Using quotes from Michael Jordan and Helen Keller, the executive chairman for the Butler County Republican Party sent a letter pleading with local Republicans to come together. In the letter, Chairman Todd Hall acknowledged the party has experienced “tense and troubled times” in the last few years.
That might be an understatement.
Last December, a jury found then-Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds guilty of unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony. The Republican was forced to resign.
But this is about more than one headline-grabbing scandal.
Earlier this year, Butler County’s GOP voted to censure a Republican state representative from Hamilton who didn’t vote for the speaker of the house they wanted. And a Republican trustee in West Chester faced backlash after publicly testifying against a bill that would ban gender-affirming care in Ohio.
When lawmakers voted on the bill, 64 Republicans voted for it. Two voted against it.
Hall wrote about “disunity” among central committee members in Butler County and controversies around endorsements.
“It is no coincidence that we had less impact on elections,” Hall wrote. “We must agree to move past recent discord and find grace with our Republican brethren. The only alternative is defeat.”
After voters legalized abortion by passing November’s Issue 1, defeat is what the local GOP is reckoning with. Across Ohio, voters approved the abortion measure by a wide margin. In Butler County, the ballot measure also passed.
In similarly conservative Warren and Clermont counties, voters rejected the issue.
“The future of our nation is in the balance,” Hall said. “We only matter if there is harmony within our party.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The GOP chairman declined an interview request from the Journal-News, saying his letter speaks for itself. Hall has been chairman of the Butler County Republican Party since 2014, when the previous leader stepped down because he grew tired of in-fighting. Hall is the owner of Todd Homes LLC and the grandson of former Butler County GOP Chairman Carlos Todd. When he was elected in 2014, Hall was 32 years old and one of the youngest chairman in at least three decades.
He campaigned on a pledge to unite the party.
Almost a decade later, he’s still fighting the same fight. Earlier this year, Butler County’s GOP voted to censure Rep. Sara Carruthers, a Republican from Hamilton. Multiple members asked her to step down. This all happened because Carruthers voted for a Republican lawmaker for speaker of the house. But this Republican was not the preferred candidate for the Ohio House Republican Caucus.
“I think it’s sad to have other Republicans fighting against you,” Carruthers told the Journal-News.
Carruthers pointed to the ousting of long-time Lakota School Board Member Lynda O’Connor, a Republican. O’Connor has been on the board since 2008. But after the election of controversial school board member Darbi Boddy, O’Connor has been criticized by some for not being conservative enough.
“I hate the extremism in the party,” Carruthers said. “Extremism doesn’t help anybody. And I think if we, as a party, go to that we are in really bad shape.”
Carruthers is up for re-election next year. So far, three Republicans have pulled petitions to challenge her in the primary.
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