BY MATT URBAS

CUYAHOGA COUNTY – The Cuyahoga County Republican Party voted Thursday to remove state representative Thomas Patton (R-Strongsville) from its central and executive committees, and barred him from receiving any endorsements from the party through the 2024 primary election. An investigation by the party’s disciplinary committee found Patton guilty of having violated the party’s bylaws in the latest round of controversy following a contentious fight between Representatives Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) and Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) for Speaker of the House.

Merrin, who won the party’s internal caucus vote for Speaker in November, ultimately lost the vote to Stephens when 22 Republican representatives, including Patton, joined House Democrats in voting for Stephens.

The decision to break with the party majority sparked outrage from across the state. In early January, The Republican State Central Committee passed a resolution censuring Stephens and the representatives who voted for him, though language which would have withheld party endorsements from those censured was removed before the vote. Several county central committees also passed resolutions condemning the defectors. The Cuyahoga Republican Party Central Committee referred Patton’s case to a disciplinary committee in early February.

According to a source, Patton defended his decision to vote for Stephens due to fears that Merrin would support “Right to Work” legislation in the state.  However, the disciplinary committee found that members of both camps acknowledged that at the November caucus meeting, a vote of acclamation was held for the caucus members to unanimously support Merrin, and that none of the members, including Patton, voiced any objection. The committee also reviewed a series of contradictory text messages allegedly sent by Patton in response to inquiries about the upcoming speaker vote, in which he appeared to vehemently deny any knowledge of an attempt by Stevens to undermine the caucus vote..

The seven-member disciplinary committee recommended that the party formally censure Patton, remove him from the central and executive committees, and prohibit him from receiving the party’s endorsement through the 2024 primary election. The party ultimately voted in favor of the disciplinary committee’s recommendation by a reported vote of 71-58. 

Prior to the final vote, Patton, who is term-limited in the House, reportedly announced his intention to run for state Senate in 2024. The party’s decision to withhold endorsements would be in effect for the primary, if Patton were to run.

Patton is a long-time state legislator, who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2002. He served in the Ohio House until 2008, followed by two four-year terms in the Senate. He returned to the House in 2017 and won a fourth term last November, defeating Democrat Troy Greenfield in District 17 by 11 percentage points.

Patton was reportedly not the only Cuyahoga county government official removed from the party at the March meeting. Pat McDonald, who serves as Director of the Ohio Lottery, was also recommended for removal by the disciplinary committee, according to a source.  McDonald allegedly made a public endorsement of Democrat Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) in her 2022 race for Ohio House in District 16.  McDonald was appointed as director of the Ohio Lottery by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019 after twelve years on the Ohio Lottery Commission.  Representative Sweeney’s father, Martin J. Sweeney, also serves on the Lottery Commission.