Republican Governor Calls Home State GOP 'Ridiculous'

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine criticized the GOP-led state legislature as "ridiculous" on Thursday for not taking action to ensure President Joe Biden appears on the ballot for the presidential election in November.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is facing questions about whether he will appear on Ohio's ballot due to a conflict between the date of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and a state law requiring presidential candidates to be officially nominated 90 days before the general election, which this year would be August 7.

However, the DNC is scheduled for August 19 to 22—more than a week after the cutoff.

Similar conflicts have arisen in the past, with Ohio lawmakers waiving the requirement for the 2012 and 2020 elections. However, the GOP-controlled legislature does not appear poised to waive the requirement for Democrats in 2024, Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican, said this week.

DeWine on Thursday called for a special session of the General Assembly, delivering remarks criticizing GOP lawmakers for not taking legislative action to ensure Biden can appear on the ballot.

"The House of Representatives has failed to do this. The legislature had session yesterday and again failed to take any action. This is simply unacceptable. Ohio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting president of the United States, on the ballot this fall," he said. "Failing to do so is simply not acceptable. This is a ridiculous, this is an absurd situation."

The Ohio Senate, also led by Republicans, has already passed legislation that solved this issue, so only the House of Representatives needs to take action, DeWine said. The legislature will also consider a bill to limit campaign spending by foreign nationals.

Stephens responded to DeWine's announcement in a statement on Thursday, writing, "For weeks, we have been pushing to find a legislative solution to having President Biden on the ballot. Ultimately, the will to do so wasn't there in the Republican caucus."

He added that he looks forward to "real solutions that will actually pass both chambers next week and solve problems."

Newsweek reached out to Stephens' office and Biden's campaign for further comment via email.

John Fortney, the director of communications for the Ohio Senate Majority Caucus, wrote in a statement provided to Newsweek, "We agree with the Governor. It is time to protect Ohio's elections by outlawing foreign campaign contributions, while at the same time fixing the Democratic Party's error that kept Joe Biden off the November ballot. We encourage the Speaker and Minority Leader to allow a vote on House Bill 114 which does both."

DeWine's announcement comes just days after Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, warned that if no solution is reached, he would eventually be "duty-bound" to instruct the Board of Elections to begin preparing ballots that do not include Biden.

"Let me be clear that this is not an action I wish to take, as I believe it to be in the best interest of Ohio voters to have a choice between at least the two major party candidates for the nation's highest political office," he wrote.

Democrats have offered to submit a "provisional certification" by the deadline, but the attorney general's office said that would not be enough to comply with state law, LaRose wrote.

Ohio is not expected to be particularly competitive on the presidential level, as it backed Donald Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, in 2016 and 2020. However, Biden not appearing on the ballot could have possible implications on important downballot races for Democrats.

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is facing a challenge from Republican Bernie Moreno in what is expected to be among the most competitive Senate races across the country that could determine which party controls the Senate next year.

Ohio also is home to two seats in the House of Representatives classified as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. The seats include the 9th Congressional District held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur and the 13th Congressional District, which is held by Democrat Emilia Sykes.