Favor wins Dem prosecutor race 'for the next generation of little Black and brown girls'

Columbus City Councilmember Shayla Favor has won the historic primary race among three Black Democrats running for their party's nomination to replace retiring Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack, according to unofficial results.

With 100% of the county's 888 precincts in, the Franklin County Board of Elections reported Favor had 41% of the vote, Anthony Pierson had 35% and Natalia Harris had 24%.

Favor will face John Rutan, a local defense attorney who was unopposed on the Republican primary ballot, in the Nov. 5 general election. If she wins, she will become the county's first Black prosecutor and the county's first female prosecutor.

Surrounded by supporters at a watch party on Columbus' Near East Side where she lives, Favor declared her victory Tuesday night and promised to bring transparency, accountability and dignity to the office.

She said this historic race was not just about her.

“(This campaign) was for the next generation of little Black and brown girls,” Favor said.

Only about 1% to 2% of elected prosecutors nationwide are women of color.

Favor said she is willing to work with any of her primary opponents and is focused on making sure the full slate of Democrats is successful in November, including President Joe Biden.

Favor drew criticism from Pierson during the race for her lack of experience prosecuting felonies, but she said after her victory, "the voters have spoken."

Pierson did not return a phone message left by The Dispatch by mid Wednesday.

When the early votes were reported right after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., Pierson led by a few percentage points with Favor close behind. But that flipped shortly before 9 p.m. when more votes were reported. After that, Favor held and grew the lead. Harris, a Columbus resident and Delaware City Attorney, was always a distant third.

The Democratic nominee will have the advantage in the general election as Franklin County has become a Democratic stronghold where it's difficult for Republicans to win countywide office, so much so that some county judges and judicial candidates have switched parties from GOP to Democrat in recent years.

This primary race had the most sparks between Pierson and Favor, who both raised six-figure pots of campaign money, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state. Favor was just reelected to Columbus City Council in November. Pierson is deputy chief counsel in Tyack’s office and had Tyack's backing to replace him.

Pierson, who like Harris had never run for office before, campaigned heavily on his experience prosecuting felony cases and his five-point plan for the office.

Favor, more at home in the political arena, announced her candidacy less than a month after her reelection to City Council. She has never worked in a county prosecutor's office or handled a felony case, but maintains the county prosecutor's role is much broader than that and requires executive leadership experience.

Favor and Pierson trade jabs over 'misleading' flyer, messaging

None of the candidates had the benefit of appearing on the Democratic party slate card handed out at polling places since the Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee narrowly voted in January not to endorse ahead of the primary. The party's screening committee had recommended Pierson based on his experience, but the NAACP Columbus branch and other groups — as well as Favor — called for the party to endorse no one and let the voters decide.

Pierson's campaign began Primary Election Day on Tuesday by handing out flyers at the polls that looked like Democratic party endorsement slate cards, drawing strong criticism from Favor, who called the flyers "misleading."

The blue flyers told electors to “vote for Democrats recommended by the Franklin County Democratic Party screening committee."

Franklin County Democratic Party Chair Michael Sexton put out a statement Tuesday afternoon agreeing the flyers might confuse voters who may not know the difference between a recommendation and an endorsement.

Pierson's campaign maintained the flyers were factually accurate, but after Sexton called on Pierson to cease using the flyers, Pierson's campaign said they would work to remove the literature.

Pierson said that it was "interesting that the Favor campaign is accusing us of being misleading while at the same time stating lies about her lack of criminal prosecution experience."

Favor has said in advertisements that she has experience prosecuting violent crimes, which are felonies. Favor has never prosecuted a felony case.

Before Favor joined the city council, she was an assistant Columbus city attorney for five years in the environmental division. There, according to Favor, her work included addressing nuisance properties that blighted neighborhoods with crime.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County prosecutor race unofficial results: Shayla Favor wins