Republicans can’t pick replacement rep
Ohio was supposed to get a new Republican state representative on Wednesday. Instead, the state got further evidence of the rift within the House GOP over who should be in charge of the chamber.
The vote was to decide whether Justin Pizzulli should be the new representative for House District 90, a deeply conservative seat on the north bank of the Ohio River around Portsmouth.
Pizzulli, who works for Norfolk Southern, the railway involved in the East Palestine derailment, was chosen over seven other applicants by a screening committee. But before he could be sworn in, a majority of the House’s 67 Republican representatives had to give their approval.
And he didn’t have the votes, according to several GOP members interviewed by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.
“It’s a small thing, in the sense that Republicans have an overwhelming majority and should be able to do anything they want,” University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven said. “But it’s such an emblematic moment of a basic failure to co-exist.”
Concerns about the process
“I think our caucus has enormous reservations about the process. We have extended olive branch after olive branch trying to be a part of the process, and we’ve been denied at every single turn,” Rep. Brian Stewart, R-ashville, said. “And, you know, you can’t continue to shut out a majority of the caucus and think you’re going to win a caucus-only vote.”
Stewart’s frustration with the process of appointing someone to fill the seat vacated by Brian Baldridge stems from what happened on Jan. 3.
That’s the day a group of 22
Republican representatives voted with all 32 House Democrats to elect Rep. Jason Stephens, R-kitts Hill, speaker of the house. Stewart, and a majority of the House GOP caucus, supported Rep. Derek Merrin, R-monclova.
“We have a 67-seat Republican majority in which the Democrats have now picked the speaker. It’s absurd,” Stewart said at the time.
And the rift between Merrin’s core supporters and Team Stephens has deepened as the weeks have passed.
Merrin announced the formation of a Republican Majority Caucus and started holding his own meetings and press conferences. Rep. Phil Plummer, R-dayton, threatened to sue the speaker for control of a campaign fund. Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-wintersville, took an unusual moment of personal privilege in a committee meeting to lambaste Rep. Brett Hillyer, Ruhrichsville. And Stephens had to rely on Democrats to pass the transportation budget last week.
“These Republicans presumably have sincere hatred for each other,” Niven said. “And that’s given Democrats consequential votes. I think that (transportation) bill would have ended up in a different place if Republicans could get along with each other.”
Which brings us to the Gop-only vote to replace Baldridge.
“I hope that the caucus can arrive at a good solution and kind of agree to things here,” Ferguson said. “But it’s clear as day to the world that there’s a major fracture.”
His personal objections centered around who served on the screening committee that chose Pizzulli. Neither Merrin nor Plummer was appointed, nor was Rep. Adam Bird, R-new Richmond, who shares Brown County with the 90th District.
“The process was so bad that it was a concern for anybody that was going to emerge,” Ferguson said. And he floated the idea of possibly starting over.
Stephens told reporters that wouldn’t be necessary. He’s working “to pull the caucus together in a unifying manner” and thinks Pizzulli will be appointed eventually. “It had nothing to do with Mr. Pizzulli,” Stephens said. “This was just the caucus itself.”
Republican or RINO
Pizzulli served as Appalachian regional director for Republican Mike Gibbons’ unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, and Stephens said he has the support of the Scioto County Republican Party chair. But an email obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau raised several concerns about Pizzulli’s conservative bonafides.
“Justin has worked against Republicans in every way possible, including supporting Democrats over Republicans in local races,” Scioto County Republican Party Secretary Gary Jenkins wrote to all House GOP members. “He has also been vocal against President Trump and other elected Republicans. As a grassroots group, our Young Republicans have tried our best to support all Republicans running for office, and Justin has done everything to oppose our efforts. Please do not select this divisive and liberal individual to be our state representative.”
Jenkins’ email included several screenshots from Pizzulli’s personal Facebook page that he said backed up the accusations, including posts from the 2016 presidential primary with the hashtag Stoptrump.
“I sat on this email for two or three days. I waited, and I prayed about it.” Jenkins told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. “Justin Pizzulli is an immoral man who should never serve in public office, let alone our statehouse. Those are some heavy words, but that’s what I believe.”
Pizzulli didn’t respond to a request for comment, but Scioto County Republican Vice Chair Kevin Craft called the email unfair at best.
“Justin has worked tirelessly for many Republican candidates,” Craft said. “Every election cycle he volunteers to work for at least one campaign. He supports Right to Life and the (National Rifle Association). Those things in the email aren’t true.”
He also didn’t think the allegations were the real reason Pizzulli’s nomination stalled.
“It’s the rift in the House,” Craft said. “The email came along when they were looking for an excuse.”
Both sides have tried “to pin him down on which side he’s on,” but Craft advised Pizzulli to stay out of it as best he can.
“Just from observation, it does seem apparent that the speaker likes him. It’s a shame that makes him seem like the speaker’s guy,” Craft said. “It’s unfair to him. I think he’s the best candidate.”
Anna Staver 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.