Dems call out 'shameless' attack

SANDUSKY — It's being called "shameless" and "outrageous." The Ohio Republican Party sent out an election mailer that attempts to tie Democratic Ohio House candidate Alexis Miller to Larry Householder — even though it's the Republican candidate, state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, who was a close political ally of Householder until the bribery scandal hit. Angry Democrats have responded on social media with photos of Swearingen next to Householder at an OSU football game and at a political event. Miller said the mailer is an "act of desperation." "I have never been elected to anything before and had nothing to do with Larry Householder," Miller said. "The only person in this race who is part of Larry Householder's corruption is my opponent, who was handpicked for office by Householder, was funded by Householder, used the same consultants as Householder, and voted to keep Householder in office collecting a government paycheck." The GOP mailer, which has arrived in many local mailboxes says, "Alexis Miller's Allies Gave Us the Largest Bribery Scandal in Ohio History." It claims that House Democrats "cut a deal" in 2019 to make Householder the speaker. The mailer does contain at least a grain of truth — the Householder scandal is more bipartisan than many Democrats like to admit. Householder won his narrow 52-50 victory over Ryan Smith to be elected speaker largely because 26 of 38 House Democrats lined up to support him. The anti-Miller flyer has a photo of state Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, the leader of House Democrats, who supported Householder's election and who did, in fact, cut a deal with Householder to get him elected. But Democrats say the flyer misses a few points: • Householder appointed Swearingen to his House seat. After Rep. Steve Arndt, R-Port Clinton, resigned, a GOP House committee interviewed applicants and sent two finalists to Householder. Householder made the final decision. • An invitation for a Swearingen fundraising event in March in Port Clinton says prominently, "Endorsed by Speaker Larry Householder." • Photographs circulated by Democrats show Swearingen next to Householder as they attend an Ohio State-Michigan football game, and the two standing next to each other apparently at a political event. • A February letter on Swearingen's behalf to the Legislative Inspector General reports a gift from Swearingen to Householder's campaign committee but doesn't say what amount. • With 38 members out of the 102 who voted in the speaker's race, Democrats are a distinct minority in the Ohio House. Householder enjoyed considerable GOP support and could not have been elected speaker without it. On Twitter, Plunderbund, which covers Ohio politics, sent out a Tweet over the weekend, "Guy hand-picked by Larry Householder says what? DJ Swearingen and the Ohio Republicans are shameless." Democrats on Twitter piled on with comments such as "There is NO bottom" and "beyond shameless." Swearingen argues that after months of unfair attacks that seek to tie him to the Householder scandal, it's only fair to talk about Democrats' connections to Householder. "The record is clear that I had nothing to do with the allegations against Householder. I was a husband, father and an attorney involved in the community before I went to represent the district in Columbus. This all transpired before I got there and I never voted on House Bill 6. I voted to remove Larry Householder as speaker," Swearingen told the Register. "Since the Democrats started this campaign talking about ties to Larry Householder, it was necessary to point out the facts. The fact is that the Democrats supporting my opponent led the effort to bring Larry Householder to power, and obtained leadership positions," Swearingen said. Swearingen's comment alludes to the fact that the former House minority leader — the leader of Ohio House Democrats — was Fred Strahorn. According to an Aug. 3 article at the Ohio Capital Journal, Strahorn left as minority leader in January 2019 when he could not persuade most House Democrats to support Smith. Sykes replaced Strahorn as the minority leader. "If she is concerned about any type of tie to Householder, then Ms. Miller should be following my example by calling on their leader to step down, refund any campaign contributions, and disavow any future support," Swearingen said, referring to Sykes. Caleb Stidham, the chairman of the Erie County Republican Party and a current candidate for Erie County treasurer, insists the flyer attacking Miller is fair. "There was a secret deal made between the House Democrats and the speaker of the House," Stidham said, and without that deal, Householder would not have been elected. "Clearly, she's receiving support from the same people who elected Larry Householder as speaker," Stidham said. Sykes described the deal publicly in a December article for the Columbus Dispatch, saying that although Householder was hardly Democrats' first choice, he agreed to consider Democratic amendments to bills and operate in a more bipartisan manner. Smith did not respond to overtures, Sykes told the Dispatch.