Buckeye Reporter

The Ohio Supreme Court recently rejected a set of redistricting maps as Republican Senate President Matt Huffman has suggested adding a second primary in addition to the primary set for May 3 — a proposal that has not earned the support of gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci.

In a release Thursday, Renacci said that while he is usually opposed to moving primaries, this involves taxpayer money and the only people benefitting from two primaries are incumbents who want to get the election over with by burdening Ohio taxpayers with the cost.

"There are lots of people to blame for this, including those Republicans in 2017 who were afraid to fight, and succumbed the creators of the clearly inept Redistricting Commission. Having one primary in August will give the court time to sort through the redistricting mess, military ballots can go out on time, and taxpayers won't have to pay the extra 20 or 30 million for primaries in both May and August,” Renacci said in a release.

The third set of redistricting maps rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court this week were drawn by the Republican-majority Ohio Redistricting Commission, PBS reports. In the 4-3 ruling, the court found that the maps do not meet constitutional standards.

“Substantial and compelling evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the main goal of the individuals who drafted the second revised plan was to favor the Republican Party and disfavor the Democratic Party,'' Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor wrote for the court's majority opinion.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission has until March 28 to submit a new set of maps, the report states. 

As the Dispatch reports Huffman suggested adding a second primary, state and local primary elections could still take place on May 3, while statehouse and congressional elections would be pushed back until the maps are set. According to the report, Ohio legislators considered holding two primaries in 2012 but ultimately decided not to. The cost of the second primary in 2012 would have been around $15 million.

Renacci, 63, is an accountant and entrepreneur. He won election to U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement and later endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 presidential primary.

DeWine, 74, was Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019. He is one of the longest-serving public officials in state history, having been in elected office for 41 years. That includes stints in the Ohio State Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and as Ohio attorney general and lieutenant governor.