Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds has filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission for a possible run for the 8th Congressional District seat being vacated by House Speaker John Boehner
But Reynolds told WVXU he has yet to make up his mind about whether or not he will run.
“I come from a business background; I’m a CPA; and I know you have to do the paperwork,’’ said the Liberty Township Republican.
Reynolds formed a campaign committee Monday and filed the paperwork, which allows him to start raising money for a congressional race.
But Reynolds, who has been county auditor since 2008, said he is “thinking about running but I haven’t made a decision. I need to talk with my family and friends. I’m definitely interested, but it is a big commitment.”
If he does decide to run, Reynolds is likely to be one of many candidates who will run in a special primary election made necessary by Boehner’s decision last week to resign from the House after representing the district for 25 years.
Tuesday, State Sen. Bill Beagle, a Republican from Tipp City, announced his candidacy. Last week, J.D. Winteregg, a Troy Republican who challenged Boehner in the GOP primary in 2014, jumped into the race.
Others said to be considering jumping in on the Republican side are Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, former State Sen. Gary Cates, State Sen. Bill Coley of Liberty Township, and State Rep. Tim Derickson of Oxford.
Ohio’s 8th Congressional District is heavily Republican. It stretches from Butler County in the south to Mercer County in the north, and also includes Preble, Darke, Miami, and Clark counties.
At some point, Ohio Gov. John Kasich will have to set dates for special Republican and Democratic primaries and a date for the special general election. Whoever ends up winning the special election will have to run again in Nov. 2016 in order to keep the seat.
Democrats in the heavily Republican district say they will have a candidate for Boehner’s seat, but no one has come forward yet.
