On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of Ohio election officials to bar a self-proclaimed “progressive” from entering the state’s Republican primary. This ruling effectively ends the attempt by the candidate to challenge the incumbent GOP Representative Mike Carey in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District.
Samuel Ronan, who previously ran as a Democrat at both state and national levels, sought to compete as a Republican this time around. His attempt included signing a candidacy declaration, under the threat of election falsification charges, affirming his membership with the Republican Party.
Nevertheless, documents from the US District Court revealed that Ronan had openly confessed his candidacy was a tactical move designed to infiltrate heavily Republican districts with Democratic candidates, aiming to establish a presence there.
The strategy backfired when Mark Schare, a Republican voter, lodged a complaint with the Franklin County Board of Elections. He furnished evidence from social media and interviews suggesting Ronan’s intent to deceive GOP voters into supporting a Democrat masquerading as one of their own.
Ronan defended his position, arguing he did not misrepresent his affiliation, citing historical instances where politicians, including Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, shifted party lines. His defense, as reported by Courthouse News Service, highlighted similar political maneuvers by “hundreds of others.”
Ronan claimed in his application he did not lie about his affiliation, citing similar party deviations by politicians, including former President Ronald Reagan, President Donald Trump and “hundreds of others,” according to a report from Courthouse News Service.
After the election board tied along party lines, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stepped in to toss Ronan off the ballot.
LaRose said the case was a matter of “the integrity of the electoral process,” slamming Ronan’s alleged mission to infiltrate the party, according to court filings.
In response, Ronan filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated because the state used his core political speech against him to remove him from the ballot.
Chief US District Judge Sarah D. Morrison swiftly rejected Ronan’s arguments, ruling the First Amendment does not protect a candidate who submits a fraudulent declaration of candidacy.
“It cannot be the case that a State must allow a candidate on a partisan ballot even if he lied about his party affiliation simply because the First Amendment is implicated,” Morrison wrote in her opinion.
She noted that while Ohio allows candidates to legally change their political affiliation, election officials are not required to ignore a candidate’s public statements that directly contradict their sworn oath.
The court emphasized the state has a “substantial interest” in barring candidates from fraudulently attesting they belong to a political party when they do not.
Morrison also dismissed Ronan’s claims that a Republican elections board member was unconstitutionally biased against him, finding that political association does not prove a risk of bias.
After the legal loss, Ronan asked the Supreme Court Monday to intervene prior to early voting.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, referred the application to the full court, which denied Ronan’s request without explanation, according to Courthouse News Service.
