Maverick outsiders clamor to fill Boehner's seat in Ohio
Republican voters will choose from 15 candidates running in unusual dual March 15 primary races in a crowded campaign, with people of varied backgrounds taking hard lines on national security, immigration and the Washington establishment.
The district spans six counties containing northern Cincinnati suburbs, working-class cities and long rural stretches, and is reliably Republican, but the large field and the double vote leave the outcome "so unpredictable," said Miami University political scientist John Forren.
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds, an early contender some local conservatives believed had Boehner's blessing, suddenly dropped out, citing family reasons, and among the leading candidates to emerge since then is businessman and Army veteran Warren Davidson, backed by former Boehner antagonists such as the Club for Growth and FreedomWorks conservative advocacy groups and GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
During the Feb. 22 forum at Miami University's Voice of America learning center, near Boehner's golf-course community home in West Chester Township, the few mentions of him tended to be negative, such as criticism for not doing more about national debt or against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Another candidate, construction materials business owner Jim Spurlino, bills himself as "the true conservative outsider" and says in a TV ad that he is running against "professional politicians" Beagle, Derickson and Davidson (including Davidson because politicians have endorsed him).
Matthew Ashworth, who's in digital mortgage underwriting; Scott George, a human resources and learning consultant; Eric Haemmerle, a history teacher; Joseph Matvey, an accountant; Edward Meer, a press operator; John Robbins, a retired steelworker and former health department worker who's oldest in the field at 77; Michael Smith, a former bank loan officer; Kevin White, an airline pilot and military veteran, and George Wooley, an investment property manager.