The Ohio Republican Party's governing body has taken back its endorsement of a state House candidate.
State Chairwoman Jane Timken last week urged Joe Dills to withdraw from the March 17 primary because he has had an account with an online dating site that encourages extramarital affairs.
The GOP's state central and executive committee met Thursday night by conference call and announced it won't endorse anyone in the three-candidate primary in the 65th Ohio House district in southwestern Ohio's Clermont County.
Dills blamed “insiders in Columbus” and said he still has the support of Republicans in the 65th district. Dills said he signed up for an Ashley Madison account while single.
He's running against former congresswoman Jean Schmidt and pistol instructor Dillon Blevins.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the party's campaign arm compiled a 116-page dossier on Dills' personal life and businesses.
Dills said he signed up for the Ashley Madison account in 2013 when he was single. He said last week he never used the site “to actively meet with anyone and never was involved in any illicit behavior beyond creating the profile on that site.”
“Mr. Dills crossed a line by joining this lewd and inappropriate website," Timken said in a statement.
