By Doug Livingston
Beacon Journal staff writer
In these final four weeks of the 2016 election, Ohio Republicans will be calculating the distance they can put between themselves and Donald Trump.
On Friday, the Washington Post released an 11-year-old recording of Trump bragging about the ease in which he forces himself on women.
Since then, Republicans have ditched their nominee faster than at any point in the billionaire’s problematic candidacy.
But while Ohio Gov. John Kasich, state Auditor Dave Yost and, most recently, Sen. Rob Portman openly disavow their party’s standard-bearer, local Republicans are finding it difficult to distance themselves without losing Trump’s most loyal fans.
The Beacon Journal reached out to every congressional and statehouse Republican to ask if they, like Portman and Kasich, plan not to support Trump.
Some, through their campaigns, emailed statements without directly addressing the paper’s question. A couple picked up the phone and explained the delicate situation.
But on the eve of early voting in Ohio, only Sen. Frank LaRose, who is not running for re-election, said he will neither support nor vote for Trump.
Sharpest rebuke
LaRose gave the sharpest rebuke to Trump’s lewd comments.
“What’s come to light in the last couple days is disgusting and appalling, particularly as a father of three little girls,” said LaRose, a Hudson Republican. “I find it abhorrent.”
LaRose said he can’t support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But for the first time in his adult life, neither can he vote for the Republican nominee. A bipartisan pragmatist, he’s spent his two terms in the Ohio Senate fighting conflict and divisive rhetoric.
LaRose said he hasn’t decided yet what he’ll do with his vote.
LaRose said the party should reflect on the actions of its leaders: Kasich, who lost the presidential primary by taking the high road, and Portman, who has condemned Trump’s previous actions, though some critics say he took too long to disavow him.
“It shows you can be a good Republican and a loyal conservative and have a different opinion about our nominee,” said LaRose, who has declined invitations to attend and participate in Trump rallies.
“He hasn’t demonstrated to me that he deserves my vote,” LaRose said of Trump. “And that’s tough for me as a lifelong Republican.”
Comments from campaigns
Reps. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth and Marilyn Slaby of Copley did not offer comment for this story.
The campaigns for state Reps. Dave Joyce and Anthony DeVitis emailed statements that did not answer the question of how each would vote.
Bob Gibbs said he was “sickened” by Trump’s comments, which Joyce, through a spokesman, also “does not condone and cannot defend.”
Gibbs was the only Republican lawmaker contacted by the Beacon Journal to say he will vote for Trump. His district in Appalachian Ohio overwhelmingly supported Trump in the primary.
Gibbs and Joyce took the opportunity to campaign against Trump’s opponent.
“The ability of our next president to appoint 80 people — including a Supreme Court justice — to our federal judiciary remains one of [Rep. Joyce’s] top concerns,” said his spokesman, Dino DiSanto. “That ability can reshape our country for generations. It impacts almost every facet of people’s lives ranging from religious liberty, free speech, Second Amendment rights and even commerce.
“We are one vote away from losing all of those things. For this, and many other reasons, Hillary is the wrong choice,” DiSanto said.
“Trump ultimately must answer for his sexist remarks. He owes every woman in America a sincere apology,” said Gibbs, who added that he “will continue … to ensure Hillary Clinton isn’t elected president.”
State Rep. Anthony DeVitis called Trump’s comments “inexcusable.”
“However,” he continued, “there have been several remarks made by both candidates during the course of this election that I do not condone.”
Jonathan Schulz, a Cuyahoga Falls Republican running for state Senate against former Rep. Vernon Sykes of Akron, also took a neutral position. “The American people have clearly seen the words and actions of both candidates for president and must ultimately make the decision they feel is best for the nation,” he said in an email.
Frustrated with Trump
State Rep. Kristina Roegner of Hudson expressed frustration with her party’s nominee.
“Those comments were very tough to hear,” said Roegner, a Hudson Republican running for re-election against Hudson City Councilman Casey Weinstein, a Democrat. “I certainly do not approve of any talk like that — anywhere, at any time. But as much as I don’t like the things Trump say, I really don’t like the things Hillary Clinton has done.”
Roegner said her campaign has not shared time or space with Trump. Nor has she endorsed a presidential candidate.
Like DeVitis, the other Statehouse incumbent, Roegner kept the focus on her race. “I do not want to be dragged into the presidential race,” she said.
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges told his candidates Saturday that the party would not “punish anyone for following their conscience.”
Roegner said it’s not her place to tell voters what to do.
“They do not need other elected officials to tell them what to do. They know what’s at stake,” Roegner said. “Not only the presidency but the Supreme Court is in play.”
Wasted vote
Portman’s campaign did not respond to an email and phone calls seeking comment for this story.
The U.S. senator, with a healthy lead in the polls over his challenger, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, said he’ll write in Mike Pence’s name instead of voting for Trump.
But writing in Pence, as the Ohio secretary of state’s office has explained, would in effect be a wasted vote, much like voters who try every four years to elect themselves or Mickey Mouse.
Pence didn’t file the necessary paperwork of signatures to be a valid write-in candidate — in Ohio or any other state.
There are, however, 18 names that — if written on a line below the major, third and nonparty candidates — would be counted. Six of these valid write-in candidates for president live in Ohio, including James Bell, Michael Bickelmeyer, Ben Hartnell, Bruce Jaynes, Joe Schriner and Josiah Stroh.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .