The Columbus Dispatch USA TODAY NETWORK
Licking County Republican Thad Claggett heard about the attack ad being run against him before he saw it on television, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch.
“It was complete lies. Not a single piece of truth,” Claggett said.
The ads alleged that Claggett’s general contracting company, Claggett & Sons, mismanaged the renovation of the Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County. The school board sued Claggett’s company, but the judge ruled against the board, laying the blame at the architect’s feet. Claggett was awarded $3.8 million, according to reporting from The Newark Advocate.
“We’re proud of our record because we have nothing to hide,” Claggett said.
But what bothered him more than the accusations was where they came from: The ads were paid for by the Ohio House Republican Campaign Committee, run by Republican House Speaker Larry Householder.
“We all know who (Householder) is and how he likes to play,” Claggett said. “We are all getting the same treatment.”
That’s why Claggett took off work earlier this month and drove more than two hours to Clermont County to participate in a news conference with three other GOP candidates. The four men, who are running in three primaries, slammed Householder and a “dark money” group, the Growth and Opportunity PAC, that is linked to the Perry County Republican.
“It’s unnecessary for Republicans to do this to other Republicans,” said Adam Bird, a candidate in state House District
66. “It gets very personal, and it gets very emotional when people attack your family and attack your reputation, when a half a million dollars are being spent from outside the district to try to buy an election.”
Growth and Opportunity PAC is a federal super PAC, which means it isn’t bound by the same rules as other political action committees. Such PACs can accept multimillion-dollar donations and spend as much as they want on a race. The only catch is they can’t coordinate with an official campaign.
The four Republicans didn’t directly accuse Householder of colluding with the Growth and Opportunity PAC, but they repeatedly pointed out how these attacks were aimed only at people the speaker hasn’t endorsed.
Rachel Hoynes, spokeswoman for the House Republican Campaign Committee, issued a statement to The Cincinnati Enquirer after the news conference that said the committee always works to help incumbents get reelected.
“We work directly with our members, not outside groups,” Hoynes said. “Any false accusation of illegal coordination without evidence is irresponsible and should not be tolerated.”
That’s why the committee took out ads against Claggett. He is challenging an incumbent, Rep. Mark Fraizer, R-Newark, who was appointed to the seat last fall.
Claggett, who also had interviewed with GOP officials for the appointment to the District 71 seat, called that process rigged.
“I think the biggest thing I’m concerned about for Fraizer is he is completely bought and paid for by Columbus guys,” Claggett said. “Householder will use him as a vote. ... And I don’t think any reasonable Republican should accept that.”
Fraizer disagreed.
The former Newark City Council member told The Dispatch he was the only candidate for the appointment who had held elected office, and his work as an information-technology project manager made him uniquely qualified to ferret out solutions to issues such as wastewater management.
When asked about the speaker’s influence, Fraizer said he’s his own man.
Regarding Householder, he said: “We work well together. He represents half of Licking County and I represent the other half. I don’t understand this philosophy of going to Columbus and not working with people.”
The House Republican Campaign Committee is also spending more than $335,000 on television ads against Frank Hall, who is challenging Rep. Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, in House District 76.
Hall characterized Householder and the campaign committee as Grendell’s “political puppet-masters in Columbus” and called the ads deceitful in a news release.
And it’s not just the Ohio House primaries being hit by attack ads. State Rep. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, and Union County business owner Melissa Ackison have been fighting it out for an open Senate seat.
The 26th Ohio Senate District includes Crawford, Marion, Morrow, Sandusky, Seneca, Union and Wyandot counties. The incumbent senator is term-limited.
Reineke’s campaign created a website that accuses Ackison of taking illegal campaign contributions and not paying taxes. Ackison denied the allegations in a Facebook Live video and said an attack on her for hiring convicted felons “bothers me tremendously.”
“Yes, Bill, there are people who made mistakes, and yes, Bill Reineke, there are people who have paid their debt to society who are now trying to do what they can to work,” Ackinson told her viewers. “So sue me if we hired somebody from a second chance program because as a Christian, Bill ... these are things that you should be supporting.” astaver@dispatch.com
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