It was wonderful to see Diane Mullins win the Representative seat for the 47th District, beating out Sara Carruthers in the primary who had held that seat. I think Diane will do a great job, bring some fresh perspective to that seat, and represent the people of Hamilton and the surrounding area very well. But this is a cautionary tale that deserves some thought because it was Sara Carruthers who had come out after the election of November 2023 and referred to Tea Party types in the Republican Party as radicals, as she was alluding to the assumption that party politics existed in some moderate relationship with communism and that she knew better than everyone else how to navigate those choppy waters. Her crime was one of the Blue 22 coalition to put the moderate Speaker Stephens into power and undercut the much more Republican presence that had been planned. So she was a declared RINO and made herself known to everyone as such, leaving the Central Committee to pull her endorsement and support Diane Mullins as a replacement, a much more conservative Republican. And I said so much then and put my support behind the Republican slate card. In that same exchange, Sheriff Jones became frustrated and went out on his own not seeking a party endorsement. Things are getting hot in politics, and for good reason. Who needs Democrats when our representatives are like Sara Carruthers? Or Cindy Carpenter, for that matter. And like Sara, many in Ohio went on to support Matt Dolan over the party pick of Bernie Moreno for the senate seat. Even after the Central Committee of Ohio had put their support behind Bernie, there were many establishment Republican types who refused to deal with reality and instead supported Matt Dolan.
The approach was arrogant, and the money people continued to support Sara Carruthers even after she was rejected by the Central Committee, which carried over into several state races, most notably with Moreno. Arrogance comes from an assumption that they have more of a right to pick people who are good for them than the average voter because they put more money into politics and deserve it. Sara Carruthers had much more money to win in the 47th District than Diane Mullins. I also heard a lot from people during this campaign that George Lang was just like Sara Carruthers and had donated money to each other’s campaign. They were both RINOs, so how could I support George, not Sara? Once a RINO, always a RINO, according to these opinions. However, my distinction falls under the actual representation of voters and how a candidate views that role. Obviously, with Carruthers, she was not happy with the political tide from the MAGA movement, and she was not pleased to see Lynda O’Conner lose her seat on the Lakota school board in November of 2023. Many manipulations went on with the Central Committee in that case where Lynda received a party endorsement by tampering with the vote. There were some games going on between West Chester and Liberty Township that forced Lynda through her endorsement process, and people responded by not voting for her, defeating her soundly at that next election. So perhaps Sara Carruthers thought that money would win out in her election and that the party endorsement wouldn’t matter much. And Sheriff Jones went through a similar process. He was vulnerable if someone wanted to run against him. However, the respect between the Central Committee and Party Establishment types had been tested, and there was apparent ambiguity on the matter, which was quite simple.
Money does not buy what people think it does. Traditional media is not the way to win campaigns, and disrespecting Central Committees is a bad trait in state politics, especially in Ohio. More donors providing a larger war chest does not work like it used to, with new media being the primary way people get their news. Some of my articles for endorsed candidates saw individually more than 35,000 hits in the week leading up to the primary election in March, which is typical for me. The newspapers never say much about political candidates, so as voters are curious about the names they see on yard signs, they look them up and usually find my articles because they are longer and are more opinionated than what they get from traditional media. As a result, my endorsements usually impact my pick because it is one of the best information platforms for people who don’t already have a firm pick in mind during elections. And I knew when I did my piece against Sara Carruthers that it would offset the money she had in her war chest because radio ads, television, and yard signs didn’t work. That’s not where voters are getting their information anymore. It might be a launching point, but it isn’t the destination. Voters want opinions about their candidates, and vlogs, blogs, and podcasts are the best ways to inform voters who they are voting for. And those are much less expensive ways to communicate, but they also demand more personal authenticity than just a static one-page ad in the newspaper used to provide. This has made it harder for RINOs to hide their liberalism, which ultimately was the downfall of Sara Carruthers.
At the heart of the matter was respect. Chairman Todd Hall addressed that issue to the Butler County Republican Party with an obvious tone that supported Trump’s nomination for 2024 to run for president. Any fantasies that RINOs would have had in dumping party endorsements in favor of donor sentiment or shoving through endorsements that the Central Committee did not adequately pick had diminished, as they should. Plotting and scheming against the voters is not a good way for a political party to validate themselves because if that’s how it is, then they aren’t worth the trouble. Over these past few elections, new media and the power of the Central Committee had been tested, but the results were noticeable. The political parties were not in charge. Donors couldn’t buy support with unfair leverage as they had in the past. And Republicans who acted like Democrats were going to be punished and cast aside. No matter how long they had been in office or how well-liked they were by the establishment. All the schemes to eliminate Trump are based on the same logic. And back to George Lang, he never betrayed Trump. He might associate with people like Matt Dolan and others who are obvious RINOs. But he never stepped away from MAGA’s ideas of making America First. But Sara Carruthers did, and her sin was in being one of the Blue 22, which set Republicans back severely in Ohio from the Speaker seat. And she had to pay. Just as others who join her in deceit and betrayal, thinking they know better than the average voter what needs to happen in politics and to mask it, can spend money on more yard signs to stay in power. That’s not what happened with Sara; her story should be a lesson to all. Don’t betray the Central Committee by playing games. Representing their wishes will make things a lot better for everyone involved. And that’s how the ball bounces in politics from now on.
Rich Hoffman
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