SANDUSKY, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose ruled Thursday in favor of putting Caleb Stidham on the November ballot, ending a two-week fight over whether the Erie County Republican Party chairman could take a nomination he voted to give himself.

The ruling was announced in a news release from the Erie County Board of Elections issued over the name of Director Alex Jones. It says LaRose “ruled in favor of certifying Caleb Stidham’s name to the November 3 ballot.”

In a letter to the board explaining his reasoning, LaRose wrote that Stidham’s application appeared to follow the law and that the Erie County prosecutor’s office had agreed. He rejected the argument that the Republican meeting that nominated Stidham violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, writing that the Democratic members had not cited any relevant law.

“Respectfully, this certification vote is not the proper forum for an extra-judicial expansion of Ohio’s open meetings laws beyond their established statutory application,” LaRose wrote.

LaRose had until Friday, Aug. 28, to decide. He ruled eight days early, and roughly 24 hours after the two sides of the deadlocked board sent him their written arguments.

Both the Democratic and Republican members submitted their memos on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Erie County release says the board also forwarded draft minutes of the meeting and the recorded audio.

That same evening, LaRose appeared at a Republican fundraiser in Stidham’s home county. TiffinOhio.net reported Wednesday that LaRose was advertised as the featured guest at the Erie County Republican Women’s Club event at the Sandusky Yacht Club, held, according to the invitation, “in support of our Erie County candidates.” Admission was $50, with sponsorships running from $250 to $1,000. LaRose is himself on the Nov. 3 ballot as the Republican nominee for state auditor. He ruled the next day.

How the tie got to LaRose

The Erie County board split 2-2 on Friday, Aug. 14, on whether to certify Stidham as the Republican nominee in Ohio House District 89. Republicans John Adams and Gary Smith voted to certify. Democrats Edward Leonard and MaryAnn Groot voted against.

Under Ohio law, a tie at a county board of elections goes to the secretary of state, who decides the question summarily. That decision is final.

The two Republicans who voted to certify Stidham are both listed as members of the Erie County Republican Party’s executive committee on the party’s own website, under the heading “Board of Elections Member.” The same page lists Stidham as the committee’s chairman.

Leonard, who read a position statement into the record, wrote that the party meeting that produced the nomination was defective. “After reviewing the circumstances of the Republican District Committee meeting at which Caleb Stidham was selected, I have concluded that the meeting was not conducted in accordance with Ohio law,” he wrote. He and Groot argued the meeting should have been open to the public and that Stidham should not have deliberated and voted on his own nomination.

Stidham has rejected the conflict-of-interest claim. “There seems to be some confusion; there is no conflict of interest because I did not lead or chair the meeting that selected me as the candidate,” he told NBC4. “The district selection committee meeting was chaired by Huron County Chairman Sven Stahl.”

The seat, and how it opened

House District 89 covers Erie and Ottawa counties and part of Huron County. The seat came open Aug. 4, when Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, delivered a letter to the Erie County board withdrawing from the November ballot after four terms, saying he was under consideration for another role.

That left the nomination to a six-member district committee made up of the Republican chairs and secretaries of the three counties. Stidham was one of three applicants. He was also one of the six people entitled to vote. The committee met the afternoon of Aug. 10 and picked him, 4-2.

Swearingen carried the district with 58% of the vote in 2024.

What happens next

Former state Rep. Steve Kraus, who announced a write-in campaign against Stidham this week, faces a 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, deadline to file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Protests against write-in candidacies are due 67 days before the election. Official ballots for the Nov. 3 general must be certified by Aug. 25.

Kraus said in a statement that the outcome was no surprise.

“It’s not unexpected that the Columbus Mafia would be able to keep their pick in place,” he said. “I don’t begrudge Secretary of State Frank LaRose for maintaining a practice that has plagued both parties for the last 30 years. If you want true representation, write in Steve Kraus on your ballot in November.”

The Democratic nominee is Easton Retzke, a Sandusky resident and Ohio State political science graduate who won the party’s nomination in the May 5 primary and has been campaigning as a nominee all summer.