Politics & Government

Tweet From Hamilton County GOP Chair On Redistricting Draws Fire From Ohio Democrats

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Karen Kasler

Published August 26, 2021 at 3:27 PM EDT

A screenshot of the Ohio Channel's coverage of the Ohio Redistricting Commission's meeting at Sinclair Community College in Dayton on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. A second meeting was held later that day in Cincinnati.

Ohio Democrats have raised concerns that Republicans who dominate the redistricting process aren’t playing fair, and are pointing to a tweet from a party leader as proof.

A tweet from Hamilton County Republican Party chair Alex Triantafilou, which has since been deleted but preserved through screenshots, said that party should lookout for itself during the upcoming map-making process. The tweet comes as the Ohio Redistricting Commission, a panel of bi-partisan lawmakers who will create the maps for Ohio’s House and Senate districts, holds 10 public hearings across the state this week.

"This won't be my most popular tweet. But Republicans should look out for Republicans when drawing the lines for apportionment. We won. Obama taught us. Elections have consequences. This is a red state. Treat it as such. Voters value a spine,” Triantafilou said in the Tweet which has been preserved through screenshots.

Desiree Tims, the president and CEO of Innovation Ohio and a Congressional candidate from a year ago, called the tweet shameful.

“We are not going to champion any side, Democrat or Republican, to cheat and gerrymander maps for one party’s political benefit," Tims, who is also part of a coalition of 30 groups promoting maps that would reflect Ohio’s 2020 vote: 54% Republican and 46% Democrat, said.

Among the Democrats publicly denouncing the tweet was former Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper, who testified at Tuesday's Ohio Redistricting Commission meeting in Cincinnati.

Pepper tweeted that Triantafilou's "pro-election rigging tweet violates the spirit and language of the Ohio Constitution, and the mandate of 70% of voters who voted to end partisan gerrymandering. Twice. If the committee follows this absurd and illegal advice, the maps will be struck down."

There’s been no response to emails to the Hamilton County GOP chair, but he tweeted out some of the negative reaction he got, saying, “The classy Democrats live on Twitter.”