Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee member Lisa Cooper speaks during the committee’s Sept. 9, 2022 meeting. Ohio GOP Chair Bob Paduchik, standing at the podium in the background, survived an attempt by some committee members to replace him with Bryan Williams, the party’s vice chair.
Jeremy Pelzer | cleveland.com
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio—Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Paduchik has survived an attempt by state party officials to replace him less than two months before the November general election.
After more than an hour of debate, the Ohio GOP state central committee decided Friday not to hold leadership elections until January. Some committee members sought to replace Paduchik with Ohio GOP Vice Chair Bryan Williams because of the party’s decision to endorse Gov. Mike DeWine for reelection in the primary election in May, as well as questions over financial issues.
The attempt to remove Paduchik illustrates how there are divisions among Ohio Republicans even though the party’s candidates have, for years, controlled all three branches of state government, as well as a majority of Ohio’s congressional delegation. If Williams had been elected chairman, he would have become the Ohio Republican Party’s fourth leader in six years.
Central committee member Laura Rosenberger of Clark County said many party officials were unhappy with ”the lack of leadership” from Paduchik. She also argued that new central committee members, who were sworn in Friday, “should not have to serve under a leadership that they did not choose.”
But other committee members, during their meeting in suburban Columbus, argued that Republicans shouldn’t be fighting among themselves so close to the November general election, as Republicans are fighting to hold onto retiring U.S. Sen. Rob Portman’s seat, reelect DeWine and other statewide executive officeholders and maintain their majority on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Central committee member Arthur McGuire of Dayton said “big-time donors” are worried about giving money to Republicans while a party chair fight is ongoing.
“Right now, everybody is scared – everybody’s sitting on the edge of their seat,” McGuire said. “So we have to really, really, really look at what we’re doing right now.”
But Rosenberger disagreed that the debate was a bad thing. “We argue all the time, because we’re smart,” she said. “The Democrats are stupid — that’s why they don’t argue.”
After it became clear that Paduchik had the votes to remain chair, opponents tried to adjourn the meeting, but the central committee voted 44-20 to reject the motion.
In February, committee members voted 36-26 to endorse DeWine over three other Republican primary candidates despite criticism from some members. During the meeting in December 2021, Paduchik abruptly ended the meeting after vocal anti-DeWine activists refused to leave the room.
Several committee members who endorsed DeWine, including former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, ended up losing their seats in primary elections last month.
Paduchik was elected Ohio GOP chair in February 2021 after his predecessor, Jane Timken, resigned to run (ultimately unsuccessfully) for Portman’s Senate seat. Prior to that, Paduchik served as ex-President Donald Trump’s Ohio state campaign director in 2016 and co-chaired the Republican National Committee from 2017 to 2019.
Paduchik told reporters after the meeting that he expected meetings like this when he was elected chair.
“It’s part of the cost of doing business,” he said.
