Wednesday was the deadline for filing for Ohio’s March 17 primary ballot. And 14 candidates have filed for the Democratic primary. There will also be a Republican challenger to President Donald Trump on that ballot.
The first of the field of Democratic presidential candidates to file was Amy Klobuchar last month. Since then, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bennet, Julian Castro, Joe Biden, Deval Patrick, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Cory Booker, Michael Bloomberg, and John Delaney have filed. Only Marianne Williamson didn’t file.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump’s re-election campaign was first to turn in paperwork. Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld has also filed for the GOP primary – but not Joe Walsh. Ohio’s 16 members of Congress are also up for re-election next year – all 12 Republicans and 4 Democrats have filed to run again, though some may not face primary opponents, including Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH 13).
Ryan is seeking reelection following his decision to end a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. There are seven Republicans seeking to challenge him, including former Ohio legislator Christina Hagan of Alliance. The others include Duane Hennen of Warren, Louis Lyras of Campbell, Richard Morckel of Akron, Jason Mormando of Youngstown, Robert Santos of Youngstown, and Donald Truex of Rittman.
Early voting starts on February 18.
