Frank LaRose, who won more votes than any other Republican running statewide in Ohio, says the party needs to make a more positive case to voters if it hopes to recover from its losses in the midterms.
LaRose won the state auditor’s race Tuesday with more than 2.3 million votes. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy received just over 2 million, while Sen. Jon Husted finished with slightly less than 2.1 million in his reelection bid.
“There are, of course, cycles to American politics,” LaRose said. “But I think we as a party need to focus on what we’re for, not just what we’re against.” He said Republicans should emphasize individual freedom and the idea that rights come from a higher power, rather than government.
LaRose also pointed to free markets and the opportunity for people to prosper through hard work and building businesses. Those principles, he said, were among the reasons he became a Republican when he was young.
He cited Ohio Issue 3, a ballot measure requiring voters to show identification. The measure, backed by Republicans, passed with more than 65% of the vote, despite Republican candidates’ struggles elsewhere on the ballot.
LaRose said the result showed that Republican policies can remain popular even when the party has trouble communicating its message. He added that he wished more conservatives had voted and thought the outcome might otherwise have been different.
Ohio, he argued, is not a far-left state on practical issues such as voter identification. LaRose urged Democrats who won races in Ohio to govern with a Midwestern approach, warning that a more coastal, left-leaning style could shorten their time in office.
As the state’s chief elections official, LaRose said he could tell when about 60% of the ballots had been counted that Republicans were headed for a difficult night. He praised the state’s 40,000 election workers for their professionalism.
After eight years overseeing Ohio elections, LaRose is moving into the state auditor’s office. He said he intends to hold public officials accountable for how they spend taxpayer money, adding that waste would be exposed and theft prosecuted.
