Supreme Court rejects progressive candidate’s Ohio GOP primary bid

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a bid by a self-described “progressive” candidate to enter Ohio’s Republican primary, leaving in place a decision by state election officials to disqualify him for misrepresenting his party affiliation.

Samuel Ronan, a former Democratic state and national candidate, sought to run as a Republican in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District against GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Carey. To do this, he signed a declaration of candidacy, under penalty of election fraud, swearing that he was a member of the Republican Party.

However, court documents filed in U.S. District Court noted that Ronan was caught openly admitting that his candidacy was part of a calculated strategy to lead Democrats in “deep red districts” as Republicans to “get a foot in the door.”

Republican voter Mark Schare filed a protest with the Franklin County Board of Elections, citing social media posts and interviews as evidence of Ronan’s plan to “trick” GOP voters.

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Ronan claimed in his application that he had not lied about his membership, citing similar deviations from the party by politicians including former President Ronald Reagan, President Donald Trump and “hundreds of others.” a report From the Courthouse News Service.

After the electoral college was tied along party lines, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stepped in and removed Ronan from the ballot.

LaRose harshly criticized Ronan’s alleged party-infiltration mission, according to court records, saying the case was a matter of “the integrity of the election process.”

Sam Ronan has previously described himself as a “progressive”. (Sam Ronan via Facebook)

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In response, Ronan filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated because the state used his core political speech against him to remove him from the ballot.

Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison quickly rejected Ronan’s claims and ruled that the First Amendment does not protect a candidate who files a false declaration of candidacy.

Morrison said, in his view, “It is out of the question for a state to allow a candidate who lies about his or her party affiliation to enter the partisan ballot just because the First Amendment is involved.” he wrote.

Sam Ronan speaks to a large crowd of people. (Sam Ronan via Facebook)

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He noted that although Ohio allows candidates to legally change their political affiliation, election officials are not required to ignore public statements that directly contradict a candidate’s affidavits.

The court emphasized that the state has an “important interest” in preventing candidates from fraudulently declaring that they are members of a political party when they are not.

Morrison also rejected Ronan’s allegations that a Republican election board member was unconstitutionally biased against him, finding the political association did not pose a risk of bias.

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Following the legal loss, Ronan asked the Supreme Court on Monday to intervene ahead of early voting.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, referred the petition to the full court, which denied Ronan’s request without explanation, according to the Courthouse News Service.