State Rep. Dorothy Pelanda, R-Marysville, and State Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Hudson, both told this news outlet they are “considering” a run for Ohio Secretary of State.
Pelanda and LaRose have not declared their candidacy for the seat currently held by Jon Husted, who is term-limited, but both told this news outlet they’re thinking about it.
“I’m not making an announcement today, but it’s something I’m thinking about,” LaRose said.
“I’m seriously considering running for Secretary of State,” Pelanda said.
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House Bill 18 and Senate Bill 10 were both introduced last week to prevent the state from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars it doesn’t need to when just one congressional candidate is seeking appointment in a primary election.
The two bills propose to change the rules pertaining to a congressional primary, stating the Ohio Secretary of State can determine the necessity of a primary election.
Just more than 1,600 in the six-county 8th Congressional District voted in the one-candidate Democratic primary that appointed Steve Fought as Warren Davidson’s November 2016 general election opponent.
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“When we hold unnecessary elections it wastes money,” said LaRose. “It wastes the valuable time of our hard-working board of elections staff and most importantly it undermines the credibility of our elections.”
The idea to eliminate unnecessary elections received bi-partisan support in the last general assembly, and it appears it’s a matter of which bill makes it to Gov. John Kasich’s desk first.
Pelanda said her bill “was well-vetted in the last General Assembly and many of our members are very familiar with this bill.”
“This is not a new concept for them and they understand the extreme cost,” she said.
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