Ok – it’s a flashback to my college days and Monty Python – because “No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition!!”
Secretary of State
Frank LaRose is the Secretary of State of Ohio. His main job is to oversee Ohio’s elections. LaRose, an Akron Republican, took office in 2019, and tried to walk a fine line in the 2020 elections. He believed in the security of Ohio’s electoral process, and wanted to make sure people could vote in the Covid pandemic. Ohio’s primary was set to take place in the middle of March, but was postponed just a day after the Nation closed down for Covid. Ultimately, the state legislature moved the primary vote to vote-by-mail in late April.
As the Trump machine led nationwide cries of “election fraud”, Rose remained steadfast in his leadership of Ohio’s voting. And while he did follow the perfunctionary Republican voting restrictions: purging voting lists and limiting poll locations; he managed to keep Ohio’s elections free of question. But that’s a tough position for a Republican these days. Getting Trump followers support often includes adherence to the “principle” of election fraud. LaRose not only knew better, but he was willing to say so, at least for Ohio. That was, until he decided to run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.
Running for Senate
The Republican Senate race is crowded. LaRose, State Senator Matt Dolan (of the family that owns the Cleveland Guardians) and Cleveland car dealer Bernie Moreno are all running well funded campaigns for the position. Ohio’s junior Senator JD Vance already endorsed Moreno, as did defeated Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake and Senator Marco Rubio. But the big endorsement from former President Trump still awaits one of the three.
LaRose tried to vault to the front by leading the recent Issue One campaign, turned down by Ohio voters in August. Issue One was a political machination, designed to emasculate the Ohio initiative process in expectation of the abortion rights amendment on the ballot in November. LaRose, who publicly spoke out against August elections before backing Issue One, was quite clear about his intention. He wants to stop abortion rights at any cost, including changing the Ohio Constitution in an August statewide vote. It didn’t work.
His leadership role earned him full blame for the 57% to 43% Issue One loss. And now he faces and even tougher problem.
The Kasich Issue
In 2016 Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich ran for President. He stood in stark contrast to the ultimate Republican victor, Donald Trump. Kasich represented the “old school” Republican Party, conservative, business oriented, with a “trickle down” economic philosophy. But Kasich committed the ultimate sin. He refused to withdraw before the convention, and stood as the “last of the old GOP” against Trump. After the nomination, Kasich continued to refuse Trump, and even failed to attend the Republican convention in Cleveland. Ultimately Kasich came out for Joe Biden and left the Republican Party.
That split Ohio’s Republicans. Ever since, the Trump/Republicans have ruthlessly purged any Kasich or Kasich-like members from their ranks. Other “old school” leaders like current Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor John Husted were chastened to keep their place in the party. And Frank LaRose, the election integrity advocate, was on the wrong side of the “election fraud” issue.
But now LaRose wants the Republican nomination for Senate. In 2022, JD Vance was faltering in the Republican race for Senate, until Trump endorsed him. Then he not only won the primary, but went on to beat a strong bid from Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan. LaRose knows that a Trump endorsement will determine the 2024 nominee, and hopes that his Issue One and Pro-Life leadership will help him earn a Trumpian nod. And he knows that a 2024 win will require a massive Republican turnout to beat Brown, who is running for his fourth term.
Expect the Inquisition
But now LaRose has another problem. His press secretary Rob Nichols, was a former Kasich staffer. Nichols was active on social media and he criticized Trump. And even after Nichols deleted his entire social media presence, the Trump “Inquisition” was able to resurrect his old tweets. Andrew Surabian, a youthful Steve Bannon disciple, started in the Trump White House in 2017. Today, Surabian is a spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. Bannon describes Surabian as a “stone cold killer”, who helped lead the “war room” for the 2016 Trump campaign.
Surabian used the Nichols tweets to attack the entire LaRose candidacy:
“…Frank the Fraud (LaRose) and his entire RINO (Republican in Name Only) team have always been anti-Trump”.
It’s the last thing LaRose needed in his Senate run. Not only may it cost him Trump’s endorsement, it might encourage Trump to endorse one of his opponents. The Secretary did the only thing he could – he fired Nichols. It probably won’t be enough. But it does demonstrate the “system” installed nationwide to keep the Republican Party loyal to Trump. It’s all based on a solid core of MAGA voters who control the Republican primary process. That core depends on Trump’s words to determine their support. Cross them, and candidates lose votes, and the nomination.
Loyalty to Trump, and MAGA, is everything. LaRose is trying to make amends, becoming more “Trumpy” by the day. He must not have anticipated the weapons of the “Trumpian Inquisition”: “…fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to Trump, — and nice red hats”.
