Dear friends,

We wanted you to know that the Ohio Supreme Court denied our campaign's request to have Steve's name placed on the ballot awaiting the outcome of his case against Jennifer Brunner.  The Court's decision not to allow Steve's name on the ballot effectively eliminated the chance for Steve to win the Attorney General race against Mike DeWine, since people cannot vote for someone whose name is not on the ballot.  With up to 40 percent of Ohio voters now voting early, this was a lethal blow to our campaign.  With legal costs well over $10,000 and no realistic chance to compete effectively in the race, yesterday we dropped the case against Jennifer Brunner.  Even if Steve had ultimately won the case, the damage to his campaign, through losing the chance to  garner the votes cast by early voters, was irreparable. 

Steve continues to get requests for new speaking engagements, and has had no requests for cancellation.  We wish for everyone to not lose sight of the goal, just because one battle has been lost!  We must keep pressing on if we are succeed.

The following press release was issued at 4pm Friday, March 19:

For Immediate Release

Press Release From Conservatives for Steve Christopher

Mark Lucas, media coordinator for Steve Christopher's Attorney General campaign, announced today that Christopher would be dismissing his case in the Ohio Supreme Court.  According to Lucas, a recent temporary order issued by the Court effectively renders the ultimate merits of the case meaningless.

 Christopher had filed an action against Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner over access to the ballot in the May 4 primary election. A conservative Republican, Christopher had sought to challenge former Senator Mike DeWine for the Republican nomination in the Attorney General race.

 Brunner denied Christopher a place on the ballot, claiming that he filed less than the required 1,000 signatures needed. Christopher had a receipt and internal documents from the Secretary of State's office showing that he had submitted over twice the necessary number of signatures.  Christopher also turned copies of missing signatures over to the Secretary of State's office.

 In the ensuing legal battle, Christopher, through his attorney, David Langdon, asked the Court to place his name on the ballot pending the final outcome of the case, which is a common request (and one that the Secretary of State regularly utilizes) when ballot certification for a candidate or issue is uncertain prior to the election. In a split decision, the Court, without even waiting for a response from the Secretary of State's office, denied the request, assuring that Christopher's name would not be on the ballot for early voting.

 The Court's decision effectively dictated the likely outcome of the Attorney General race, due to the large number of people who vote early. Any attempt to reprint the ballots and/or votes already cast would be disruptive to the voting process and expensive to the State. The campaign felt that even though the Court had heard no evidence yet, the Court would not disrupt the political process to that extent after it actually hears the facts of the case.

 Campaign spokesman Mark Lucas indicated that the case was essentially moot at this point, since the Court's initial decision probably dictated the ultimate outcome at the ballot box even if the Court were to rule in Christopher's favor.  As a result, the additional expense that would arise from further litigating the ballot access issue could not be justified.

 Christopher will uphold all previous scheduled speaking engagements and will continue to make himself available to any group or organization.   

 Thank You,

Mark Lucas

Media Relations Director - 614-266-2412 – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Conservatives for Steve Christopher