Ex-sheriff to run for Tiberi’s US House seat
ELECTION
Although he had filed paperwork signaling his intent, former Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott made his political plan official on Thursday: He’s running for the U.S. House.
Scott will seek the Democratic nomination in the yet-to-be-scheduled primary to determine which candidates will face off to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, who plans to resign by the end of January.
“I’m proud of the service and peace of mind I have provided to victims and their families over the past 30 years. Making communities safer by putting dangerous criminals behind bars while helping countless nonviolent offenders get their lives back on track hasn’t just been my job — it’s been my passion,” Scott said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we have all seen too many Washington politicians who are more concerned with serving themselves than serving the public. All too often, Congress caters to powerful special-interest groups while the pressing needs of everyday working families fall through the cracks,” he said.
As sheriff, Scott warred with the local Democratic establishment in unsuccessfully running against Democrat Andrew J. Ginther for mayor of Columbus in 2015. Scott then sought re-election in 2016 but was defeated in a primary by Dallas Baldwin, who now serves as sheriff.
Democrats are considered a long shot to carry the Republican-rich 12th House District, which spans northern Franklin County suburbs and runs northeast to Richland County and east to take in Licking County and part of Muskingum County. Republican President Donald Trump won the district by 11 points in 2016.
The best-known Republicans to announce they will seek the nomination for the rest of Tiberi’s term, which ends in January 2019, are Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien, state Sen. Kevin Bacon of Minerva Park and state Sen. Troy Balderson of Zanesville.
Scott is the most widely known Democrat to enter the race.
Tiberi is leaving to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable, a consortium of many of Ohio’s leading companies.