Butler County auditor hasn’t ruled out future congressional bid

THE CANDIDATES

Here are the certified candidates for the 8th Congressional District race in the special and general primary races on March 15:

When Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds unexpectedly withdrew his candidacy for Ohio’s 8th Congressional District seat last month, his decision not only changed the dynamics of the crowded race but sparked a wave of speculation about his reasons for doing it.

It was a head-scratcher to many who wondered why Reynolds — regarded by political pundits as the front-runner — would drop his bid for an office he has admitted to coveting “for a while.”

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Reynolds explanation then, and one he repeated Wednesday during an exclusive interview with this news outlet, was simply: family. When asked about rumors that a looming political scandal or improprieties in the county auditor’s office forced him to withdraw, Reynolds vehemently denied any allegations, waving them off.

The 46-year-old Liberty Twp. husband and father of two daughters said his decision had nothing to do with anything other than getting his priorities straight. And his No. 1 priority, he said, needed to be his family.

“Every time there was a conflict, the family came second,” Reynolds said, noting campaign trips around the six-county congressional district and trips to Washington, D.C., all took priority over family.

Reynolds declined to speak on the record about specific family issues, but did say he came to realize that “the family balance wasn’t working.

“I had hoped I could do both,” he said.

Reynolds was one of 16 Republicans that filed to be in the race to replace former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, who unexpectedly announced his resignation in September. Reynolds announced nearly two weeks later his candidacy.

He announced his withdrawal from the race on Dec. 18, the morning after he attended the Butler County GOP’s Christmas party and just days after the filing deadline. He said his moment of clarity came in the hours between the end of that party and the time he wrote his withdrawal letter to the Butler County Board of Elections.

Reynolds said he may consider another run at the office when his two teenage daughters are a little older.

“It’s a job I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while,” Reynolds acknowledged, adding he will now concentrate on being auditor. “There’s plenty of work here in the county and auditor’s office.”

Reynolds said he believes his withdrawal “helps” state Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp.. With Reynolds out, Derickson is regarded by some as the top Butler County candidate in the congressional race.

“With Butler County having roughly 45 percent of the total Republican votes (in the district), it helps him,” Reynolds said.

More than half of the estimated 723,000 residents in the 8th Congressional District — which incorporates all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami and Preble counties, and the southernmost portion of Mercer County — live in Butler County. And since redistricting following the 1970 Census, all of the district’s congressmen have been from Butler County.

Todd Hall, executive chairman of the Butler County GOP, said he was surprised by Reynolds’ withdrawal but felt he was “doing what was best for his family.”

“But my very next thought was that we are in great shape,” Hall said, referring to the fact the county still had another strong candidate in Derickson.

Reynolds said he’s not surprised by the number of Republicans seeking the congressional seat, but he is surprised more women didn’t seek the office. Middletown Republican Terri King is the only woman to file, and be certified, for the race.

Reynolds said he is fully behind Derickson in the race, an endorsement he gave upon exiting the crowded field. And though there are now 15 Republican candidates for the 8th Congressional District seat, Reynolds said he believes it’s really between two people: Derickson and State Sen. Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City.

The winner of the Republican primary races will be “who can continue to build momentum and whose message most resonates with the voters,” Reynolds said. “Voters want to know what are you going to do. How are you going to fix the mess in Washington, D.C.? That’s what I was asked time after time.”

And whoever is going to win the race is likely going to be spending $1 million to get their name out in the six-county district, which means spending money in the Dayton and Cincinnati television, radio and newspaper markets, sending out mailers, and traveling to where the people are located, Reynolds said.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s campaign finance reports, Beagle’s Ohio Senate campaign committee has invested more than $1.8 million in his Senate district, which includes three of the counties in the 8th Congressional District. Derickson’s Ohio House district incorporates the northern third of Butler County.

Reynolds, who’s been a countywide officeholder since April 2008 and overwhelmingly re-elected in 2014, believes most of his political supporters, as well as Butler County voters, will “coalesce around” Derickson. And as he campaigns around the district, voters outside Butler County will learn more about Derickson and his campaign’s momentum will “continue to grow.”

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