No Ohio primary for Trump; 11 Dems make the ballot

Eleven Democratic presidential candidates have officially made the ballot to run in Ohio’s March 17 primary while President Donald Trump will not face a GOP primary challenger in the state.

Former Republican Massachusetts Gov.William Weld, who launched a bid for the nomination, failed to make the March 17 ballot, according to the Ohio Secretary of State.

Weld’s filing lacked a list of authorized delegates and the consent for delegates to use his name.

Meanwhile, 11 candidates will be on the Democratic primary ballot:

* Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet,

* Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden,

* Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,

* New Jeresey Sen. Cory Booker,

* South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg,

* Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard,

* Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar,

* Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick,

* Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders,

* Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer,

* Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Democrat Andrew Yang will mount a write-in campaign. Yang said in a statement that an awkwardly worded Ohio law led to him not making the primary ballot.

His omitted a section of the petition that signifies which candidate voters are signing the petition for.

“I’m duty-bound to follow the law, and the law is clear - when Ohioans sign a petition, they deserve to know what they’re signing,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said.

Military and overseas voting starts Jan. 31. The deadline for Ohioans to register to vote is Feb. 18 for the March 17 primary. Early voting in Ohio starts Feb. 19.

Ohio’s primary comes after more than two dozen other states will have held primaries and caucuses.

Then-governor John Kasich won the Ohio GOP primary in March 2016 with 44.46 percent of the vote to Trump’s 37.18 percent.

In the 2016 general election, Trump got 51.7 percent of the vote while Democrat Hillary Clinton received 43.56 percent in Ohio.

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Presidential election calendar

Some key upcoming dates in the presidential election

Jan. 14: Democratic presidential debate, Iowa

Feb. 3: Iowa Caucuses

Feb. 7: Democratic presidential debate, New Hampshire

Feb. 11: New Hampshire primary

Feb. 19: Democratic primary debate, Nevada

Feb. 22: Nevada Caucuses

Feb. 25: Democratic primary debate, South Carolina

Feb. 29: South Carolina primary

March 3: Super Tuesday

March 17: Ohio primary

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About the Author

Laura A. Bischoff

Laura Bischoff is our Columbus bureau reporter and covers politics and state government. She keeps a close eye on elected leaders, public employees and taxpayer money. Bischoff tries to write stories that inform voters, hold leaders accountable and strengthen democracy.