A long-shot Republican candidate for Ohio governor announced that she’s parted ways with her running mate.
State law allows a lieutenant governor candidate to be replaced only in the event of death. Withdrawing his name now could invalidate votes cast for the ticket.
Morgan County’s Heather Hill, a GOP candidate running to replace Gov. Mike DeWine, decided to replace her lieutenant governor pick, Stuart Moats, over the weekend, according to the campaign’s Facebook post.
Hill faces biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party, and car enthusiast Casey Putsch in the three-way Republican primary.
Early voting has already started for the May 5 election.
On April 17, Moats accused Hill of spreading lies about Putsch by labeling Putsch as an atheist in a cartoon and other posts. Putsch is running as a Christian conservative. In February, Hill’s campaign disavowed the cartoon, saying they did not create or distribute it.
Moats apologized to Putsch in a video: “I just want to apologize on behalf of the campaign that I was a part of for that. When you’re calling someone an atheist, and they clearly say otherwise, who are you to continue to put that rhetoric out there?”
On April 18, Hill’s campaign posted that it had removed Moats from the ticket, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The post accused Moats of using a racial slur against Hill, who is Black.
Larry Barnett, who identified himself as a senior campaign adviser for the Hill campaign, detailed the falling out between Hill and Moats in a video. Barnett accused Moats of using a racial slur and derogatory language to describe Hill. “And that stuck in my brain. I’m sure you can understand why that was tattooed in my brain,” Barnett said.
In another Facebook post, Hill wrote: “This was God revealing who SM truly was so, he could be removed before we take office. In the name of Jesus, we fight and we stay strong!”
The campaign said it was working with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office “to make the replacement legal.” As of the afternoon of April 20, the secretary of state’s office was not aware of any withdrawal being submitted, a spokesman said.
Moats responded with another video criticizing Hill.
“Do you know what happens when a deranged, lunatic, narcissist gets called out on their lack of integrity? Well, what Heather Hill does is that she will try to just do a nuclear explosion of your character, of your businesses and of all things, your marriage,” Moats said.
While the infighting has strained their professional relationship, it’s not yet clear whether it’ll end Hill’s political aspirations.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio GOP governor candidate tries to drop running mate before primary
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch / Cincinnati Enquirer
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