Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci | Jim Renacci/Facebook
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci | Jim Renacci/Facebook
The We The People Convention (WTPC) has officially endorsed Republicans Jim Renacci and Joe Knopp for Governor and Lt. Governor of Ohio.
Tom Zawistowski, WTPC president and executive director of the Portage County Tea Party, said the organization is endorsing the Renacci/Knopp ticket in the May primary election, according to a press release.
"We conservatives are taking back the Republican Party," Renacci said, according to the release. "We will get DeWine and his left-leaning politics out of office and out of power. It's the only way to keep Ohio from becoming a blue state in November."
The Clermont County GOP endorsed Renacci in February, according to the Buckeye Reporter.
Renacci has also won the endorsements of the Butler County and Strongsville GOPs.
Incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine will face off against Jim Renacci in the May 3 GOP gubernatorial primary, according to Ballotpedia. The winner will go on to appear on ballots for the general election on November 8.
Renacci, 63, is an accountant and entrepreneur who once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football League team. He won election to the 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.
DeWine, 75, was Kasich's choice to replace him as Ohio governor in 2019, West Hamilton News reported. He is one of the longest-serving public officials in state history, having held an elected office for 41 years. That includes stints in the Ohio Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate, plus roles as Ohio attorney general and Ohio lieutenant governor.
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