Mayoral races and liquor options dominate Ohio's May primary
Full 2023 central Ohio primary election results
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Voters could almost be forgiven if they weren’t aware of an election Tuesday; there are no major national or statewide races to speak of and few, if any, advertisements bombarding the airwaves.
Unless you reside in a specific school district or city, or have a vested interest in when your local store can sell liquor on Sunday, chances are you may not even have had a ballot to cast Tuesday.
For Franklin County, the ballot is sparse, with some portions of the county not even holding primaries. In Gahanna, Steve Browne is running in a special nonpartisan election against incumbent Mayor Laurie A. Jadwin, an election which is moot since the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will move on to the November general election.
Other county precincts will be holding liquor sales votes, and Madison-Plains School District, only a portion of which is in the southwestern corner of the county, will be voting on a bond issue.
Sparse ballots seem to be the trend in this off-year primary. In Marion, Republicans will head to the polls to choose between the former police chief and current Marion County Deputy Sheriff William Collins and activist Susan McGowan. Collins and McGowan are looking to move on to the November election to face Democrat Glenn D. Coble for Marion mayor.
South of Columbus, another Republican mayoral primary will take place in Circleville as city councilwoman Michelle L. Blanton and businessman David Horning vie to be pitted against Democrat Zack Brooks in November. There are also three at-large Circleville City Council Republican seats up for grabs, with councilmembers Katie Logan Hedges and Sheri Theis seeking reelection. They are joined on the ballot by Thomas Klitzka and Tom Spring.
In London, Madison County, incumbent Patrick Closser takes on London City Council President Henry Comer in the Republican primary for mayor. No Democrats have filed for the primary.