The Ohio House chamber. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original photo.)
A juicy drama is going on between Republicans in a northern Ohio legislative district that hugs Lake Erie. It’s a perfect microcosm of the low-bar politics afflicting our state and country. The incumbent right-winger from Ohio House District 89 is state Rep. D.J. Swearingen. He walks the MAGA party line on everything from anti-trans bullying to dismantling gun safety laws, public health protections and environmental regulations.
His embrace of the extreme made Swearingen a rising zealot in the Ohio House, even though he masquerades as a benign family guy in campaign flyers back home. In his GOP-friendly gerrymandered district covering Erie County, most of Ottawa County and parts of Huron County, the two-term Republican skates to reelection. But his next race may be less of a breeze.
In 2023, juvenile infighting among Ohio House Republicans mirrored the same adolescent tantrums roiling U.S. House Republicans. Swearingen got on the wrong side of MAGA purists in the intraparty fight for Ohio House speaker by denying the position to a young, up-and-coming hardliner, state Rep. Derek Merrin-R, Monclova Township.