A candidate for state representative is donating contributions made to his campaign from Speaker Larry Householder. Attorney and Pickaway County Commissioner Brian Stewart, who is seeking a seat in Ohio's 78th House District, announced via social media that he is arranging to donate those funds to charitable organizations across the district. The move comes amid Householder's arrest for racketeering.
Stewart's Facebook post:
In August 2019 I announced my campaign for State Representative in Ohio’s 78th House District with the support of dozens of elected and party leaders across the district. Soon after, multiple county GOP organizations endorsed my campaign, as Republicans across OH-78 continued to unite behind my candidacy. Our grassroots support was overwhelming; no one in Columbus recruited me to run. Ultimately, I won the April primary by a 40 point margin with 67% of the vote in a 3-way race, running on my own record as a combat veteran of the Iraq War, a successful small businessman, and an accomplished Pickaway County Commissioner.
After our campaign was already in full swing, I was also endorsed by Speaker Larry Householder, who joined an endorsement list that would eventually include more than 70 other elected and party leaders as well as the Ohio Republican Party. My campaign also received more than 150 individual campaign donations, one of which was made by Speaker Householder, as he did for numerous other candidates around Ohio. Speaker Householder deserves the presumption of innocence like every American, but the allegations made public yesterday concern me greatly. **Accordingly, I am making arrangements to donate all of the money my campaign committee received from Speaker Householder to charitable organizations across OH-78.**
Honesty and integrity have always been my core principles, and those values are more important than ever for those who seek to lead our great state. As the next State Representative for OH-78 I will fight hard every day for the residents of Pickaway, Fairfield, Hocking, Morgan, Muskingum, and Athens counties to bring good-paying jobs to our communities, to expand broadband internet to our neighborhoods, and to preserve the American values we all hold dear.