Suburban Cincinnati county GOP endorses 'Trump candidate' rival over Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine

Erin Glynn Jessie Balmert
Cincinnati Enquirer
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci announces political newcomer and Christian film producer Joe Knopp as his running mate in a bid to unseat GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, at the Savannah Center, in West Chester Township, on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021.

BATAVIA, Ohio – In a rebuke to Gov. Mike DeWine, a county Republican party in suburban Cincinnati endorsed his primary rival Monday night.

The Clermont County Republican Party weighed in on two statewide races, endorsing Jim Renacci for governor and Bernie Moreno for U.S. Senate. Of the 106 committee members present, 77 voted to endorse Renacci, 22 voted for DeWine and seven voted to endorse no one, according to Greg Simpson, the party chair. 

Simpson declined to comment on the endorsement and said it's up to the committee members. 

The vote is another skirmish in the internal Republican battle between more traditional Republicans like DeWine, who first won office in 1976, and Trump loyalists like Renacci, who bills himself as "the only Trump candidate." Former President Donald Trump has not made an endorsement in the race. 

In 2020, Trump won 67 percent of the vote in Clermont County, home to 207,449 residents just east of Cincinnati.

A poll released last week by the Renacci campaign found that Renacci leads DeWine by eight points in the gubernatorial primary. 

Renacci spokesman Tom Weyland said the endorsement is a clear "no" to Mike Dewine and "the establishment," in a statement to The Enquirer.

"They are looking for change and they have chosen the true outsider ticket to fix Ohio," he said. 

DeWine campaign spokesman Brenton Temple declined to comment on the Clermont County endorsement but pointed to other recent endorsements in southwest Ohio as examples of his support there.

Renacci's running mate, Christian film producer Joe Knopp, spoke to the 106 committee members present about his family's struggle with homelessness until a church offered them help. He also emphasized his efforts to bring a conservative perspective to Hollywood, especially with the movie "UnPlanned," which tells the fictional story of a Planned Parenthood clinic director as she becomes an anti-abortion activist.

Knopp said the ticket does not yet have an endorsement from Trump, but told the party to "keep watching and I think you'll see how he feels about us." 

The party met at Norlyn Manor, a family-owned wedding venue in Batavia. Attendees accepted campaign literature and snacks as they listened to candidates. Nearly every candidate who spoke began their speech by saying they are "pro-life and pro-Second Amendment." 

The party did not discuss the governor's race endorsement and voted by secret ballot.  

Franklin and Clermont are the only county Republican parties to make endorsements in the governor's race to date. The Franklin County Republican Party endorsed DeWine for governor and Matt Dolan for U.S. Senate. The Ohio Republican Party will meet Friday to discuss endorsements. 

Moreno and U.S. Senate candidates J.D. Vance, Jane Timken and Mark Pukita attended the meeting in person. Dolan sent a letter to the party apologizing for not being able to attend. He said he would not seek the party's endorsement as a result. Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel did not attend or send a representative from his campaign.

What's next for other southwest Ohio Republican parties:

  • Todd Hall, the Butler County Republican Party chair, said in a statement to The Enquirer that the party will be endorsing candidates in statewide races and plans to meet at the end of February or March 1.
  • Warren County Republican Party Chair Julie Byrne said the party has not decided yet whether it will endorse statewide candidates.  
  • Alex Triantafilou, chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said it will not be endorsing in statewide races. 

Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@enquirer.com to find out how you can help fund her work. 

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at eglynn@enquirer.com and follow her on Twitter at @ee_glynn.

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