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Here’s why votes for a longshot GOP candidate for Ohio governor won’t count

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Former Morgan County School Board member Heather Hill is on the statewide ballot in the race for the Republican nomination for Ohio governor, with Stuart Moats listed as her lieutenant governor. But votes for that ticket won’t be counted.

A black woman and a white man in a cowboy hat pose for a picture.
Heather Hill and Stuart Moats, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of Ohio, in a photo on Hill’s campaign website. [heatherhillohio.com]
On Wednesday, Moats filed official paperwork with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, notifying it that he had withdrawn from the primary. The Ohio Secretary of State’s office said that without a valid running mate, Hill no longer qualified to receive votes for governor. And while their names will remain on the statewide ballot, Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections have been notified that votes for them will not be counted.

Hill and Moats had been publicly feuding recently, complete with personal attacks and allegations of racism. On April 18 Hill said on Facebook that she would replace Moats as her running mate because of “irreconcilable differences”. But Ohio law doesn’t allow a candidate to withdraw this close to a primary unless they are dead. On April 22, Moats posted a video on Facebook in which he drops off paperwork to formally withdraw from the ballot.

There are now two official Republican candidates for governor in the race. Tech billionaire and and former Department of Government and Efficiency (DOGE) leader Vivek Ramaswamy is widely considered the frontrunner. Race car designer Casey Putsch is also on the ballot.

Early absentee voting for the May 5 election is currently underway.