A deadlocked vote on the Erie County Board of Elections has thrown the Republican nomination for Ohio House District 89 into the hands of Secretary of State Frank LaRose, after Democrats argued the process that picked Caleb Stidham broke state ethics and open-meetings rules. The board split 2-2 on August 14 over whether to certify Stidham, the Erie County treasurer, as the GOP's replacement candidate following incumbent Rep. D.J. Swearingen's abrupt withdrawal from the race. Under state law, that deadlock automatically kicks the decision to LaRose, whose ruling will determine whether Stidham appears on the November 3 ballot against Democrat Easton Retzke.
Democratic board members Edward Leonard and MaryAnn Groot voted against certifying Stidham's nomination, while Republican members John Adams and Gary Smith voted in favor, according to StayTunedSandusky. As reported by Cleveland.com, Democrats challenged the process that made Stidham the GOP nominee, arguing the meeting where six local Republican party officials selected him violated Ohio's open-meetings law because it wasn't open to the public. Democratic board members also argued that Stidham himself violated state ethics laws by participating in the 4-2 vote that made him the nominee, casting a ballot for himself as Erie County GOP chairman.
How Stidham Won the Nod
Stidham was chosen by six local Republican party officials over four other applicants in the August 10 selection vote, winning 4-2 with support from Erie and Huron county officials while two Ottawa County representatives backed Ottawa County Auditor Jennifer Widmer instead, per the Cleveland.com report. Stidham was elected Erie County treasurer in November 2020 after defeating an incumbent Democrat in an upset, and he now serves as the county's chief investment officer overseeing more than $100 million in public funds, according to the same account. His campaign platform for District 89 centers on property tax relief, drawing on his work with local budget commission measures and state tax legislation.
The seat opened up after Swearingen, first appointed in 2019 and reelected in 2024 following a comeback bid from Steve Kraus, won the May primary but then withdrew from the race in early August, citing potential consideration for an unannounced federal appointment. Ohio House District 89 covers all of Erie County, most of Ottawa County, and parts of Huron County, a multi-county swing district in northern Ohio. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.31, a district committee of party chairpersons and secretaries from each county in the legislative district holds the authority to pick a replacement nominee once a candidate withdraws after the primary.
Board Members Split on Motive
Board member Ed Leonard said he takes elections matters very seriously and maintained the board was simply upholding the rules when it declined to certify Stidham unanimously. Republican board member John Adams countered that the dispute was more about partisan politics than the law, telling Cleveland.com that the county prosecutor's office had informed the board that Stidham's petition met all legal requirements. Adams accused his Democratic colleagues of putting party interests ahead of the law, framing the challenge as an attempt to relitigate a settled nomination process through procedural objection.
Ohio courts have not directly addressed whether the state's open meetings act applies when party officials choose a replacement for a primary-election nominee, leaving the legal question genuinely unresolved heading into LaRose's decision. Ohio court rulings and a 1980 Ohio attorney general opinion have established an exception when party committees perform an official role under state law, a precedent Republicans are likely to lean on. Generally, Ohio party committees do not have to follow the state's open-meetings rules, though Democrats maintain Stidham's dual role as both a candidate and a voting party chairman crossed an ethical line.
A Familiar Playbook for LaRose
This isn't the first time LaRose has been asked to resolve a tied county board over a post-primary Republican replacement. In September 2022, LaRose broke a 2-2 tie involving a deadlocked board concerning a GOP replacement candidate in Trumbull County, a decision the Ohio Supreme Court later affirmed, according to Court News Ohio. That case echoes a separate 2024 fight in Erie County itself, when Steve Kraus faced a legal challenge claiming his felony ethics conviction made him ineligible to serve, before the Ohio Supreme Court ruled he was eligible to run.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3501.11(X), a county elections board deadlock must be submitted to the Secretary of State within 14 days, and LaRose's summary decision on the matter is final. Whatever he decides, the Republican nominee for House District 89 will face Democrat Easton Retzke, a 21-year-old Sandusky native and 2022 Sandusky High School graduate, in the general election on November 3. Retzke, a recent Ohio State University political science graduate, secured the Democratic nomination after primary opponent Sam Artino withdrew and endorsed him back in February, as reported by StayTunedSandusky.
The fight over District 89 comes months after Swearingen co-sponsored bail legislation as vice chair of the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, a post he held before his surprise exit from the race. With LaRose's office now weighing a decision that will shape who Retzke faces in a competitive northern Ohio swing seat, both parties in Erie County are bracing for a ruling that could set new ground rules for how replacement nominees are chosen statewide.
