Bacon also seeking Tiberi seat
State Sen. Kevin Bacon is the most recent Republican to jump into what is becoming a crowded race to fill the open 12th Congressional District seat.
Bacon, a Republican from Minerva Park, represents much of eastern Franklin County as part of the 3rd Ohio Senate District. He hopes to fill the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, who is stepping down by the end of January to take over as president of the Ohio Business Roundtable.
Bacon said his track record as a lawmaker and his “brand of leadership” will help
distinguish his candidacy and provide what voters want in Washington.
“Many of the things they’re talking about in Congress, I’ve done,” Bacon said. “I’ve plowed through documents and helped implement a several- billion- dollar tax cut. I’ve been through those very tough meetings and made the politically unpopular decisions to balance the budget. I’ve dealt with business issues.”
The Republican field keeps getting bigger.
Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien, state Sen. Troy Balderson of Zanesville, realestate investor and U.S. Army veteran Jon Halverstadt of Worthington and Brandon Grisez of Worthington, a Marine, already have entered the Republican primary for the 12th District. Others, including Cathy Lyttle, vice president of communications and investor relations for Worthington Industries, and Clarence Mingo, the Franklin County auditor, also are seriously considering entering the race.
“I will get in and I will stay in all the way through the election,” Bacon said.
Bacon, 46, has been a state senator since 2011, and is term limited at the end of 2018. He also served in the Ohio House from 2007 to ’ 10 and is a former Blendon Township trustee.
“From farmers to small- business owners to hardworking families just trying to make ends meet, I share their values,” Bacon said of the district, which includes all or portions of Franklin, Delaware, Morrow, Marion, Licking and Muskingum counties. “I’ll take Ohio’s approach to government spending — where the budget has to balance — and fight for that sort of common sense in Washington.”
Veteran Republican consultant Mark Weaver will lead Bacon’s campaign team.
“It’ll also be my style to push back aggressively against the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who seek stalemate rather than solutions,” Bacon said.
So far, former Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott has entered the race as a Democrat, along with Ed Albertson of Granville, John Russell of Galena, John Peters of Newark and Doug Wilson of Mansfield. The district leans solidly Republican.