On November 14, Republican State Representative Tom Patton announced his withdrawal from the race for Congress and will run, instead, for the Ohio House of Representatives.
Patton had announced that he would be running for the 16th District Congressional seat last July, intending to succeed U.S. Representative Jim Renacci, who is running for Ohio governor.
“Although I am no longer running to ‘drain the swamp’, I still feel called to serve our community and I look forward to continuing to work for the citizens of the 7th District in 2018 and beyond,” said Patton. “A recent and ongoing family health crisis has forced me to revisit my candidacy in OH-16. The time needed to campaign throughout the 16th District is extensive. I have a newborn grandson whose very life hangs in the balance and it has been very stressful to me that I have been unavailable to my daughter and family because of campaign commitments, in a way I should be as a father and grandfather,” he said.
The 64-year-old Strongsville resident currently serves as majority whip in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he is serving his fourth term since January. He also served in the Ohio House from 2003 to 2008. He also served for eight years, from 2008 to 2016, in the Ohio Senate.
“I’ve always placed family first, and unfortunately, it has become clear to me that I cannot run for Congress and place my family first,” said Patton. “The time commitment needed of me and travel time to and from Washington is far greater than serving southwest Cuyahoga County as a state representative in Columbus.” He concluded that he “is pleased to announced my run for re-election to the Ohio House in HD-7.” The 7th District consists of North Royalton, Berea, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, Strongsville and Olmsted Township.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer