New map erases primary competition for Ohio House, Senate races in Summit, Portage

There will be no contested primary races in August for the Ohio House or Senate in Summit or Portage counties.

Some candidates are dropping out after a federal court order forced the use of a voting map the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

The ruling by two of three federal judges in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Ohio forces state and local election officials to use the third set of maps the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission approved as part of the decennial map-making process.

Gerrymandered: Ohio Supreme Court rejects legislative maps for 5th time, but feds might use them anyway

Citing delays caused by the inability of state officials to come up with maps the Supreme Court would approve under a new anti-gerrymandering rule in the state constitution, the federal judges ordered Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to use the third set of maps to run an Aug. 2 primary for state House, Senate and central committee races.

The two Democrats on the redistricting commission said Republicans did not seek their input in crafting the maps now imposed by the federal judges. The map was constructed after the filing deadline for partisan candidates. And it was drawn in a way that avoids competition among Republican challengers or incumbents.

Maps: See the House and Senate maps on the popular redistricting website, Dave's Redistricting App.

The imposed map lumps three Democrats into a House district covering Akron and two Democrats in House district shaped like a backwards C, starting in Portage Lakes and moving east through southern Portage County before turning north to Geauga County and back west to the Cuyahoga County line.

Democrats in Akron's 33th House district are stepping aside to give Rep. Tavia Galonski a clear path to a third nomination. Galonski assumed office in 2017, replacing former Rep. Greta Johnson. In the left-leaning House district, she easily won reelection in 2018 and 2020, and will face Republican Kristopher J. Anderson in November.

County Councilwoman Veronica Sims filed Thursday to withdraw from the race, throwing her support to Galonski. Candidates have until June 13 to remove their names from the Aug. 2 ballot and up until the election to withdraw their candidacies.

The other Democrat drawn into Galonski’s district, Akron School Board member Derrick Hall, told the Beacon Journal he will file to withdraw by Monday.

Sims and Hall originally filed to ensure that Democrats fielded a candidate in whatever district Republicans had in mind for West Akron.

Sims said she was disappointed that the federal judges “would usurp the authority of our local Supreme Court. I think it’s just a bad precedent. I’m saddened for the people of Ohio when it comes to fair representation.”

Hall said the lack of bipartisanship in approving the statehouse map means the commission’s map won't last the entire decade, per a 2015 amendment to the Ohio Constitution overwhelmingly approved by Ohio voters.

“Because it wasn’t approved (with any Democrat support), it’s only going to last two years,” Hall said. “Hopefully in two years, a lane clears and I can run. If not, I love being on school board.”

The only other statehouse primary race in Summit County that would have conceivably been contested under the third map would be the oddly shaped 35th House district. But Deb Helton, who lives in Coventry Township, withdrew from the race prior to the Summit County Board of Elections certifying candidates in March, Summit County Board of Elections Deputy Director Pete Zeigler said.

Helton could not be reached for comment Thursday.

That leaves Lori O’Neill of Bainbridge in Geauga County unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination on Aug. 2. She is slated to face Republican Steven Demetriou III of Chagrin Falls in the November General Election. No other candidates are running in the district that covers three counties.

Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission had hired independent and bipartisan mapmakers to create a map the Ohio Supreme Court would accept.

But the commission rejected that version, which would have pitted Demetriou against Rep. Gail Pavliga in the upcoming Republican primary. Instead, the map selected by the federal judges splits Randolph Township where Pavliga lives, putting her in the 72nd district with no GOP opponent in the primary. She now has a clear path to face former state Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) in the fall.

O’Neill criticized the confusion sewn by the five rejected attempts by Republicans to drawn maps that met the constitutional muster of the new voter-approved anti-gerrymandering rule. It’s because of the delays that she has not actively campaigned, she said. Until now, she said she couldn't be sure who she would represent if she won.

“The one-party rule, the ability to ignore the will of the voters and thumb your nose at the state constitution — and thereby the people of the state of Ohio — does not seem to bother some people,” said O’Neill.

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Aug. 2 primary no competition for Ohio House or Senate races Summit, Portage