to go, there's still time for this war to grow even hotter.
Campaign Action