Mercer GOP won't endorse DeWine in reelection bid

CELINA — Outlining issues with his policies and his administration’s handling of the pandemic locally, the Mercer County Republican Party announced Monday that they will not endorse current Ohio governor Mike DeWine in his reelection bid next fall.

While the spring primary elections aren’t until May of next year, the Mercer County Republican Party has decided to not endorse DeWine, while also encouraging other groups to do the same.

In a Facebook post uploaded earlier this week, the party expressed its dissatisfaction with the current governor.

Chairman Greg Homan said that the reason behind the move was due to two main issues.

“It’s a two-part issue. The first is not only the dissatisfaction with Gov. DeWine,” Homan explained about their stance. “But it’s also that we don’t think it’s appropriate in all situations like this for the State Central Committee to endorse candidates.”

The dissatisfaction with DeWine is stated to be a main issue locally, especially within the party. The actions of the party are said to be a mirror to its opinions, with many local voters having some issues with how the governor handled some things over the last year.

“It’s a number of issues that a lot of local voters have frustrations with,” Homan mentioned as being some of the main reasons. “The scope and scale of government regulation, the

constraints and restrictions put on citizens, how dollars were spent, restrictions put on school operations, business operations. It’s a lot of frustration being voiced and reflected.”

The Mercer County Republican Party has received support for this move, online and off.

The Facebook post where they announced their decision, which can be found at their page, 1,500 shares and 116 comments as of writing. The group is also doing its best to get support from others in this, especially in discouraging the Ohio State Republican Central Committee from endorsing DeWine.

Homan said that other parties have voiced their support to them directly as well.

Auglaize County Commissioner John Bergman, a member of the Republican party, commented that there hasn’t been any definitive decision.

“Well, I think the jury is still out,” Bergman said succinctly. “We’ll see what the outcome of this is. Only time will tell.”