COLUMBUS, Ohio – A little-known candidate from a minor party is at the heart of an internecine fight among members of a major party over the Ohio governor’s race.
A challenge to the candidacy of the Libertarian Party’s Charlie Earl is under way before a hearing officer designated by the state elections chief and the back-and-forth accusations have drawn the Tea Party wing of the Ohio Republican Party into the fray against the rest of the GOP.
Earl’s bid for governor potentially could draw votes from Republican Gov. John Kasich as he seeks re-election this fall. His likely Democratic challenger is Ed FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive.
Columbus attorney John Zeiger argued Tuesday before hearing officer Bradley Smith Zeiger that Earl should be disqualified from May’s primary ballot, asserting that Democrats circulated Earl’s petitions and provided other monetary and legal help to the effort.
Zeiger represents Tyler King, a Libertarian Ohio voter, in the dispute.
Capital University law professor Mark Brown, representing Earl, called the challenge an extension of Republican efforts to exclude third parties from Ohio’s ballot.
The Ohio Citizens PAC refuted what it says were additional claims by Republican Party officials that Democrats helped Tea Party-supported Republican candidates for the state House and Senate.
“I can state unequivocally that I, the Ohio Citizens PAC, and the candidates we support have had no involvement whatsoever with officials or operatives of the Democratic Party,” Tom Zawistowski, Ohio Citizens PAC president and Tea Party leader.