State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Republican primary challenger Eric Watson, of Tiffin, squared off Thursday evening at a forum hosted by the Sandusky County Republican Women, with Watson drawing repeated applause as he pressed Click directly on guns, digital ID, and data centers.
The event came one day after Click skipped the League of Women Voters’ District 88 candidates night in Tiffin, citing a House session conflict. House sessions are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.
Click attacks Watson’s voting record and ties to ‘abolitionists’
Click opened by framing himself as a “common sense conservative” and drew a sharp distinction between his anti-abortion position and what he called the “abolitionist” wing of the movement — a label he applied to Watson’s supporters.
“If this young girl has an abortion, we’re going to persecute her and prosecute her for murder — and you know what that does? That puts them on death row,” Click said. “I don’t get bullied by the people on the left. I don’t get bullied by the people on the right.”
Click confirmed he is running for his final term, noting he will be term-limited out of office after this cycle.
He also went after Watson’s record as a voter, calling him “the young man from Arkansas” who had never cast a ballot in a Republican primary in Ohio and had only voted once — in the 2024 general election. The Arkansas claim is false. Watson corrected the record from the stage, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd. “I have not actually been in Arkansas, but I actually was in Arizona where my successful business is,” Watson said. Watson founded a hat shop in Cave Creek, Arizona, and returned to Seneca County in 2022 after a decade out of state.
During his attack on Watson’s voting record, Click acknowledged Marcell Strbich, a Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State and election integrity activist who was in attendance, interjecting an aside about same-day voting before continuing.
Watson draws applause on guns, digital ID, and data centers
Watson, who holds degrees in international studies and aviation technology and is a licensed commercial pilot, introduced himself as a successful small business owner before turning his fire on Click’s legislative record — and the crowd responded.
He cited a rating from Ohio Gun Owners, telling the audience that Click received a C-minus while he received the organization’s top score. “My opponent’s actually not been reading some legislation,” Watson said.
Watson pressed Click publicly on his support for House Bill 78, which Watson said legalizes digital ID. “Gary, I don’t understand why you support digital ID,” Watson said from the stage.
He also returned to his criticism of House Bill 646 — the data center study commission bill Click co-authored — calling it a vehicle for appointing “a whole bunch of unelected bureaucrats” with no requirement for constitutional or civil rights expertise among its members.
On data centers broadly, Watson told the crowd that Ohio’s agricultural sector faces direct threats from the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, citing research from the National Institutes of Health. When he referenced the NIH documentation, Watson addressed Click directly. “This is not foreign propaganda, Gary,” he said.
Watson was cut off by the moderator mid-point on data centers and agriculture, having reached his time limit.
Watson also raised property tax abolition as a platform item, tying rising property taxes directly to the artificial inflation of land values driven by data center purchases. He pushed further, arguing that state officials are ignoring financial fraud in Columbus while passing the burden to constituents. “Why aren’t they saying, hey, look over here in Columbus — look at all the fraud?” Watson said. “Instead, what do they want to do? They want to increase our property taxes.”
Watson also tied data center expansion to what he called a broader surveillance agenda. “This is a global agenda. This is not business as usual,” he said.
Click dodges sexual predator question, pivots to trans kids
Asked how he would help fight sexual predators in District 88, Click did not address the question directly. Instead, he pivoted to House Bill 693, legislation he said he is carrying that would prevent child welfare agencies from removing children from homes where parents decline to affirm a child’s gender identity.
“We’re calling Johnny Johnny and Susie Susie,” Click said. He added that language from the bill was borrowed by the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services for a directive on the same issue.
Watson answers question on migrant workers and ICE
Watson was asked about ICE enforcement and the district’s long history of migrant workers. He said immigration must be conducted legally. “It doesn’t matter if you rob somebody’s home or if you come to our country illegally — there’s a process,” he said.
Click defends his record, cites law enforcement relationships
Click closed by pointing to his relationships with local law enforcement — including the sheriff, prosecutor, and chief of police — as evidence of his effectiveness in office. “It’s all about collaboration,” he said.
The Ohio House District 88 Republican primary is scheduled for May 6, 2026. The winner will face Democrat Aaron Jones, a U.S. Army veteran and Tiffin City Councilman, in the November general election.
