'I'm the leader': Derek Merrin lost Ohio House speaker fight but says he leads GOP caucus

Surrounded by a majority of his Republican colleagues, Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, stood just outside Ohio's House floor Wednesday and declared himself the GOP leader.

"I'm the leader of the House Republicans," Merrin said. "Jason Stephens is the speaker of the House."

His announcement came after Merrin and 37 representatives of what's being called the Republican Majority Caucus met behind closed doors for 90 minutes. The group discussed ideas for House rules, redistricting, "working with the Republican-led Senate," and a plan to make it harder to amend Ohio's state constitution.

They also talked about how to work with the new speaker; A not-so-easy task given that members believe they were betrayed by their 22 Republican colleagues who backed Stephens.

The "Gang of 22" worked with all 32 Democrats in the House to elect Speaker Stephens even though Republicans, as a group, decided on Merrin for speaker in November.

"I was surprised that people I trusted lied to me...," Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Winterville, said. "They made a promise to support a person who won our caucus vote."

What does the Republican Majority Caucus want?

The group, which Merrin says includes all 45 members who didn't vote for Stephens, is still figuring out how they're going to operate but they have some concrete ideas about what they want.

"We want to decentralize power. The speaker can't have all the power anymore," Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, said. "We want input on (committee) chairs and committee assignments...We can't have a dictator anymore."

Merrin said they're going to do "everything in our power to pass conservative policies" like the backpack bill that would make all Ohio schoolchildren eligible for an EdChoice voucher.

"If Jason Stephens has a good bill or a good policy, Derek Merrin is going to be the first person who stands up and says we need to support because we are dedicated to representing our constituents," Merrin said. "If a Democrat has a good idea, we've supported bills from across the aisle before."

Stephens said in a statement that his "focus remains on unifying" his members so they can get to work.

"After meeting with dozens of members of the Ohio House this past week, I am confident the House can move forward and deliver real results for the people of our great state," Stephens said.

What happens now?

As far as Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is concerned it's still "business as usual in the Senate."

"I don't think it's a matter of meeting with him or him," Huffman said. "I think it's a matter of trying to get things done."

When he's working to pass a bill in the other chamber, it's not unusual for the Senate president to meet with multiple representatives. Huffman said he's talked with Merrin and looks forward to working with him, Speaker Stephens and all the House GOP members.

But the relationship between the 45 who voted for Merrin and the 22 who broke for Stephens might be harder to repair.

"Jason Stephens sold conservative policy," Plummer said. "We're all against that. That's a hit to the entire party."

The Ohio Republican Party formally censured the 22 representatives at its meeting last week but stopped short of cutting off future endorsements or financial aid.

More:Ohio Republican Party censures GOP lawmakers who backed new House speaker

"We have support all across the state of Ohio," Merrin said. "We have the support of the Ohio Republican Party. We have the support of county Republican parties. We have the support of the grassroots...We have the support of many organizations, conservative Republican organizations all around the state."

He called the support "overwhelming" and promised to "stand his ground" against Democrats passing "their liberal agenda" through the speaker they helped elect.

How that all plays out in terms of what gets passed and what doesn't in 2023 is too soon to say, Rep. Brian Stewart told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.

"This is the first meeting we’ve had since we walked off the floor," Stewart said. "And, you know, you eat the elephant one bite at a time."

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Group f House Republicans plan to form third caucus over speaker fight