Buckeye Firearms Association
National Precinct Activists
The Ohio Liberty Council
By William Hershey, Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — The Tea Party movement has produced a candidate to oppose former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine as the Republican candidate for attorney general.
Attorney Steve Christopher, a founding member of the Hardin County Tea Party, on Monday, Feb. 8, announced that he would take on De- Wine for the GOP nomination to run against Democratic incumbent Richard Cordray.
“To be honest, I feel like the moderates and conservatives need to have at least one candidate for attorney general who’s not a professional politician and a liberal, which De-Wine and Cordray both are,” said Christopher, 51.
He resides in Hardin County where he is a township trustee and has law offices in Kenton in Hardin County and Findlay in Hancock County.
The theme of his campaign, said Christopher, will be “we need a conservative on the ballot, someone who understands the constitution.” He said he objected to positions DeWine had taken on guns and other issues.
DeWine, who has come under attack from Tea Party backers as not conservative enough, said he expected primary opposition. He said he has a conservative record, including help for small businesses to create jobs.
“I expect to be the nominee,” DeWine, of Cedarville, said.
The announcement is the latest development spurred at least in part by incumbent Republican Auditor Mary Taylor’s decision to join GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich as his lieutenant governor running mate.
Delaware County prosecutor Dave Yost, who had been running against DeWine for the attorney general nomination, jumped into the auditor’s race at the request of state Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine, Mike DeWine’s second cousin.
A GOP primary for auditor now seems likely between Yost and state Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights.
Republicans also face a primary in the secretary of state race between Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, and former Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O’Brien.
Kevin DeWine said he had never heard of Christopher, but took the trio of statewide primaries in stride.
“I’m confident that Republican voters are capable of choosing winners,” he said in an e-mail. “And we’ll give Ohioans the strongest statewide ticket that they’ve seen from our party in better than a generation.”
The story link is here: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ohio-news/tea-party-names-candidate-to-battle-dewine-for-gop-nomination-537743.html
Our friends at Buckeye Firearms Association have this story: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7115
Ohio Free Press also found this post:
Mike DeWine’s New Challenger, Steve Christopher, Responds to Right Ohio
Two days ago, I raised questions about Steve Christopher donating thousands of dollars to Mike DeWine’s previous campaigns for US Senate. Last night, he responded in the comments section:
” To all the Right Ohio bloggers. I gave money to Mike DeWine. Back in 2000, I worked on his first senate campaign. I thought he was a conservative; that’s the way he ran. If you could have known ahead of time that he would do what he did, then my hat’s off to you.
Like a lot of conservatives, I misjudged the man. I also contributed and worked on campaigns for other guys. Some stayed true and some didn’t. You quit supporting the ones that sell out. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils. You can get involved and try to influence the system or just sit back and watch as it gets worse.
I’ve chosen not to sit back and watch. I was early on a supporter of Dave Yost. When he left the AG race, I waited for another conservative to step forward. Nobody did. Reluctantly, I stepped up to fill the gap. Check me out; you should ask questions, whether of me or anyone else who seeks public office. I applaud you for your skepticism. I hope you will accept my explanation. I will never put the people who support me in the position, years later, of having to explain why.
As to my YouTube video, I don’t know who posted it. I had no plans to run for office when I gave that speech. It may not be artful, but it is heartfelt. If you want to know where I stand, start with the YouTube speech.”
The YouTubes he is referring to are 3 amateur videos posted of his speech at a local TEA party rally in Kenton (Hardin County). The audio is bad, but he talks about the founding of our country, conservative principles, and gun rights in a style that I couldn’t imagine Mike DeWine repeating without spontaneously combusting into flames.
Thank you Steve for your response.
Read more: http://www.rightohio.com/#ixzz0fBrT4PbC
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