CLYDE, Ohio — For months, State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) told anyone who would listen that he wasn’t worried about his Republican primary challenger.

Now he’s asking donors for help because “this is a tough primary.”

Click’s campaign sent a fundraising email this week promoting his campaign kickoff event Saturday at the Historic Octagon House in Clyde — and the tone was a sharp departure from the confident dismissals that have defined his public response to Eric Watson’s insurgent challenge.

“This is a tough primary, and your contributions will make the difference in keeping a commonsense conservative in this House seat!” Click wrote in the email to supporters.

That language is difficult to square with the posture Click has struck since Watson entered the race.

When former U.S. Senate candidate Mark Pukita commented on Facebook that Click “really has his panties in a wad” over the primary challenge, Click replied: “You’re funny, Markie. Not concerned at all.”

When the Fremont News-Messenger asked him about Watson’s campaign, Click responded: “You move to the right of Gary Click and you’re in the ditch.”

And when Watson and others called for a public debate, Click dismissed the idea entirely: “It’s always the guy losing that wants the debate. They are trying to grift off of the leader’s name ID.”

Now, with the May primary approaching, Click is telling donors the race is tough — and he’s lining up heavy reinforcements to prove it.

Moreno out, Statehouse leadership in

Saturday’s kickoff will feature Ohio House Speaker Jason Huffman, State Treasurer Robert Sprague, and Majority Whip Nick Santucci, along with representatives from Turning Point Action.

It’s a show of force from the Statehouse Republican establishment — but it’s also a downgrade. U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno was originally expected to headline the event before being quietly dropped. Whether Moreno’s withdrawal was his decision or Click’s, the shift from a sitting U.S. Senator to state-level officials tells its own story about the dynamics of this race.

Click’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

While Republicans fight over ideology, Jones focuses on kitchen-table issues

As Click and Watson battle over who is the more authentically conservative candidate — trading attacks over digital IDs, gun ratings, and abortion politics — the Democratic candidate in the race has staked out notably different ground.

Aaron Jones, a U.S. Army veteran, manufacturing supervisor, and Tiffin City Councilman, has built his campaign around the economic issues that most directly affect working families in the 88th District: jobs, economic development, cost of living, property tax relief, and fair and equal funding for public schools.

The contrast is sharp. While the Republican primary has centered on culture war credentials and intra-party loyalty tests, Jones has focused on the issues voters in Seneca and Sandusky counties confront daily — stagnant wages, rising costs, and a manufacturing sector under pressure from plant closures like the potential TMD/First Brands shutdown that could eliminate 407 jobs in Tiffin.

The winner of the May Republican primary will face Jones in November.