Candidate Backed by John Boehner Pushed Out of Race for His Seat

Conservatives pushed Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds – who was reportedly backed by former Speaker of the House John Boehner to replace him in Congress – out of the congressional race last week, according to Roll Call.

“Reynolds was seen as a favorite among the 14 Republicans in the race and was believed to have Boehner’s backing. But that didn’t work in Reynolds’ favor among some conservatives,” reported Roll Call’s Warren Rojas.

JD Winteregg, who is running for Boehner’s congressional seat, reacted to Reynolds’ withdrawal from the race to Breitbart News:

I wish Roger and his family all the best. While his voice would have added to this process, we still have plenty of career politicians and establishment insiders in the race who think they can buy this election. I’ll continue be the lone anti-establishment voice in Ohio’s 8th district, and I look forward to earning this seat the way the Founding Fathers intended–by winning over the people, not special interest groups.

“It is pretty clear that Boehner is behind Roger Reynolds,” Conservative Republican Leadership Committee board member Lori Viars previously stated, suggesting that wasn’t a good thing for Reynolds.

“While Boehner is a big fish in Butler County, a lot of conservatives who vote in primaries have not been happy with him,” she added.

“Buckeye State Republicans expected the 8th District race to be one between Reynolds, state Sen. Bill Beagle, and state Rep. Tim Derickson,” noted Rojas. “Upon exiting the race, Reynolds endorsed Derickson, with whom he was expected to split the vote in Butler County, while Beagle was expected to have more appeal in outlying areas.”

“I now realize a healthy balance is not possible and my family must take priority,” Reynolds said to Cincinnati.com when he exited the race last week.

“One Republican operative told Roll Call that Reynolds was ‘demoralized’ by coming one percentage point short of the 60 percent necessary to secure the Butler County GOP endorsement,” Rojas wrote.

Ohio’s 8th District votes on March 15 for the candidate who will replace Boehner.