Delaware County’s state representatives races will be contested in the March primary, filing information reveals.
Incumbent Andrew O. Brenner, a Republican from Powell, will have a challenger in the 67th Ohio House District. Newcomer Daniel R. Lomeo, a Republican from Westerville, will try to unseat Brenner, who is serving his third term.
Janet Breneman, a Democrat from Powell, also filed and would face the GOP victor in the general election.
The 67th Ohio House District consists of the western two-thirds of Delaware County.
State Rep. Margaret Ann Ruhl, a Republican from Mount Vernon, will vacate her 68th Ohio House District seat at the end of 2016 due to term limits. In Ohio, state representatives are term-limited after eight years or four terms. Ruhl is serving her fourth term. The 68th district is comprised of the eastern half of Delaware County and all of Knox County.
The five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Ruhl’s open seat are: W. Myles Bancroft from Delaware County, who works in the insurance industry; Genoa Township Trustee Rick Carfagna, who was endorsed by the Delaware County Republican Party in November; Beth Lear from Delaware County, a legislative policy analyst; Patrick Quinn from Knox County, who owns an Internet service business; and Jason Rogers, a member of the Centerburg school board who was endorsed by the Knox County Republican Party earlier this week. John Russell, a Democrat who has a farm in Galena, also filed and would face the winner of the GOP primary in November.
U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Tiberi, a Republican from Galena, will be unopposed for the 12th district in the primary; as is Edward G. Albertson, a Democrat from Newark. Ohio’s 12th Congressional District includes all of Delaware, Licking and Morrow counties, and parts of Franklin, Marion, Muskingum and Richland counties.
Two of the three county commissioners will be unopposed in the primary. Gary Merrell and Jeff Benton, both Republicans from Delaware, have filed to be candidates.
One office, judge of the court of newly created common pleas/domestic relations division, will be contested. The candidates are Republicans Randall D. Fuller of Delaware and Christopher J. Geer of Powell.
Several other county offices, all held by Republicans, will be uncontested in the primary: Carol O’Brien of Delaware for prosecuting attorney; Natalie Fravel of Delaware for clerk of the court of common pleas; Russell L. Martin of Powell for sheriff; Melissa Jordan of Ostrander for recorder; Jon Peterson of Delaware for treasurer; Chris Bauserman of Delaware for engineer; Mark Hickman of Delaware for coroner; David Gormley of Powell for judge of the 5th District Court of Appeals; and Craig Baldwin of Newark for another judgeship of the 5th District Court of Appeals.
In addition, state and county central committee candidates have filed for their respective parties in the March primary. Notably, in District 19 of the Republican state central committee, three men are running for one seat: Fred Dailey of Mount Vernon; John F. Nicks of Galena; and Craig Schweitzer of Powell; and one woman is unopposed: Teri Morgan of Powell.
These are the candidates who have filed, but the Delaware County Board of Elections states that it “has not necessarily certified these candidates.”
The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office states there are 17 presidential candidates who have filed. There are five Democrats: Hillary Clinton; Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente; Martin O’Malley; Bernie Sanders; and Willie Wilson. There are a dozen Republicans: Jeb Bush; Ben Carson; Chris Christie; Ted Cruz; Carly Fiorina; Lindsey Graham; Mike Huckabee; Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who resides in Delaware County; Rand Paul; Marco Rubio; Rick Santorum; and Donald Trump.
The following candidates are running for U.S. Senate from Ohio: Joseph DeMare, Green Party; Don Elijah Eckhart, Republican; incumbent Rob Portman, Republican; Kelli Prather, Democrat; P.G. Sittenfeld, Democrat; Ted Strickland, Democrat; and Melissa Strzala, Republican.
The following candidates are seeking a seat on the Supreme Court of Ohio: Pat DeWine, Republican; Pat Fischer, Republican; Maureen O’Connor, Republican; John P. O’Donnell, Democrat; Colleen O’Toole, Republican; and Cynthia Rice, Democrat. Two seats are open in 2016.
According to the Ohio elections calendar, declarations of candidacy for partisan candidates had to be filed by 4 p.m. Wednesday, which is 90 days before the presidential primary election on March 15. General election day is Nov. 8.
