The yearlong civil war between two Republican factions in the Ohio House of Representatives entered an expensive new phase this month when the party's campaign arm, the Ohio House Republican Alliance, began what cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer reports is a $743,000 TV ad campaign to help six of Speaker Jason Stephens' supporters in the March 19 primary.
Stephens, who secured the top job last year with the support of the chamber's Democratic minority, does not face any primary challengers or Democratic opposition in the general election, but he still has a difficult battle to keep the speakership. State Senate President Matt Huffman, who is termed out of the upper chamber but is now running for the House, has made it clear for a long time that he wants to become speaker next year.
Huffman is also getting involved to help his favored contenders in the primary, according to News 5, which reports that several candidates say he's aided their efforts to beat pro-Stephens incumbents.
After Republicans gained seats in the 2022 midterms and secured a 67-32 supermajority in the lower chamber, hard-line state Rep. Derek Merrin seemed all but assured of becoming speaker last year after he won the support of the GOP caucus. Stephens and 21 other Republicans, though, unexpectedly joined with all of the Democrats to make Stephens speaker.
While Stephens went on to approve rules that give Democrats more representation on committees and let Minority Leader Allison Russo choose members for certain special committees, Republicans remained sufficiently united to push their conservative agenda forward.
But Merrin has continued to argue that he's the leader of the GOP majority, and his faction is suing to gain control of the well-funded OHRA. Those efforts aren't going anywhere fast, however, as a state judge on Wednesday denied a request from the Merrin camp to keep Stephens' people from spending OHRA's cash.
The termed-out Merrin, who is competing in next month's Republican primary to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the 9th Congressional District, won't be around next year, no matter what happens to Stephens and his backers. Other conservatives, however, have a vested interest in what happens next month. Americans for Prosperity began running digital ads against Stephens' allies over the summer, and with a month left to go, there's still time for this war to grow even hotter.
Correction: This article incorrectly stated that House Speaker Jason Stephens and state Senate President Matt Huffman are running against one another in the March Republican primary. The two are seeking separate seats in the state House, while Huffman has said he plans to challenge Stephens in next year's contest for speaker.
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