Supreme Court Rejects Ohio Candidate’s Appeal
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of Ohio election officials to disqualify a candidate who described himself as “progressive” from the Republican primary, confirming that he misrepresented his party affiliation.
Samuel Ronan, a former Democratic candidate, is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Carey in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District as a Republican. To run, he signed a candidacy declaration committing to the Republican Party, aware of the potential penalties for election fraud.
However, U.S. District Court documents reveal that Ronan admitted his candidacy was part of a broader strategy to have Democrats run in heavily Republican areas to “get a foot in the door.”
A complaint was lodged by Republican voter Mark Shea, who pointed to Ronan’s social media posts and interviews as proof of his intent to mislead Republican voters.
In his legal filing, Ronan argued he had not lied about his party affiliation, referencing similar actions by past Presidents like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, as well as numerous other politicians.
Following some division among election officials, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose intervened to remove Ronan from the ballot. LaRose emphasized that the issue centers on “the integrity of the election process,” pushing back against Ronan’s claims of infiltrating the party.
In reaction, Ronan filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the state violated his First Amendment rights by using his political speech as a reason to disqualify him.
U.S. District Chief Judge Sarah D. Morrison dismissed Ronan’s arguments, ruling that the First Amendment does not safeguard candidates who engage in fraudulent candidacy filing.
She noted that while Ohio permits candidates to change their party affiliation, election officials cannot disregard public statements that contradict a candidate’s oath.
The court reinforced that the state has a strong interest in preventing candidates from falsely certifying their political affiliation.
Moreover, Judge Morrison rejected Ronan’s accusations of bias among Republican election officials, stating that mere political ties do not indicate bias.
After losing the case, Ronan appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking intervention prior to early voting. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by Trump, passed the request to the full court, which ultimately denied it without comment.
