A Republican candidate challenging Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s gubernatorial primary is scrambling to replace her running mate after a public split fueled by allegations of racial slurs and personal misconduct roiled the ticket just weeks before voters head to the polls.
Heather Hill, an Ohio businesswoman and GOP gubernatorial candidate, abruptly dropped her lieutenant governor pick, Stuart Moats, following a cascade of accusations that surfaced over the weekend, including claims he used a racial slur and engaged in inappropriate behavior during campaign events.
Hill’s accusations stem from a text exchange between herself and Moats, in which Hill aired complaints that Moats was not adequately fundraising for the campaign.
Hill attached screenshots of the text messages in a post on Facebook, which show her asking Moats to give “more energy” to the campaign. Moats allegedly responded, telling Hill to “get f***ed” and that he is “done with your crazy delusional “bulls***” before blocking Hill’s number.
Larry Barnett, Hill’s campaign manager, said he called Moats following the messages in which Moats called Hill a racial slur.
After trying to calm Moats and avoid making his language public, Hill said an exchange between the two at a campaign event led her to post the messages.
“We never wanted to make this public knowledge & we never intended for it to ever get out what was said in the privacy of our campaign,” Hill, a black woman, said Saturday. “We gave Mr. Moats a week, after he called me a ‘N***** B****’ to calm down, and his behavior is continuing to escalate as he strives to destroy our campaign. At our Friday event, he made many disrespectful comments about his wife, making our female campaign advisors uncomfortable, and leery!”
She added that she had asked Moats multiple times to “stop pulling me close to him and putting his arm around me during photo shoots and videos.”
Moats fired back publicly, disputing the accusations and launching personal attacks against Hill, escalating what began as an internal dispute into a highly visible and bitter feud.
The rupture comes at a critical moment in the campaign calendar. Early voting is already underway in Ohio, and ballots in some parts of the state still list Hill and Moats as a joint ticket, complicating her effort to name a replacement quickly before the May 5 primary.
The state’s election laws do not specify guidelines for situations where a gubernatorial candidate removes their running mate’s name from the ballot by force. Even if Moats withdrew his name voluntarily from the ticket, the state’s deadline for allowing Hill to swap in another running mate was in late February.
Under Ohio law, gubernatorial candidates run on a ticket with their lieutenant governor, which means that if Moats withdraws his name from the ballot now, all early votes cast for the pair will no longer count.
If votes for Hill are canned, Ramaswamy’s force could only strengthen, as the biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate has emerged as a front-runner in the GOP race.
Ramaswamy, backed by high-profile endorsements and significant financial support, has polled +64 ahead of Hill and Casey Putsch, a YouTuber and GOP hopeful, according to polling released Monday.
RAMASWAMY TAKES $10 MILLION AD BUY AFTER DWARFING DEMOCRAT COMPETITOR IN FUNDRAISING
Ramaswamy selected Ohio Senate President Rob McColley as a running mate earlier this year, adding legislative experience to his outsider candidacy.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Amy Acton, the former state health director, in November’s general election to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH).