Candidate for Ney’s Seat Faces Hurdles

The leading Republican candidate to replace Rep. Bob Ney on the November ballot may be ineligible, party officials said Tuesday, complicating GOP efforts to assure a smooth transition for the fall campaign.

“As far as I know, I have a green light,” state Sen. Joy Padgett said as party lawyers reviewed an Ohio law that barred politicians who lose one primary from entering another one during the same year.

The developments came a day after Ney announced he would abandon his reelection bid, acting under pressure from party officials who feared the loss of his seat. The six-term lawmaker has come under scrutiny for his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney has not been charged, and denies wrongdoing.

In stepping down, Ney threw his support to Padgett, who said she had been encouraged by House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to run.

One Republican strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said lawyers had concluded that the so-called political sore loser’s law probably would bar Padgett from running.

State GOP Chairman Bob Bennett said that he didn’t believe the law applied to her, and that he would seek a formal ruling from the secretary of state.

One official said the legal controversy arose in part because the law as drafted differed from what lawmakers had said they intended -- which was to prevent a primary loser from later filing as a candidate in the same race.

Gov. Robert A. Taft is expected to set a date for a primary to fill the ballot vacancy.

The Democratic candidate is Zack Space, a lawyer in the district’s most populous county.