Libertarian candidate for Senate challenged

FREMONT — Libertarian voters are supposed to decide a rare statewide party primary on May 5, picking between two candidates running for the U.S. Senate. But a Libertarian Party activist has challenged the candidacy of one of them, Jeffrey Kanter of Shaker Heights, claiming his nominating petition is invalid. Kanter and William "Bill" Redpath, of Fremont, are the two candidates vying for the Libertarian nomination for the Senate. The winner is expected to face Democrat Sherrod Brown and incumbent Republican Jon Husted in the general election. Kristen Wichers, a longtime Ohio Libertarian Party activist in Fairfield County who ran for the Ohio House in 2018, filed a protest with the Ohio Secretary of State's office arguing that Kanter's candidacy is illegal. The next step will be a hearing, a spokesman for Secretary of State Frank LaRose said. The hearing has been set for March 6 in Columbus. Wichers said she became suspicious because while Redpath is a well-known Libertarian, nobody seemed to know who Kanter is. "Our party had no information for him," Wichers said. "He's very hard to get ahold of. That made me think something is weird." Wichers' complaint alleges that some of Kanter's nominating petitions were circulated by a convicted felon, in violation of state law. Many of the people who signed the petition are not registered Libertarians, Wicher says. Wicher also alleges that many of the petitions are not properly signed and that there is evidence of fraud. Wichers has hired a lawyer, civil rights attorney Joshua Engel, who practices in Mason. Wichers said she suspects Kanter's candidacy was funded by Republicans and that Kanter would have withdrawn if he won the primary, leaving Libertarians with no candidate for the U.S. Senate. Republicans who fear that Libertarians will take away votes from GOP candidates have a long history of making it hard for Libertarians to get on the Ohio ballot, she asserts.The Ohio Libertarian Party is not participating in the challenge, said Michael Sweeney, the party chairman. "Ms. Wichers is operating in her own capacity as a concerned Ohioan," Sweeney said. Kanter and Redpath are scheduled to debate when the party hosts its state convention April 24-26 in Dayton, Sweeney said. Multiple attempts to contact Kanter in recent weeks, via the state party and Facebook, have been unsuccessful.