Thread: Tea Party in Ohio Aims Lower on Ballot

Tea Party in Ohio Aims Lower on Ballot

Strategy Concedes Conservatives Can't Easily Pick Off GOP Incumbents in Congress

By JANET HOOK
May 5, 2014 7:39 p.m. ET

Tea-party activists in Ohio, facing dim prospects of unseating Republican incumbents in Congress, have forged a new political strategy of picking fights farther down the ballot.

The strategy will be tested in the state's primary elections Tuesday, as dozens of conservatives run against Republican incumbents in the state legislature and for the Ohio GOP's central committee, which has a big voice in party endorsements.

"It's the bottom of the ticket that is most important to us,'' said Ann Becker, president of the Cincinnati Tea Party.

The strategy openly concedes how hard it is to unseat an incumbent at the top of the ticket. Tea-party activists tried and failed this year to field a primary challenger to Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. David Joyce, among the few Republican House members with any kind of primary challenge, are expected Tuesday to turn back opponents from the right.

Ohio conservative activists are looking beyond those long-shot challenges to the goal of shaping the party from within, by recruiting candidates for a host of lesser races.

The Ohio Citizens PAC, a tea party-allied group, has endorsed GOP primary candidates for seven state Senate seats and 19 state House seats, as well as 39 candidates for the Republican State Central Committee.

Republican leaders say the conservative primary challengers will prove to be all bark and no bite.

"Republican incumbents in Ohio, whether in the statehouse or federal delegation, have governed in a way that any conservative would be proud of,'' said Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for the Ohio GOP. "That is why we are confident our incumbents will enjoy the broad support of primary voters on Tuesday."

Ohio is one of three states to hold primaries Tuesday, along with Indiana and North Carolina.

Ohio's primary will test whether tea-party allies can find a new political outlet for populist anger, at a time when their efforts seem to be falling short in higher-profile U.S. Senate and House primaries in places such as North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Georgia, where establishment-backed Republicans seem to be headed to victory.

"They remain potent at the grass-roots level," said Steve LaTourette, a former GOP Ohio congressman who is president of Main Street Partnership, a political group that supports centrist Republicans, including many facing challenges from national conservative groups. "You may wake up Wednesday morning and find the central committee of the Ohio Republican Party populated with a lot more members of the tea party."

Conservative activists in other states also have been trying to make inroads at the state and local levels. But Ohio's effort is especially concerted, impelled in part by conservative ire at the party establishment.

Mr. Boehner infuriated many conservatives by brokering deals that allowed the federal debt limit to rise. He faces two long-shot primary opponents and has been targeted for defeat by a national tea-party group.

Mr. Kasich has drawn criticism from the right for backing the expansion of Ohio's Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act, as well as endorsing the national common-core education standards.

Tom Zawistowski, a leading tea-party ally who is head of the Ohio Citizens PAC, said conservatives have to choose realistic targets. "You have to fight the wars you can fight," said Mr. Zawistowski, who lost a bid to become Ohio's GOP chairman in 2013. "How many incumbent senators or congressmen ever get beat in the primary?"

He hopes for an upset in Mr. Joyce's race for a district in the state's northeast. The congressman, however, is backed by party leaders and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and he has outraised and outspent his primary opponent by huge margins.

The opponent, state Rep. Matt Lynch, argues that Mr. Joyce is too liberal. Mr. Lynch has been endorsed by national conservative groups such as the Tea Party Patriots and FreedomWorks.

Among state legislators, a top target for conservatives is GOP state Sen. Frank LaRose of the Akron area, whose pragmatic streak has been viewed with suspicion by tea-party activists.

Mr. LaRose also has drawn opposition for supporting a bill to ban discrimination against gays. He faces a challenge from Caleb Davenport, a first-time candidate who is endorsed by the Ohio Citizens PAC and other conservative groups.

The biggest opportunity for insurgent gains may be in primaries for party offices that typically are overlooked—seats on the state and county GOP central committees, which play a big role in advancing candidates and defining the party.

Ms. Becker, who has been a member of the Butler County Central Committee since 2010, estimates there are over 300 tea party activists running for precinct committee seats in the southwestern part of Ohio alone. From such perches, she said, conservatives could have a bigger voice in who runs for office in the future.

"This is the long game for us," said Ms. Becker. "I plan on being on the central committee for the rest of my life."
Write to Janet Hook at janet.hook@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...170483574.html

At one time I was interested in the tea party. They've lost their glitter.