Dem Senate hopeful may lose spot on ballot

Another Democratic legislative candidate in Franklin County has run into problems with petition forms and is in danger of not getting on the ballot.

Nathan Dowds of Gahanna, one of two Democrats seeking the party nomination in the competitive 3rd Senate District that includes much of eastern Franklin County, fell two valid signatures short of the 50 required to qualify for the primary ballot.

In all, the Franklin County Board of Elections invalidated 37 of Dowds’ signatures.

On Wednesday, veteran Democratic elections attorney Don McTigue asked the county board to reconsider its certification of Dowds’ candidacy.

McTigue said five signatures were invalidated because of an “innocent mistake” that led to the number of names on one petition not matching what the circulator said she collected.

McTigue submitted affidavits of five people who signed the petition. He also filed affidavits by a woman who said she mistakenly transposed the numbers of her address on the petition, and a woman whose signature was invalidated because she is a registered Republican. She insisted she is a Democrat.

The county board next meets on March 1. It’s up to the board whether it wants to consider the appeal, spokesman Aaron Sellers said. He said a similar appeal with affidavits filed by petition signers was successful last year involving a pair of school board candidates for Southwestern City Schools.

If the board rejects Dowds’ appeal, Democrats would still have a candidate in the 3rd District — Tina Maharath, 27, of Canal Winchester, a former intern with the U.S. Senate and Ohio House and a field fellow for the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote.

Dowds, 34, a former U.S. Army paratrooper who works for a nonprofit that trains military veterans to respond to natural disasters, loaned his campaign $7,000 and had $21,500 on hand at the end of 2017, according to campaign finance filings. Maharath did not report any contributions.

The Democratic nominee would go on to face Rep. Anne Gonzales, R-Westerville, who is attempting to switch chambers. Sen. Kevin Bacon, R-Minerva Park, is term limited and running for Congress.

This is the second Democratic legislative candidate in Franklin County who has run into petition problems.

Rep. Kristin Boggs, D-Columbus, withdrew her petition prior to the Board of Elections meeting last week after she failed to sign the top of some of her petitions, which would have invalidated them.

Boggs then filed as a write-in candidate for the primary election. If she wins, her name would appear as normal on the general election ballot. However, House Republicans are considering action to challenge her ability to run as a write-in.