DARKE COUNTY — Voters in the 8th Congressional District will soon select a candidate to fill the unexpired term of former Representative and Speaker of the House John Boehner.
Three candidates — Democrat Corey Foister, Republican Warren Davidson and Green Party candidate Jim Condit Jr. — are hoping to fill the seat in a June 7 special election. The winner will be sworn in soon thereafter.
Boehner, who represented the district in the U.S. House of Representatives for 25 years, unexpectedly resigned from his seat last fall, leaving more than a year of his term unfilled. By the time of the June 7 election, less than six months will remain in the term.
Davidson won the GOP nomination in Ohio’s March 15 primary election with 32 percent of the vote, beating out a crowded field of contenders, including Ohio Sen. Bill Beagle and Ohio Rep. Tim Derickson.
Foister and Condit ran unopposed in their party’s primary races, but face an uphill climb in a congressional district that typically leans Republican. All three will face off against each other again in the November 8 general election for a full two-year term beginning in January 2017.
Voter registration for the special election ended May 9. Absentee balloting began May 10. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that as of May 24, 1,894 voters have requested absentee ballots and 1,050 ballots have been cast for the special election.
In Darke County, Board of Elections Director Becky Martin said everything is in place for the special election but the county has seen a “very low turnout” for absentee early voting.
Further, Martin said the board is in need of Democratic poll workers for the the general election in November.
“A number of our Democratic workers changed party in the primary election,” she said. “We have had a struggle in recent years of Democrat workers, and with the general election in November, we really need to have our regular amount of 86 workers plus backup positions filled.”
Martin said anyone interested can call the board of elections office at 937-548-1835 for more information.
Polls on June 7 will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Registered Darke County voters seeking their polling places should use the “Find My Polling Location” search function at myohiovote.com or contact the Darke County Board of Elections.
