Supreme Court Rejects Emergency Appeal, Handing GOP Big Win

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency appeal from Samuel Ronan, preventing him from running in Ohio’s Republican congressional primary after state officials removed him from the ballot. The court denied the request without comment, and no justice publicly noted a dissent, consistent with typical handling of emergency applications, according to reports.

Ronan had sought to run in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District against incumbent Mike Carey after filing as a Republican. In his paperwork, he stated he was a member of the party and pledged to support its principles. The Franklin County Board of Elections initially approved his candidacy.

The filing was later challenged by a Republican voter who argued Ronan was not a genuine member of the party. Ronan had previously run for chair of the Democratic National Committee, which opponents cited in questioning his affiliation.

The county board split along party lines on whether to keep him on the ballot, leading Frank LaRose to cast the deciding vote to disqualify him.

Ronan filed a lawsuit, but Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison upheld the decision, finding that the state’s interest in maintaining election integrity outweighed any burden on his constitutional claims.

“It cannot be the case that a State must allow a candidate on a partisan ballot even if he lied about his party affiliation simply because the First Amendment is implicated,” the Trump-appointed judge wrote.

A three-judge appeals panel later declined to reinstate Ronan on the ballot. He then took his battle to the Supreme Court alongside Ohio voter Ana Cordero, who argued that she wanted the chance to vote for him in the GOP primary. “The First Amendment violation in this case warrants immediate injunctive relief,” they wrote in their emergency filing.Continue reading…