Q&A with new Ohio GOP leader Bob Paduchik: Meeting Trump, primaries, House Bill 6, more
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Republican Party selected its newest leader Friday: former President Donald Trump’s campaign manager in the state Bob Paduchik.
An Akron-area native, Paduchik is no stranger to Republican politics in Ohio, but he has been a mostly behind-thescenes figure. After his election to lead the Ohio GOP, Paduchik answered our questions about the future of the party, how he’ll keep the peace with contested primaries and his connections to House Bill 6’s nuclear plant bailout. Answers have been edited for length. Q: What was your first experience with Trump when you joined the campaign in 2016?
A: The first thing we had was the St. Clairsville rally. I’ve done campaign rallies with other candidates before in the past and it’s hard to build a crowd.
Everyone was telling me: “Don’t worry. The crowd will come.” The problem with this particular event was it’s the day before the event and the invite hadn’t even gone out. The process with the campaign was you put it on the website and then people would just show up.
When you’re looking at basically 28 hours notice for an event and it’s my first time meeting him in person, the first time I’m responsible for something, it was a little bit nerve-wracking.
But people showed up. We had 5,000 people at that event. It was awesome and I never worried about a rally after that ever again.
Q: What was your first impression of Trump?
A: I introduced him to (Rep.) Bill Johnson and his wife and they had a nice little chat. He (Trump) didn’t know who I was. I looked kind of like an overweight retired Secret Service agent so I think he just thought, “Who’s this guy?”
He’s a very engaging person. I think that there’s aspects of him that unless you meet him and spend some time with him, you never really get to appreciate.
Q: There is going to be a contested primary for U.S. Senate, maybe even the governor’s race. How do you handle that as chair?
A: When you’re chairman of the party, you represent all the candidates that are up for office. It takes some deft and some diplomacy. There are people on this (Republican state central) committee who absolutely think it’s the responsibility of the committee to endorse and make decisions. Then there are people on the committee who think that they should never be and then there’s folks in between.
I look to the committee to decide when endorsements need to be made and when those activities take place.
Q: Some of the concerns about endorsements are frustrations with Gov. Mike Dewine’s health orders or how he’s handled the COVID-19 pandemic. How do you think Dewine has done in that role?
A: I think the governor’s in a tough spot. I think he’s done a good job and at this point, he’s the sitting governor and there’s no other candidates for office. It’s sort of a hypothetical.
I’m not an epidemiologist either. I’ll tell you this: Things are a lot better in this state than they are in states like Wisconsin and Virginia where I’ve been recently.
Q: Timken led the Ohio Republican Party. You suggested her for the role. Will you be able to remain impartial in the U.S. Senate race?
A: I’m friends with Josh Mandel. I’m friends with Jane Timken. I’m friends with Bernie Moreno and other people who may or may not run. There are only two who have announced. There are many other names that are out there.
When I believe a person is at a point where they’ve hired staff but they haven’t made a decision, I reach out to those candidates. Most of these people I’m friends with. I’d like to stay friends with them so I’m not tipping the scales in favor of any one candidate at all.
Q: I wanted to ask you about calls you made about House Bill 6, encouraging the passage of that bill.
A: I made about four or five phone calls to legislators on House Bill 6 because I was concerned about 4,000 nuclear power plant jobs being lost months before an election in the state of Ohio.
I also know a little bit about the energy business. No one paid me – no person or entity or anything – to do that. I did that on my own.
Q: What should happen next with House Bill 6?
A: I’m not a legislator. They are going to sort it out. Obviously, it’s a tough issue for them to deal with. My perspective on things like that is whenever I can help bring jobs, bring new jobs or keep jobs in Ohio during an election cycle, I’m doing to do that.
Q: You talked about the urban counties and places where Republicans need to be doing better. How do you want to approach that?
A: Bringing a focus on the urban counties first and foremost is a start and then you need to look at the individual counties because Cuyahoga County is different than Montgomery or Hamilton or Franklin. Each has different needs.
I know we can get Democratic votes. We’ve done it in Lorain County, in Trumbull County where my father grew up. We’re electing Republicans in those counties. That means we can elect Republicans in the urban counties as well.
Q: The former president weighed in on your chairman’s race. Do you think he’ll play in Ohio politics going forward? Do you think he’ll endorse in other races?
A: I think it remains to be seen. Clearly, President Trump has a lot of influence in this state and others. I think he will continue to play the role of king or queenmaker when it comes to candidates for the Senate and other races.
Q: I almost forgot to ask. What’s the origin of your phrase: There it is?
A: “Matterhorn” by Karl Marlantes. Great book.