THE STORY: A source close to the Ohio Republican Party leadership is claiming that the "powers that be" in the ORP are not at all interested in Seth Morgan running for Auditor of State.
Why aren't they interested? Apparently, Seth Morgan has initiative and didn't kiss the ring first. You read that right, since Seth Morgan decided to get started without consulting Columbus, they are not interested in him as a candidate.
THE FACTS: Seth Morgan is a CPA, so he's another professional face to put on the job after Mary Taylor CPA moves on to bigger and better things.
Seth Morgan is a conservative, so he will be an attractive candidate for the Tea Party crowd.
Seth Morgan is in his early 30's, so he would appeal to the younger demographic as well.
All of the things that we were supposed to be looking for in a candidate to be Leading Ohio.
THE QUOTES: I asked State Central Committeeman John Becker about this and he indicated that the ORP is "simply keeping their options open." Becker also alluded that fund raising may be an issue for Morgan.
Two responses from Ohio Republican Party Communications Director John McClelland. The first: "Not accurate." The second: "Seth is on a list of prospective candidates under consideration."
ANALYSIS: If this story is true, then I have never seen a more pathetic group of children in my life. The Democrats are TRYING their hardest to hand us this election cycle and we keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
My source for this information has been impeccable. Perhaps we aren't talking about the Chairman or any of the professional staff at the ORP. What if we're talking about State Central Committee types or County-Level leadership types? I suppose these things are possible.
Or maybe, the response I received from McClelland was a smoke screen. It is hard to tell because those guys tend to be very short with me for some reason and they rarely volunteer anything beyond what they think I already know or should know.
I believe it is possible that the story is true, but the wagons are going to be circled up now and we may never hear the real story... I encourage the reader to take a look at what we know, apply your own filters and personal knowledge, and decide for yourself. At any rate, it is important that we examine the way these decisions are being made so that the process remains fair, open and honest.
8:55 PM UPDATE: As something of a sidebar, I just had a tidbit confirmed that I want to share. Should Morgan run and lose while Husted wins, there is a deal "on the table" where Morgan would take Husted's senate seat. At least then, the senator from that district would ACTUALLY live there... But, I am not a fan of these deals. Let the people decide...if the party wants to make a recommendation or an endorsement, I'm cool with that, but let's chill out with the backroom deals.
1/20 UPDATE: A clarification on Becker's statement regarding fund raising. That assertion did not come from any discussion with the ORP but rather "other sources."
