The Meigs County Republican Party could face a number of different consequences if the Ohio Elections Commission finds the party guilty of an election violation.
The Commission members decided yesterday morning that Debbie Phillips had probable cause to file the election complaint, stating that the party made false statements about her in a newspaper advertisement.
I hope that if the ad raised questions for anyone that they are now reassured about my position on the issues
Phillips said.
The Ohio Elections Commission will have a full hearing within the next few months, said Philip Richter, executive director of the commission.
If commission members find the party guilty of violation, they could either refer the party members they find guilty to the Meigs County prosecutor or issue a letter of reprimand that forbids the party to use the same accusations in the future, he added.
Phillips filed the election complaint on Oct. 29, after the Meigs County Republican Party funded an advertisement in The Daily Sentinel that cited her as 'opposing jobs and progress in Southeastern Ohio.'
She filed another complaint against the Ohio Republican Party after a speaker in a radio advertisement said that Phillips blocked the new portion of state Route 33 that connects Athens to Darwin from getting built.
The commission dismissed this complaint because the Ohio House Republican Campaign Committee funded the ad, and not the Ohio Republican Party, who Phillips filed the complaint against, said Rob Dorans, Phillips' campaign manager.
The chairman of the Meigs County Republican Party, Dave Warner, was unavailable for comment.
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Caitlin McGlade
