COLUMBUS – The race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination is about to undergo a shakeup as the two top contenders in the contest reportedly plan to combine forces.
Attorney general Mike DeWine is expected to announce today that Secretary of State Jon Husted is giving up his bid and signing on as DeWine’s running-mate, according to reports in The Columbus Dispatch and other media sources.
The announcement is expected to come during events in Dayton at noon Thursday and at 2:30 p.m. in Columbus.
Polls indicated the two were the top contenders for the Republication nod, according to the newspaper, and the move comes ahead of the anticipated entry of former Ohio attorney general and treasurer Richard Cordray, who resigned last week as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, into the race on the Democratic side.
Lieutenant Gov. Mary Taylor and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci are the other GOP contenders.
Democrats running for governor are State Sen. Joe Schiavoni, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, former state Rep. Connie Pillich and Ohio Supreme Court Justice William M. O’Neill.
TV talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer, meanwhile, has decided to stay out of the 2018 Ohio governor’s race. WLWT-TV reports Springer announced his decision in his weekly podcast Wednesday in northern Kentucky.