Elected Seneca County Republican official says Gary Click 'doesn't work for the people'

TIFFIN, Ohio — An elected member of the Seneca County Republican Central Committee has publicly accused state Rep. Gary Click, a fellow Republican seeking another term in the Ohio House, of failing the people he represents.

“Too bad Gary doesn’t work for the people,” Cary Theis wrote in a Facebook comment beneath a September post by Coalition of Patriots II, a northwest Ohio conservative group that accused Click of trying to sabotage its event with Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy.

Theis holds the elected Republican central committee seat for Eden North. In the May 5 primary, he defeated James D. Cline, a member of the Seneca County Board of Elections, by 135 votes to 95 — 58.7% to 41.3% — according to the county’s certified election results. The Board of Elections lists Theis as serving a four-year committee term beginning May 20. Republican Party meeting minutes also record his successful July motion to establish a committee to review party bylaws.

A conservative feud that survived the primary

The comment appeared amid an unusually public dispute between Click and activists to his political right. As TiffinOhio.net reported Sept. 19, Coalition of Patriots II accused Click of acting out of vindictiveness after the organization left him off the invitation list for a private Oct. 1 question-and-answer session with Ramaswamy.

The group said it had arranged its gathering first. Click then promoted a separate Ramaswamy town hall in Tiffin, scheduled to begin one hour before the Coalition’s event in Risingsun. The Coalition alleged that Click organized the competing appearance to undermine its meeting and retaliate against conservatives who had supported his Republican primary challenger, Eric Watson. Those claims about Click’s motives were the Coalition’s accusations; the timing and separate announcements of the events were documented.

Both appearances ultimately took place. Click’s town hall, initially advertised for Tiffin University’s Marion Center, which accommodates up to 500 people in theater seating, was moved to the roughly 50-seat Reino’s Party Room downtown. Ramaswamy later attended the Coalition’s gathering in Risingsun.

The controversy followed Click’s narrow victory over Watson in the May Republican primary. Watson won Seneca County and came within roughly 600 votes of defeating the three-term incumbent districtwide. The Coalition said conservative activists had supported Watson because they opposed portions of Click’s voting record, and the group’s criticism continued after Click secured the nomination.

Click faces Democrat Aaron Jones in the Nov. 3 general election. The Seneca County Republican Central Committee sponsored Click’s Ramaswamy town hall; Theis, an elected member of that same committee, was publicly saying the lawmaker did not work for the people he represents.