COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County judge recently denied a temporary restraining order to halt GOP Ohio House Republican Alliance campaign funds.

What You Need To Know

  • Last October, State Rep. Derek Merrin, and his supporters filed a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Jason Stephens, and State Rep. Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Township, and a few others

  • If the judge did not deny the temporary restraining order, it could have placed a freeze on the Ohio Republican Alliance's campaign spending account 

  • A temporary restraining order could have unfair consequences to individual candidates who raised dollars, and was expected to get money ahead of the March 19, 2024 primary election

Last October, State Rep. Derek Merrin, and his supporters filed a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Jason Stephens, and State Representative Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Township) and a few others. If the judge did not deny the temporary restraining order, it could have placed a freeze on the Ohio Republican Alliance's campaign spending account. 

Meanwhile, State Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, is among the lawmakers who are suing the Speaker of the House and a few others. He told Spectrum News 1 they previously elected Merrin as the Chair of the Caucus, and State Rep. Phil Plummer as the Chair of the Ohio Republican Alliance’s campaign account. 

He said in April, they had previously reached an agreement that Plummer and State Rep. Jeff LaRe could co-chair the campaign funds. But the lawsuit allegedly said Plummer is not involved. 

The tension arises with who exactly controls the GOP campaign funding. 

"We are suing Jason Stephens not only as Speaker of the House, but also in his personal capacity. There is a lot of personal liability in this," said Ferguson. "There's a piece of the Ohio revised code that we want interpreted by the court, and the statutes are pretty clear. It says that the caucus should determine who's in charge of the campaign funds." 

The judge detailed their decision in a six-page ruling.

According to the recent ruling it said: "The court notes that if due process notice is given and a clear record made of a majority vote to determine the control and administration of the (legislative campaign fund) this court would likely enforce the statute. But at this juncture, the court is unable to make that determination and does still harbor some reservations of whether the whole matter is a political question."

"The court is in essence saying there's not enough evidence here to freeze the issue today, and there's not enough proof that the deal struck among the parties has not been followed," said Atiba Ellis, Professor, at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. "I think the court might not have said it explicitly in its opinion, but it's trying very hard to avoid making political decisions for the Republican party, decisions that it should make for itself." 

The judge had ruled at the moment there is not enough evidence to make a decision. A temporary restraining order could have unfair consequences to individual candidates who raised dollars, and was expected to get money ahead of the March 19, 2024 primary election.

 “We’ve always been focused on protecting incumbents and defending conservative values. This decision simply allows us to continue business as usual," said LaRe, the Ohio House Republican Alliance Campaign Account Chairman.