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The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a self-described “progressive” candidate’s bid to enter Ohio’s Republican primary, leaving in place a decision by state election officials to disqualify him for misrepresenting his party affiliation.
Samuel Ronan, a former Democratic state and national candidate, attempted to run as a Republican in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District against GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Carey. To do so, he signed a declaration of candidacy — under penalty of election falsification — swearing that he was a member of the Republican Party.
However, court documents filed in U.S. District Court note Ronan was caught publicly admitting that his candidacy was part of a calculated strategy to run Democrats as Republicans in “deep red districts” to “get a foot in the door.”
A Republican voter, Mark Schare, filed a protest with the Franklin County Board of Elections, presenting social media posts and interviews as evidence of Ronan’s scheme to “trick” GOP voters.
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Ronan claimed in his application he did not lie about his affiliation, citing similar party deviations by politicians including former President Ronald Reagan, President Donald Trump and “hundreds of others,” according to a report from Courthouse News Service.
After the elections board tied along party lines, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stepped in to toss Ronan off the ballot.
LaRose said the case was a matter of “the integrity of the electoral process,” slamming Ronan’s alleged mission to infiltrate the party, according to court filings.
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In response, Ronan filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated because the state used his core political speech against him to remove him from the ballot.
Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison swiftly rejected Ronan’s arguments, ruling the First Amendment does not protect a candidate who submits a fraudulent declaration of candidacy.
“It cannot be the case that a State must allow a candidate on a partisan ballot even if he lied about his party affiliation simply because the First Amendment is implicated,” Morrison wrote in her opinion.
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She noted that while Ohio allows candidates to legally change their political affiliation, election officials are not required to ignore a candidate’s public statements that directly contradict their sworn oath.
The court emphasized the state has a “substantial interest” in barring candidates from fraudulently attesting they belong to a political party when they do not.
Morrison also dismissed Ronan’s claims that a Republican elections board member was unconstitutionally biased against him, finding that political association does not prove a risk of bias.
Following the legal loss, Ronan asked the Supreme Court on Monday to intervene prior to early voting.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, referred the application to the full court, which denied Ronan’s request without explanation, according to Courthouse News Service.
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