Rigged: Ohio’s DeWine, Others Consider Redistricting Map that Would Eliminate Jim Jordan’s District, Solidify Pelosi’s Majority

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, state auditor Keith Faber, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose are considering offering and adopting a redistricting map ahead of the 2022 midterm elections that would be overly beneficial and lopsided toward helping Democrats retain their U.S. House majority, Breitbart News has learned.

Two senior Republican officials briefed on the proposal before its expected introduction next week told Breitbart News that DeWine, Faber, and LaRose are considering drawing a number of pro-Trump Republicans into Democrat-leaning districts as part of retaliation against former President Donald Trump, who the three establishment GOP leaders dislike. The two senior Republicans briefed on the plan told Breitbart News they believe this retaliation from DeWine and others is an effort to steer the GOP away from Trump, who won the the state of Ohio by huge margins in both 2016 and 2020, because they do not like the direction the party is currently going.

The map currently under consideration, these GOP officials said, could jeopardize as many as four or five GOP congressional districts in Ohio—a crushing blow to GOP efforts to retake the U.S. House majority. To retake the majority, Republicans currently need to flip a net five seats or more from Democrat hands into GOP hands in November next year—something that losing several seats in deep-red Ohio could seriously complicate.

A GOP source who has seen the map that DeWine as of now intends to introduce next week told Breitbart News that it would eliminate the district of Trump stalwart Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), pushing it entirely into deep-blue Columbus, Ohio, the state capital, instead.

The map DeWine is planning to introduce would also pit Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) against each other, drawing both of them into a Dayton-based district. This is because Ohio lost a congressional district in reapportionment after the 2020 U.S. Census. But instead of eliminating a Democrat-held district, the DeWine team is, per this Republican familiar with the map, planning to pit two Republicans against each other.

“This would be Speaker Pelosi’s dream map in Ohio and severely impact Republicans’ chances at retaking the House majority,” a senior GOP aide told Breitbart News.

There remains time to stop DeWine’s efforts to help Pelosi and Democrats keep their majority with this unfair and lopsided map, though, as they have yet to publicly introduce it. If conservatives voice their concerns to the governor and raise issue with it and pressure him to change his ways and stop helping Democrats out of spite for Trump, it is possible he could reverse course.

Also, a senior GOP aide told Breitbart News that major endorsements could begin rolling in for DeWine’s primary challenger, former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH)—who has deep friendships and ties in the Ohio GOP congressional delegation—if DeWine supports this map currently under consideration that is not yet public or any map viewed as favorable to Pelosi and national Democrats.

Renacci, who has been raising concerns with corruption swirling around the DeWine administration, will join Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel on Saturday this week.

UPDATE 9:40 p.m. ET

LaRose spokesman Rob Nichols disputed the above report in its entirety after publication reaching out to Breitbart News to say it is not accurate. “You’ve been lied to, your sources are terrible, and everything you’ve been told is wrong,” Nichols said.

LaRose is Ohio’s Secretary of State.

Interestingly, before this updated statement from LaRose was even published DeWine’s office also reached out denying the report–and shared that DeWine’s office was coordinating denials with LaRose’s indicating that the governor’s team agreed with the Secretary of State’s team.

“I saw your article on redistricting in Ohio this evening,” DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said in an email. “Our office is disappointed you did not contact us for comment, as you had in the past on other work. The information that was relayed to you is not true, and we agree with the comment provided to you by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office that you have been lied to.”

There is no way DeWine’s team would have known what LaRose’s team said to Breitbart News when Tierney sent this statement unless the two parties were coordinating press statements since LaRose’s team’s statement had not yet been published.

While two of the three parties concerned are denying the above reporting, the original source who saw the draft map stands by this source’s description of things and it remains to be seen if that draft map will ever make it out into the light of day. Breitbart News hopes it does.