At its meeting Saturday, the Ohio Republican Party voted to remove Rep. Justin Pizzulli from its slate of endorsed candidates. Prior to the removal vote, several Republican Party leaders expressed their concern over Pizzulli’s support for left-wing positions on several bills currently pending in the state legislature.
Specifically, members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee questioned Pizzulli’s vote against Senate Bill 83, which is a bill that would require public colleges and universities to teach both sides of the story on controversial issues such as gender ideology and critical race theory. In voting against Senate Bill 83, Pizzulli voted with every Democrat member of the Ohio House Higher Education Committee.
View the entire discussion.
Members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee were also concerned about the Justin Pizzulli vote in favor of House Bill 205, which is a bill that would “interject state government into the employer/employee relationship by establishing government-mandated training requirements and hiring quotas,” according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Thus, this bill is widely criticized by business groups to be an infringement on free-market capitalism. With Pizzulli’s vote, as well as heavy support from Democrats, House Bill 205 passed the Ohio House on June 21, 2023.
Members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee also alluded to the firestorm of controversy surrounding Pizzulli’s appointment to the 90th District seat last year. During that process, 30 of Pizzulli’s Republican colleagues in the Ohio House voted against appointing him to the seat. That controversial vote was taken after some of his past statements emerged, showing Pizzulli’s opposition to President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, as well as his support for the BLM/Antifa and LGBT movements.
“Mr. Pizzulli has historically been opposed due to his extremely checkered past,” said Antonia Blake, a member of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee.
“He may be an incumbent, but he was not elected,” said Melanie Leneghan, another member of the Republican committee. “I think he [Pizzulli] is too much aligned with the Blue 22. He barely got appointed to the house.” The “Blue 22” is the group of Republican members of the Ohio House who defected from the Republican Party to elect a Democrat-backed Speaker at the beginning of 2023.
Scioto County Daily News will update this story in the event of statements from the three Republican candidates for 90th District State Representative.