The Paulding County Republican Women, Defiance County Republican Club and Van Wert Central Committee are sponsoring a meet the candidate night on April 11 at the Paulding County Fairgrounds Extension Building. The event will be from 5:00-9:00 p.m. with individuals having the chance to meet and talk with candidates. Each candidate will speak to the crowd starting at 6:30 p.m. for approximately five minutes a piece.
There are 20 candidates that will be at the event. Those in attendance will be seeking the Republican party nominations for local, state and national positions during the May primary election and beyond.
Among the candidates scheduled for the event are: Jon Husted, Jim Rennaci, Joe Blystone, J.D. Vance, Mike Gibbons, Mark Pukita, Neil Patel, J.R. Majewski, John Adams, Shane Lee, Michael Wehrkamp, Bob Campbell, Ted Penner, Lisa McClure, Mike Weible, Gina Campbell, Jami Bradford, Tony Schroeder, Roy Klopfenstein and Mark Holtsberry.
Seeking the gubernatorial and lieutenant governor positions are: incumbent Mike DeWine and Husted; Ron Hood and Candice Keller; Renacci and Joe Knapp; and Blystone and Jeremiah Workman.
Vying for the U.S. Senate seat are Pukita, Vance, Gibbons and Patel along with Jane Timken, Matt Dolan and Josh Mandel. They are each seeking the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by incumbent Rob Portman, who is not seeking re-election.
Adams and incumbent Frank LaRose are both seeking the nomination for Ohio Secretary of State.
J.R. Majewski is seeking the U.S. District 9 House of Representative seat. Also on the ballot for that post are Beth Deck, Theresa Gavarone and Craig Riedel. The seat currently is held by incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur.
In state races, both Klopfenstein and Penner are running for the 82nd District of the Ohio House of Representatives, currently held by Riedel.
Gina Campbell is running for re-election as the 1st District State Central Committee woman, while incumbent Bob Campbell and Schroeder are running for the 1st District State Central Committee man.
Turning to county races, Weible is vying for the Paulding County Commissioner seat for the unexpired term ending Jan. 2, 2025. McClure and Holtsberry are seeking the commissioner seat for the full-term ending on Jan. 1, 2023. Holtsberry is the incumbent for that seat in Paulding County.
Incumbent Wehrkamp and Lee are both seeking the party nomination for the probate and juvenile court judge in Paulding County.
Bradford and Philip Baxter are vying for the Van Wert County auditor post.
Organizers encourage everyone interested in learning about the candidates and their positions on the issues to come out to the meet the candidates night on April 11.
The Paulding County OSU Extension Building is located at 501 Fairground Dr., Paulding.
