Niehaus Announces Application Process for 17th District Senate Seat

Release:

(Columbus) - Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) and Ross County Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Carnes announced today the application process to fill a vacancy in Ohio's 17th District Senate seat.

The 23-member Senate Republican Caucus is responsible for appointing a replacement to the seat; however, state law requires the seat to stand for election on the November general election ballot because the vacancy was created within 20 months of a resigning member's term. The candidate appearing on the ballot must be nominated by the central committee chairs and secretaries of the 10 county Republican parties in the district.

To ensure that both the appointee and the nominee are the same person, President Niehaus created a joint screening process between the Senate Republican Caucus and five of the district's county Republican Party chairs. The screening committee consists of the following members:

Senator Tom Niehaus, President (R-New Richmond)
Senator Keith Faber, President Pro Tempore (R-Celina)
Senator Tom Patton, Majority Floor Leader (R-Strongsville)
Senator Shannon Jones, Majority Whip (R-Springboro)
Senator Chris Widener, Senate Finance Committee Chairman (R-Springfield)
Chairwoman Diane Carnes, Ross County Republican Party
Chairwoman Kay Ayres, Highland County Republican Party
Chairman Ray Dutey, Lawrence County Republican Party
Chairman Geoffrey Phillips, Clinton County Republican Party
Chairman Jim Ward, Fayette County Republican Party

The Senate Republican Caucus will accept applications for the vacancy until noon on Friday, March 9. Applications should be sent or hand-delivered to the following address:

The Honorable Thomas E. Niehaus
President, Ohio Senate
The Ohio Statehouse
1 Capitol Square, Room 201
Columbus, OH 43215

Please send an identical copy of the application to the Senate chief of staff:

Jason Mauk
Chief of Staff, Ohio Senate
The Ohio Statehouse
1 Capitol Square, Room 205
Columbus, OH 43215

The candidate screening and selection process will likely take place on Saturday, March 24. The newly appointed member of the 17th District Senate seat will replace former Senator David Daniels, who recently accepted an appointment as director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.