The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the case of Sam Ronan, who sought an extraordinary injunction to remain on Ohio’s Republican primary ballot for the state’s 15th congressional district. Ronan, an Air Force veteran and former candidate for the chair of the Democratic National Committee, aimed to challenge current U.S. Representative Mike Carey in the Republican primary. His efforts were thwarted after a voter protest alleged that Ronan was not genuinely a Republican candidate. This action resulted in his removal from the ballot by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (SCOTUSblog).
Ronan’s appeal was grounded in the assertion that his removal violated his First Amendment rights. This argument was rejected by both the district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which supported the decision by U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison. The courts accepted the validity of Ohio’s law, which requires candidates to affirm their commitment to the principles of their party, in this instance, the Republican Party. The courts found no evidence that this stipulation infringed upon the First Amendment (6th Circuit Appeals Document).
Ronan escalated the matter to the Supreme Court by filing a 23-page document asserting that his exclusion was based purely on his political speech. However, with early voting already in progress from April 7 and the Supreme Court’s ruling delivered on April 8, the court chose not to issue an injunction. This effectively left Ronan off the ballot ahead of the Ohio Republican primary elections, indicating that the court did not find sufficient grounds to challenge the lower courts’ interpretations of both state law and constitutional rights (Supreme Court Application Document).