COLUMBUS, Ohio —The Rev. Niel Petersen, a Dayton-area pastor, is seeking to launch an independent campaign for Ohio governor this year, running on a conservative platform critical of many of Gov. Mike DeWine’s coronavirus policies.
It’s still unclear whether Petersen will make this year’s ballot. Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office on Monday sent Petersen’s candidacy petition signatures to local election boards for verification. (Independent gubernatorial candidates need 5,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot).
If he does make the ballot, Petersen is unlikely to win as a first-time candidate with little name recognition and no statewide campaign apparatus. But Democrats are hoping that Petersen could divert conservative votes away from DeWine, helping the chances of Democratic nominee Nan Whaley.
With that in mind, Petersen may face challenges about whether he’s allowed to run as an independent this year, as he voted in the May 3 Republican primary and describes himself on his website as a “constitutional conservative Republican.”
Court rulings and advisory opinions from the Ohio secretary of state’s office indicate that someone who voted in a partisan primary cannot run as an independent for governor.
A 2007 advisory opinion from then-Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office said that, based on a federal court ruling, “If an independent candidate votes in a party primary election after filing as an independent, the candidate is not actually unaffiliated, and the candidate’s claim of independence was either not made in good faith or is no longer current.” Likewise, a 2022 candidate guide from LaRose’s office says, “An independent candidate must actually be unaffiliated from any political party, and the required claim of being unaffiliated must be made in good faith in order for the candidate to be qualified to run as an independent candidate.”
Rob Nichols, a LaRose spokesman, has said that it’s still “premature” to tell whether Petersen is qualified to run as an independent. If local elections officials clear Petersen for the ballot -- which could take until July at the current pace his signatures are being processed -- it’s still unclear whether LaRose would rule on Petersen’s ability to run as an independent or if DeWine’s campaign or others would file a challenge to his candidacy.
In an interview, Petersen said he decided to run for governor because he believes DeWine “adamantly failed” to adequately respond to the coronavirus pandemic, specifically citing the governor’s decision to close schools and many businesses during the early weeks of the crisis.
He also said, if he were governor, he would push state lawmakers to pass House Bill 248, which would forbid employers from requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
“That’s not only unconstitutional -- it’s immoral, and it’s injust,” Petersen said of such employer mandates. He noted that his children have used school vaccination exemptions and that he’s written more than 250 religious exemption forms for people to avoid coronavirus vaccines.
Petersen also said Ohioans with COVID or fearing that they’ll get it should have access to “health alternatives” such as ivermectin, even though federal health officials strongly warn against using unauthorized treatments. “People should have that choice,” he said.
Asked whether the government should have a role to play in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, Petersen said: “To say there’s no role is ignorant. To say that we’re going to tell the people what they have to do is not ignorant -- it’s authoritarian.”
Besides coronavirus, Petersen said he would seek to abolish the state’s personal income tax in four years -- accelerating pending legislation that, if passed, would phase it out in 10 years.
Petersen said that the state would somehow have to account for that lost revenue. “We’re looking at some viable options of where the tax revenue can be made up,” he said.
He also proposed using money for unemployment and welfare and, except for people unable to work because of health conditions or similar situations, give it to employers instead to help them boost pay for their workers. “What we’re encouraging people to do is to take higher-paid jobs instead of staying at home.”
Petersen said while he’s “identified and voted Republican my whole life,” he decided to run as an independent because he didn’t want to split the anti-DeWine vote in the GOP primary (as three other Republicans did, allowing DeWine to win with less than 50% of the primary vote). He said he also hedged his bets that DeWine would win the primary.
Petersen admitted that his campaign has not collected much money. “But we’ve got the people’s heart,” he said, adding later: “We have to share a message of conservative value without creating utter and endless destruction.”
He also said that younger voters aren’t as influenced by expensive TV ads, giving him more of a chance than if he ran just a few years ago. “A lot of the candidates, like Mike DeWine, they don’t have an X factor as it relates to the younger voters, college students,” he said. “Those are areas I excel in.”
“We know we can’t compete with Mike DeWine’s war chest,” he added, referring to the millions of dollars in the governor’s campaign bank account. “But in regards to some of the other areas (of campaigning), we can compete, certainly.”
Petersen admitted that “it’s a concern” that if he runs in November, he could end up helping Whaley, whom he said, “is not my enemy, but what she believes is completely contrary to my conservative Christian worldview.”
However, he said, there are many anti-DeWine conservatives who wouldn’t vote for the governor no matter what. “So the big question is, is (the vote) already split?” he asked.
DeWine spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement, touted the governor’s actions in office, including helping to convince Intel to build a $20 billion computer-chip manufacturing complex near Columbus, signing a state budget that cut state personal income taxes, and using federal coronavirus money for police grants.
“It’s no wonder why DeWine received more votes (in the primary) than his Democrat opponents combined,” McLaughlin said.
Asked whether the DeWine campaign might seek to disqualify Petersen’s independent candidacy if he makes the ballot, McLaughlin replied: “Right now, we aren’t going to weigh in on a hypothetical -- we trust the secretary of state’s office will do their due diligence, as they always run good elections.”
Whaley spokeswoman Courtney Rice, in a statement, said Petersen “is everything Mike DeWine wishes he could be, an ultra-conservative candidate who Republicans would gladly vote for.”
Rice added: “But whether it’s Niel Petersen’s anti-science credentials or Mike DeWine’s attempts to criminalize a woman’s right to choose, we’re confident Ohioans will choose Nan Whaley this fall.”
Petersen moved to Ohio from Oregon in 1998 at the age of 18. While attending Wright State University, he joined the U.S. Army and served for six years. He’s married with three children.
His running mate is Mike Stewart, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant.
Jessica Taylor, U.S. Senate and governors editor for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, said in an interview that it makes sense that Democrats would place some hope in Petersen playing a spoiler role in this year’s governor’s race, especially as the May primary showed DeWine is potentially vulnerable with his base.
However, she continued, third-party or independent candidates “have to be taken with a grain of salt, at least early on,” as some voters may say they will vote for such a candidate but change their mind in the voting booth.
University of Virginia political analyst Kyle Kondik, a Cleveland-area native, noted that third-party and independent candidates rarely get a lot of votes in Ohio gubernatorial elections.
“I could imagine DeWine losing some bit of the vote to a third-party candidate,” Kondik said. But, he added, “you probably won’t expect it to be particularly large.”
Kondik predicted that DeWine would get some crossover votes from Democratic voters. “So I think that still puts him in a pretty good position.”