COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The alleged bribery scheme that federal prosecutors described as the largest in Ohio history seems to have had little impact on the reelection campaign of disgraced former House Speaker Larry Householder, who, according to unofficial results, is on track to win a third term in the House.
House District 72 in east-central Ohio covers Coshocton County and portions of Householder’s native Perry County and Licking County. The Glenford Republican received more than 68% of the combined votes cast in the race in those three counties, according to unofficial results posted by the county elections boards.
But The Associated Press did not make the call because the organization does not include uncontested races in its race-call system. The once-powerful Householder had cleared the field of listed opponents, appearing alone on the November ballot. He wasn’t entirely unchallenged, however. After his arrest in July, four write-in candidates launched campaigns against him so his victory wasn’t guaranteed.
The AP does not tabulate write-in votes, and neither does the office of Ohio’s secretary of state on Election Night. Unofficial county totals showed Householder prevailing over the write-in field easily, gaining 60% of the vote in Coshocton County, 67% in Perry and 74% in Licking.
Official write-in totals will be included in the secretary of state’s final tally later this month.
While Householder faces a likely ouster once he shows up to the Legislature in January, his apparent reelection highlights his district’s longtime Republican stronghold.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio seems to think Householder’s reelection despite federal charges against him is a symptom of the GOP party, both nationally and in Ohio.
“It just seems that there are so many Republican scandals — just like Trump lies; I mean Trump lies every day, he lies 10 times, 12 times, 15 times a day — that voters just sort of shrug,” Brown told reporters Wednesday. “They’ve heard it so many times.”
The former House speaker was arrested in July and charged with racketeering charges in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme centered around passing a $1.3 billion bailout of two Ohio nuclear plants. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The investigation led the GOP-controlled House to vote to remove him from the speaker role.
Householder’s Republican colleagues in the House even considered removing him from the chamber in July but, if they did so before Nov. 3, voters would have been able to reelect him, and a lawmaker cannot be expelled twice.
The only option now for both parties is to wait until the legislative session begins in January to consider expelling or impeaching Householder.
___
Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report. Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.