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Ohio’s Supreme Court rules a longshot Republican governor candidate ineligible in the primary

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Votes in today’s primary for a longshot Republican candidate for governor will not count, after a ruling from Ohio Supreme Court on the eve of the election.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose speaks at a podium with a screen with data behind him.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose [Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau]
The six Republicans and one Democrat on the court unanimously sided with Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who decided former Morgan County Board of Education president Heather Hill was ineligible for the ballot. Hill’s choice for lieutenant governor, Stuart Moats, had withdrawn from the ticket on April 22, after the two exchanged insults on social media.

LaRose said the law requires a ticket for governor to file jointly, and doesn’t allow for a replacement for a running mate less than 70 days before the primary unless a candidate dies. The filing deadline for candidates was Feb. 4, which was 90 days before the election.

In filing her complaint last week, Hill had argued there was nothing in the law that deals with running mates who withdraw and that removing her from the ballot infringes on the rights of voters. But LaRose said in his response that replacing a candidate this late could actually impair voters’ choices, as well as disrupt how the election is conducted.

The decision leaves two candidates in the Republican primary for governor: tech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy and automotive designer and race team owner Casey Putsch.