Ohio's first female AG Betty Montgomery loses local GOP race to restaurant owner

Betty Montgomery is a fixture in Ohio Republican politics, but that didn't matter to voters in Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties on Tuesday.

Montgomery, who served in the Ohio Senate, as state auditor and attorney general lost her primary race for the GOP state central committee to a political newcomer, Sabrina Warner.

Warner, the owner of a burger and milkshake restaurant in Buckeye Lake, won 53% to 47%, according to the unofficial results.

Ohio primary election results: Low turnout statewide with a few incumbent upsets

Ohio primaries, Round 2: What happened during the state's bonus primary election

"Betty Montgomery is a wonderful embodiment of what the Ohio Republican Party was 20 years ago," said David Niven, a politics professor from the University of Cincinnati.

The former Wood County prosecutor spent more than two decades in elected office, but Montgomery hasn't been on the ballot outside of state central committee since 2006.

Experience lost to local relationships in Republican committee primary

"For a lot of younger Ohio voters, she has no political history to them ...," Nevin said. "Bigger, more established names can run into the trouble when there's someone who is more a direct representation of where the party is."

And in this unusual, second primary that appears to have made a difference.

Ohio's ongoing argument between Republican leadership and the state Supreme Court over how to draw constitutional maps for the statehouse pushed the races for state House, Senate and central committees from the traditional May primary to August.

That meant the bigger ticket races for governor, Congress and U.S. Senate were already decided, and Tuesday's voters came out more for individual candidates in Nevin's opinion.

"When you get down to this level, the person who has more personal relationships in a community has an advantage," Niven said.

Knuckleheads owner Sabrina Warner disputed Granville's COVID regulations

It would appear Warner had that kind of support behind her.

Her restaurant, Knuckleheads, used to be located in Granville near Denison University until a dispute over COVID-19 regulations made them relocate to Buckeye Lake.

Warner and her husband were fined for not complying with the village's mask ordinance, according to a video posted by the Warners on their YouTube channel.

"It has been a rollercoaster of emotions," Warner said in the video.

Soon after the fines, the couple's lease wasn't renewed even though the business had been there for almost 60 years (the Warners had run it for five at the time). They believe they lost the location because of their religious and political beliefs.

"We ran a race on anti-Dewine and anti lockdowns and pro Freedom," Jake Warner wrote in an email Wednesday morning. "We have won and now the work begins."

Editor's Note: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly identified the kind of business Warner owns. Knuckleheads serves hamburgers and ice cream.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio GOP fixture Betty Montgomery loses race to restaurant owner