Secretary of State Frank LaRose touts Ohio elections alongside election deniers at CPAC

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose joined a national GOP conference on Saturday to tout Ohio elections alongside Republicans who have amplified false claims of election fraud.

The panel, dubbed "They Stole It From Us Legally," was part of the Conservative Political Action Conference that gives Republicans a platform to shape policy priorities and often throw red meat to their base. LaRose was among four Ohio Republicans who appeared at the multi-day event, which concluded Saturday night with remarks from former President Donald Trump.

Cleveland.com first reported LaRose's plans to participate in the panel. He was also a table host for a dinner featuring Kari Lake, a vocal election denier who lost the race for Arizona governor in November.

LaRose's time at CPAC underscored the tightrope he walks on election integrity as he mulls a U.S. Senate run in 2024. The secretary of state frequently touts Ohio's elections as safe and secure, and his office showed little patience for conspiracy theorists who questioned the state's 2020 results. He used most of his speaking time Saturday to discuss proposed legislation that would centralize voter data and ensure it's available to the public.

“We run elections so well in Ohio – transparently, honestly – we run them so well that even the loser knows they lost," LaRose said. "That’s part of that idea that on election night, you should be able to know you trust and can believe those results.”

CPAC initially presented the panel topic to LaRose's office as "Easy to Vote, Hard to Cheat," according to a document obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. Organizers later changed the title.

LaRose takes CPAC stage with election deniers

Still, CPAC illustrated LaRose's willingness to associate with Republicans who have cast doubt on recent elections. His fellow panelists included Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman and Trump ally who objected to the 2020 results, and Abe Hamadeh, who claims there were election irregularities in his 2022 loss for Arizona attorney general.

The panel's moderator was Hogan Gidley, a former Trump campaign spokesman who promoted conspiracies about how states counted mail-in ballots in 2020. Gidley is affiliated with the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, which is working with LaRose on his election data initiative.

“The policies you want implemented, you have to have the people elected you want to implement those policies," Gidley said during the panel. "It’s getting more difficult in this country to elect those folks if we have countless examples of irregularities, illegalities, anomalies, and yes, fraud, in our election system."

LaRose also jumped at the opportunity to go after U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown when asked about his Senate ambitions.

"(Brown has) passed himself off at this workingman’s hero," LaRose said. "Everybody in Ohio knows better. 2024 is the year we beat him. Our party needs to nominate a good candidate that can actually take it to him and finally defeat this guy. It’s something I’m looking at, but no announcement here on the CPAC stage."

If LaRose enters the race, he could face a primary with state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and other possible GOP contenders. Dolan has urged the Republican Party to move on from the 2020 election, and his campaign appeared to take a shot at LaRose's CPAC debut on Saturday.

"It's easy to refute the garbage claims of Stacy Abrams, Sherrod Brown and fringe Leftists without paling around with election deniers and conspiracy theorists," tweeted Dolan's campaign strategist, Chris Maloney. "There's a reason why Republicans who do tend to lose elections. Voters are sick of it."

Dave Yost, J.D. Vance among CPAC guests

Aside from LaRose, CPAC attendees heard from several other Ohioans: Attorney General Dave Yost, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, and presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy. Yost, who is seen as a possible candidate for governor in 2026, ripped into efforts to allow noncitizens to vote during a border security panel on Saturday.

“Illegals shouldn’t be in the country," Yost said. "Why are we even talking about voting?”

Yost also pledged to go after a Democratic attorney who’s suing Ohio over its new voter ID law, one of the most restrictive in the country.

Earlier in the week, Vance joined U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to talk about a range of issues from the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic to the future of the GOP.

Ohio's new junior senator has shown some willingness to work across the aisle since taking office, particularly when it comes to the train derailment in East Palestine. He and Brown introduced rail safety legislation and have penned multiple letters together in search of ways to help their constituents.

But that didn't stop Vance from joking that Democrats working less would be better for the country. He also laughed along as Cruz went after the Biden administration for its response to the derailment.

"Democrats don't give a damn about East Palestine because it's a blue-collar, red place, and they're like, 'To hell with you,'" Cruz said. "If you were a bunch of transgender tech workers, you'd have the entire Biden cabinet down there for a listening session and sit-in to feel their pain."

Vance replied: "That's right."

Haley BeMiller 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.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CPAC: Frank LaRose, Ohio Republicans attend national GOP conference