Ohio Republicans reject election denier-backed candidate in secretary of state primary

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague won Tuesday’s Republican primary for secretary of state, defeating Marcell Strbich — a far-right activist backed by election denier and Trump ally Cleta Mitchell. 

The race exposed a divide inside the GOP between establishment Republicans pushing voting restrictions and candidates tied more directly to the national election denial movement.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) did not run for reelection due to term limits and instead launched a campaign for state auditor.

The race centered on which Republican candidate could oversee Ohio elections at a moment when GOP officials across the country continued escalating attacks on mail-in voting, voter registration and election administration systems.

Sprague, a longtime Ohio Republican officeholder, entered the race with overwhelming establishment support, statewide name recognition and a traditional political résumé that included serving in the Ohio House and as state treasurer since 2019. 

Meanwhile, Strbich, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, ran as a political outsider focused almost entirely on so-called “election integrity.”

While both candidates embraced election conspiracy rhetoric and restrictive voting policies, Strbich became closely aligned with the election denial infrastructure built by Mitchell, the conservative attorney who helped lead efforts to overturn the 2020 election after Joe Biden’s victory.

“It is my honor and privilege to endorse Marcell Strbich for Ohio Secretary of State,” Mitchell wrote in a formal endorsement. “Marcell is a national expert and leader in virtually every facet of election integrity… He understands the threat of noncitizen voting… Marcell Strbich is not a politician. He is a military veteran who now serves his country as a citizen patriot… We need chief election officials like Marcell in every state in the country!”

Mitchell continued promoting Strbich through Election Day.

“Marcell Strbich is THE candidate who will do the most to bring / ensure integrity in OH elections,” Mitchell wrote Saturday on X. “And will be a NATIONAL leader for honest, transparent, accurate elections. Vote for Marcell Strbich on Tuesday May 5.”

Strbich’s defeat represents a loss for the faction of the Republican Party most directly tied to Trump’s “Big Lie” and the broader election denial movement. Secretary of state races have become a major target for those groups because the office oversees voter registration, ballot rules and election certification.

But Sprague’s victory does not at all signal a retreat from anti-voting politics inside the GOP. Instead, his campaign reflected how deeply restrictive voting rhetoric has become embedded in mainstream Republican campaigns — even among establishment candidates.

Throughout the race, Sprague repeatedly attacked drop boxes, promoted strict citizenship verification requirements and framed Ohio elections as vulnerable to fraud despite little evidence of widespread voter fraud.

His campaign often packaged those arguments in strange and theatrical ways.

In one odd campaign video, Sprague used a Sesame Street-style parody featuring a grouchy puppet called “Lefty the Cheat” emerging from a drop box while warning that drop boxes threaten election security.

His campaign also released a series of graphics outlining what it called “Sprague’s Plan for Secure Elections.”

“Drop boxes are outdated, unnecessary remnants from the COVID era, are vulnerable to ballot harvesting and fraud, and are not worth the money and manpower necessary to try to make them secure,” one campaign graphic stated. “As Secretary of State, Robert Sprague will eliminate them.”

Another campaign post promoted stricter citizenship verification for voter registration.

Voting by noncitizens is already illegal and exceptionally rare. Ohio also already uses paper ballots, bipartisan election administration and post-election audits.

Still, the primary highlighted an increasingly important distinction inside Republican politics. 

Many establishment GOP candidates now openly support new voting restrictions and use rhetoric casting doubt on election systems, while a more hardline faction tied to election denial networks pushes the envelope even further.

Sprague is expected to face Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo (D) in the general election.