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Nearly two dozen people have applied to fill the seat vacated when Republican Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford) was voted out of the Ohio House last week amid a $60 million bribery scandal. And the list includes one very familiar name.
Nineteen people sent resumes to Republican Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) by Wednesday’s deadline. Cupp, who replaced Householder as Speaker last summer, will choose a replacement representative for the District 72 seat in Coshocton, Licking and Perry counties.
Among those who have applied: former Coshocton County Commissioner Grant Daugherty, Coshocton City Councilman Glenn Mishler, Somerset Village Council President David Snider, St. Alban’s Township Trustee Randal Almendinger, Monroe Township Trustee Travis Post – and Perry County Commissioner Derek Householder. The younger Householder, the son of the former representative and House Speaker, was first elected to the commission last fall in a campaign that received tens of thousands of doallars in funding from his father’s allies after running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Other candidates include Kevin Black, who ran against Householder in 2018 in an expensive Republican primary that included one of the most memorable TV ads in recent memory – a commercial featuring Householder in camouflage in a field shooting at a television.
The list also includes two write-in candidates who ran against Householder last fall: Robert Leist, a Libertarian, and Democrat Marci McCaulay.
Also in the group are Brittany Misner, Lakewood Local School District board president and vice president of the Licking County Chamber of Commerce and Ohio State Highway Patrol Staff Lt. Kevin Miller.
Numerous political newcomers have also applied, including:
- Ryan Rantz
- Patrick Simpson
- Tyler Maple
- Melinda Henderson Bradley
- Rozland McKee
- Zoey Stenson
- Justin Martin
- Kevin Black
Sherry Truex expressed interest but didn’t submit a resume.
Also among the political “rookies” list is sports talk host and satirist Chris McNeil, who masterminded the parade for the Cleveland Browns’ 0-16 perfect season in 2018.
Screening interviews with a three-member House panel are expected to start right away.
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