North Columbus News

Gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci has received the required number of signatures to have his name placed on the Ohio primary ballot.

Renacci is facing off against an increasing unpopular Gov. Mike DeWine in the May 22 GOP primary.

“Republican voters across Ohio have a clear choice between the committed conservative leadership I’ll deliver in Columbus, and four more years of the corruption, lockdowns and Biden style liberalism that have sadly but clearly defined Mike DeWine’s term in office. The clear momentum behind our campaign is being fueled by Ohioans who demand and deserve the accountable conservative leadership that Mike DeWine promised but never delivered,” Renacci said in a press release.

The Renacci campaign received the 1,000 signatures necessary to place his name on the ballot.

Renacci campaign volunteers criss-crossed the state of Ohio in service of the candidate’s signature drive.

DeWine has been called the "most egregious" of lockdown governors.

Renacci recently struck out at DeWine for backing a hospital association’s suggestion to mask children throughout the state, calling the practice “child abuse.”

He also has accused DeWine of wasting taxpayer dollars on questionable Covid protocol programming.

Renacci, 63, is an accountant and entrepreneur who once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football Team. He won election to U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement, and later endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 primary for president.

Renacci announced his bid for governor in June.

DeWine, 74, was Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019. He is one of the longest-serving public officials in state history, having been in elected office for 41 years. That includes stints in the Ohio State Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and as Ohio attorney general and Ohio lieutenant governor.