Ohio’s incoming Secretary of State is taking some heat over one of the people he picked to co-chair his transition team – Ken Blackwell, who’s been blasting Democrats in the ongoing vote count in Florida. But Sen. Frank LaRose (R-Hudson) is standing by his choice.
LaRose said he picked Blackwell because he held the Secretary of State’s office for eight years – though his term was marked by lawsuits over various voting issues. But LaRose said Blackwell is also a staunch conservative. “He represents a wing of the party that I’m not always identified with, maybe further to the right. Speaker Davidson [is] more centrist. I think that hearing from both of those voices is important.”
LaRose’s team also includes well-respected former Speaker JoAnn Davidson.
And as for Blackwell’s often inflammatory comments in interviews and on social media about unproven fraud in the Florida vote, LaRose said: “I wouldn’t say those things but I won’t say I’m bothered by them either. Those are his words.”
During his time in the Senate, LaRose has called for a return to civility in politics.
