Credit: Anthony Shoemaker
Credit: Anthony Shoemaker
Turner said Beagle understands the importance of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and national security and would champion those causes.
Turner is backing Beagle even before other candidates get into the race. “I think it’s critical that we get someone in this position who can effectively represent the region and has a view on economic development and jobs and that’s Sen. Beagle,” Turner said.
Boehner, who has held the seat since 1990, shocked political circles Friday when he announced he would be stepping down in October. It triggered a fight for both his House speaker post and the 8th district seat.
Beagle, 50, is a small business owner and is won a second term in the Ohio Senate last November.
Also in the 8th District race is Republican J.D. Winteregg, who pulled petitions for both the special election and the 2016 race for a full term. Winteregg, 33, is a marketing manager for a grain elevator company and a former high school French teacher.
The 8th Congressional district stretches from the shores of Grand Lake St. Mary’s on the north to the edge of Interstate 275 ringing Cincinnati on the south to nearly London on the east. It encompasses all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami and Preble counties and a piece of Mercer County. More than 50 percent of the registered voters in the district are in Butler County alone.
The winner will serve the remainder of Boehner’s term through the end of 2016 and will have to run for re-election in November 2016 for the next two-year term. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has yet to schedule the special election.
Butler County Auditor may get in race
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds has formed a fundraising committee for a possible run for the 8th district seat, but said he has not made a final decision about whether to run.
Reynolds, 46, said he won’t make any kind of official announcement until he fully vets the decision with Teri, his wife of 19 years, and two teenage daughters.
“It’s a very big decision,” Reynolds said. “I am thinking about running but I haven’t made any decisions.”
State senator will not run
Ohio Sen. Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp., told the Journal-News in Butler County on Tuesday he will not run to replace Boehner.
“We have too much good stuff going on in the Ohio Senate,” he said.
Staff writer Michael Pitman contributed to this story
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