Ohio primary election: Voters struggle to sort out 11 GOP candidates for US House

BATAVIA, Ohio – Tuesday's Republican primary in this U.S. House seat features 11 Republicans, almost all of whom have loudly proclaimed their love for Donald Trump, guns and a border wall.

So how will Republican voters decide who to back in Ohio's 2nd Congressional District?

They'll consult Google and God, they said.

In diners, in bait shops and on sidewalks throughout the 16-county district, voters interviewed said they didn't know much about the candidates. Who they pick next Tuesday will almost certainly succeed retiring Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a Hillsboro Republican who announced his retirement after 10 years.

"Flip a coin," one man in the small town of Seaman told The Enquirer before asking the reporters why they don't get "real jobs." The man refused to give his name.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Samantha Meadows in the general election.

"We would call it Trump country," said Kevin Craft, Scioto County GOP vice chairman, when asked to describe the 2nd Congressional District. Trump won the district in 2020 by a vote of 3-to-1, the largest margin of Ohio's 15 congressional districts. "There’s no doubt about that. It’s always been a conservative district."

The candidates have tried to differentiate themselves, especially through their TV ads.

One candidate wields a flamethrower. Another gets behind a bulldozer saying "he knows a thing or two about building walls." Then you have a candidate and former Marine drill instructor running a "congressional boot camp" yelling at suit-clad politicians, "I've seen Biden move faster!"

What are the issues in the 2nd Congressional District primary?

Kay and Tim Deininger walked up to the GOP headquarters in Clermont County on a late February morning hoping to get more information about who's running in the primary. They tried the door of the yellow brick building in Batavia plastered with political signs and found it locked.

Kay Deininger, 74, took a picture of the QR code in the window that will give her the Republican sample ballot with all the names. They wanted candidates tough on illegal immigration and for stricter border controls.

"Stop it and send them back," Kay Deininger said.

Deininger, 76, clad in his green Air Force jacket, backed up his wife's sentiment.

"Send all of them back that came over illegally," he said. They blamed immigrants who entered the country illegally for rising crime and siphoning off tax resources.

Studies have shown no connection between immigration and crime. From 2012 to 2022, undocumented immigrants have a homicide conviction rate 14% below that of native-born Americans. Immigrants have a 62% lower homicide rate and undocumented immigrants have a 41% lower total criminal conviction rate than native-born Americans, according to research from the libertarian think tank Cato Institute.

Also, the Deiningers want their energy bills to go down. Exactly how will they determine who's the best candidate?

"We’ll talk about it and pray about it," Kay Deininger said.

Robert Hershberger, 30, of Georgetown, said he would consult Google to find the candidates' backgrounds.

Hersberger was one of three pilots who sat in a booth at Cruiser's, a 50s-themed modular chrome diner off a highway in the middle of farmland surrounding the hamlet of Seaman. The three chatted over the remains of eggs and hashbrowns. They were en route to an airfield in Adams County. They said they also will vote in the Republican primary but have no idea who the candidates are.

Hershberger said he preferred candidates who have never held public office before.

"I think they're just more trustworthy," said Hershberger. "I think career politicians, a lot of them are crooked."

Of the 11 candidates in this race, six have never held elected public office before.

'Just come out and talk and help us'

Voters across the district felt forgotten by the federal government.

The district includes suburban counties outside Cincinnati and Columbus, but the more rural sections include some of the Ohio counties with the highest unemployment rates and poverty rates.

The median household income is about $61,600 and only 21% have a college degree or higher, both below the statewide averages.

Across the table from Hershberger, fellow pilot Dan Music also didn't know who he'd vote for. He just wanted the next member of Congress to bring more money back to the region. For instance, he'd like to see upgrades to the Adams County Airport.

"Just come out and talk and help us," said Music, 74, of Highland County.

Whoever will get Debbie Jewell's vote will need to address illegal immigration and stop sending foreign aid overseas. She said there are homeless people in her hometown of Portsmouth who need help and people dying of drug overdoses. Her friend died at the age of 64 from a drug overdose, a needle found under her bed. Her friend became hooked dealing with pain from a medical issue, Jewell, 65, of Portsmouth, said.

She blamed lax border controls for the region's drug problem.

"There are local people here that are dying from the drugs that’s coming across from down there," Jewell said. "They’re just bringing them everywhere, and it’s just a sad situation, so that’s what my vote will depend on."

Most of the drugs seized in the United States, about 90%, come through legal ports of entry, according to analysis done by several organizations, including the Washington Post and the Cato Institute. U.S. citizens smuggle most of the drugs, accounting for 86% of the convicted fentanyl traffickers in 2021, according to the Cato Institute.

Most people The Enquirer asked while traveling around the district didn't know about the race, had never heard of the candidates or just didn't want to talk about the race.

"I would talk to you, but if you look, there isn't a political sign anywhere," said one woman who works at a bait shop on the banks of the Scioto River in Piketon. She gestured to the walls and shelves lined with fishing rods and lures but indeed were devoid of any political signs. Bait shop policy barred employees from talking politics, she said.

Location, location, location

In a race with so many unknown candidates and little time for voters to decide, it might come down to geography, Republican leaders told The Enquirer.

It's possible, with so many candidates, the winning candidate could get 10% or less of the vote. Endorsements may play an outsized role, particularly those from the county Republican parties. It's those county party slates that voters walk in with to their polls.

The parties have generally endorsed the candidates from their part of the district. The Highland County GOP endorsed resident state Sen. Shane Wilkin. The Brown County Republican nod went to former Marine drill instructor and Brown County resident Tim O'Hara. The Scioto County GOP went for Larry Kidd, who lives in the adjacent Jackson County.

In many instances, it just came down to who people knew. Kidd was well known in Scioto County, the Republican vice chairman, Craft, said.

"I’ve known him a long time," Craft said. "It was easy to endorse him."

Perhaps the most coveted endorsement was that of the Clermont County Republicans. It's a suburban county where 27% of the voters reside, by far the largest population center in the district. The Republicans went with David Taylor, who lives in Clermont County, works as an assistant prosecutor and owns a concrete company.

The Republicans there endorsed Taylor because he was well known, said David Painter, Clermont County commissioner and GOP chairman.

"It’s going to come down to who are those voters familiar with and what are some of the larger demographic areas," Painter said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio 2nd Congressional District voters will pick among 11 Republicans