Hamilton businessman tapped to run with Mary Taylor in governor race

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is expected to name a Hamilton business leader as her running mate in the GOP gubernatorial primary, a source close to the campaign confirmed.

Taylor will announce iMFLUX chief executive Nathan Estruth, a Cincinnati resident, as her choice for lieutenant governor at an event Wednesday at City Gospel Mission in Cincinnati.

The Taylor-Estruth ticket would compete in the GOP pimary with Attorney General Mike DeWine and his running mate Jon Husted, the current secretary of state, and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth and his running mate Amy Murray of Cincinnati. Renacci is said to be considering dropping from the governor’s race and making a run for U.S. Senate.

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Estruth has led iMFLUX since May 2013 and previously served as vice president of Proctor & Gamble FutureWorks, according to the iMFLUX website. iMFLUX is an injection molding technology company.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from University of California Los Angeles, is the father of four, and likes racquetball, backpacking and fly-fishing.

Democrat Richard Cordray is expected to name his running mate on Wednesday as well and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill, another Democrat in the primary, picked elementary school principal Chantelle Lewis, of East Cleveland, on Tuesday.

Related: O’Neill picks school principal to join governor ticket

Also running in the Democratic primary are: Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, former state representative Connie Pillich, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Akron and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman. Former congressman Dennis Kucinich also filed paperwork Monday with the secretary of state indicating he may join the race as well.

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