'The Republican Party is going to get fired up.' These local residents will nominate Trump
Ohio Republicans will soon travel to Milwaukee to nominate Donald Trump for president.
Trump's campaign approved 79 delegates and 68 alternate delegates throughout the state, representing a mix of the Republican Party, from established politicians, such as Gov. Mike DeWine, to newcomers who have embraced Trump, according to a list obtained from the Ohio secretary of state.
From the Cincinnati region, those who will make the journey to nominate Trump include:
The sheriff known for his cowboy hat, jail cuisine and tough talk on illegal immigration.
A congressional candidate who won his primary with a pro-Trump campaign – and three of the opponents he defeated in the March GOP primary.
A state representative and state senator who both just survived primary challenges.
They will join 2,400 Republican delegates who will convene July 15 in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Each of Ohio's 15 congressional districts will send three delegates and three alternate delegates in addition to 34 at-large delegates.
Here's a look at some of the people from the region who will nominate Trump.
Trump decides who gets to go to Republican National Convention
Trump's campaign approved the delegates, per Ohio Republican Party rules. The three Ohio Republican National Committee members automatically get to go to the convention as delegates. They are: Ohio GOP Chairman and Green Township Republican Alex Triantafilou, Ohio National Committeeman Jim Dicke, and former Ohio GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken. Trump won the Ohio Primary with 79% of the vote. The winner of the Ohio Primary gets all of the state's delegates.
Former Clermont County GOP chairman got the call
Milford Republican Greg Simpson said he got a call from former Ohio GOP chairman and former Trump campaign adviser Bob Paduchik asking whether he'd like to be a delegate. Simpson, the former Clermont County Republican chairman, is one of three from Ohio's 2nd Congressional District going.
He said he expects Trump's nomination will be smooth despite Trump's recent conviction on all charges in his New York criminal hush money trial.
"I'm sure some people will take that into consideration," Simpson said. "I like him better than Biden. I just think of the two candidates, his business experience sets him apart. The country is run too much by career politicians."
Sheriff Jones: 'I'm going to be in the middle of all of it'
Another local delegate has become a familiar sight on national television and at Trump rallies.
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones will be one of the three delegates at the Republican National Convention representing Ohio's 8th Congressional District. You may have seen the cowboy hat-wearing, white-mustachioed Jones on cable news decrying illegal immigration and calling for tough border controls.
The convention will be a new experience for Jones.
"The convention, I've never been to one but I'm told they're very exciting," Jones told The Enquirer. "I assume there'll be protests out front. There'll be threats. I'm going to be in the middle of all of it, but I'm the sheriff, so I should be kind of used to that."
Jones is no stranger to Trump. He warmed up the crowd in 2016 when Trump spoke at U.S. Bank Arena. He visited the White House three times during Trump's presidency, Jones said. Trump's conviction in the hush money trial only helps his campaign, and Trump will come out of the convention with momentum, Jones said.
"You gotta get your base fired up," Jones said. "I believe they're gonna fire their base up. I believe the Republican party is going to get fired up."
2nd Congressional District race reunion
After winning a hotly contested primary for Congress, concrete company owner and Amelia Republican David Taylor will head up to Milwaukee to nominate Trump. So will three of the Republican opponents he beat in the primary.
Almost all of the 10 Republicans who ran for the 2nd Congressional District seat just east of Cincinnati embraced Trump.
Taylor won with a campaign that ran ads of him behind a bulldozer saying "I know a thing or two about building walls."
Also at the convention will be three of the Republicans he beat in the primary: State Sen. Niraj Antani, a Republican from Miamisburg near Dayton, Bethel Republican Tim O'Hara and alternate delegate Larry Kidd, a Republican from Jackson County in southeast Ohio.
Taylor will be heavily favored in November to win the 2nd Congressional seat in Ohio, a district Trump won in 2020 by a 3-to-1 margin. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who is retiring. The district covers the suburbs east of Cincinnati in Clermont County and extends east over farmlands, industrial towns and Appalachian foothills along the Ohio River.
As far as the sitting congressman, Wenstrup will not be at the RNC due to "a family scheduling conflict," according to a spokesperson for his office.
Two state legislators who survived primary challenges headed to Milwaukee
After facing primary challenges from within their own party, two state legislators will go to Milwaukee as delegates from Ohio: Rep. Cindy Abrams, a Republican from Harrison who has represented western Hamilton County in the Ohio House since 2019, and Ohio Sen. George Lang, a Republican from West Chester who has served in the Ohio Senate since 2020.
Abrams was one of the 22 Republicans who drew a Republican primary opponent for her support of Rep. Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, for speaker of the House over Rep. Derek Merrin. Critics called the 22 Republicans the "Blue 22" because they joined with 32 Democrats to vote for Stephens. The vote split Republican lawmakers and drew a rebuke from the Ohio Republican Party, who voted to censure them.
Abrams beat Republican George Brunemann with 59% of the vote in March.
Lang in March beat two Republican challengers, Middletown Republican Mark Morgan and former state Rep. Candice Keller.
Local GOP leadership supports Trump
The local GOP leadership will also travel to the Republican National Convention as delegates and alternates. Hamilton County GOP chairman Russ Mock is an alternate. Hamilton County Republican Party Honorary Chairwoman and executive committee member Diane Cunningham Redden is a delegate representing the 1st Congressional District. Chip Gerhardt, a Republican strategist from Anderson Township who is a member of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, is a delegate at large.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who are the Republican National Convention delegates from Cincinnati?
