JUST IN: Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision In Favor Of GOP

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency appeal from Samuel Ronan, blocking the onetime Democratic National Committee chair candidate from running in Ohio’s Republican congressional primary after state officials booted him from the ballot for allegedly masquerading as a GOP candidate.

The high court denied the request without comment, and no justice publicly noted a dissent, the standard practice for emergency orders issued through the court’s shadow docket.

Ronan had sought to run in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Mike Carey after filing as a Republican ahead of the GOP primary. In his candidacy paperwork, Ronan attested that he was a member of the Republican Party and pledged to support and abide by its principles. The Franklin County Board of Elections initially certified his candidacy in February.

But his campaign quickly drew scrutiny after a Republican voter challenged his filing, arguing Ronan was not genuinely a Republican.

Ronan previously mounted an unsuccessful bid for chair of the Democratic National Committee, a fact opponents pointed to as evidence that his Republican conversion was not legitimate.

The county board deadlocked along party lines on whether Ronan should remain on the ballot, prompting Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to cast the tie-breaking vote to disqualify him.

Ronan sued, but Ohio Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison upheld the decision, finding that the state’s interest in protecting the integrity of its elections outweighed any burden on Ronan’s constitutional rights.

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“It cannot be the case that a State must allow a candidate on a partisan ballot even if he lied about his party affiliation simply because the First Amendment is implicated,” the Trump-appointed judge wrote.

A three-judge federal appellate panel later declined to restore Ronan to the ballot.

Ronan then took his fight to the Supreme Court alongside Ohio voter Ana Cordero, who argued she wanted the opportunity to vote for him in the GOP primary.

“The First Amendment violation in this case warrants immediate injunctive relief,” they wrote in their emergency filing.

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The pair argued Ronan was removed from the Republican primary ballot “based solely on the content of his political speech” and disputed accusations that he falsely claimed to be a Republican.

“But Applicant Ronan did not lie,” they maintained in the high court application.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office fired back in opposition papers, arguing there was “just one problem” with Ronan’s effort to run as a Republican: “He is a Democrat.”

In a final reply to the justices, Ronan and Cordero warned that allowing the state to keep him off the ballot could create a dangerous precedent for future candidates.

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