FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — The Ohio primary election is coming up in less than two months, leaving some parties with decisions to be made regarding endorsements for some races.
Voters within the Franklin County Democratic Party have had some disagreements when it comes to the race for Franklin County Prosecutor.
Three Democratic candidates are currently running for the position, including Anthony Pierson, Shayla Favor and Natalia Harris. Some voters believe the party should endorse a single candidate for the ballot, while others said that choice should be left up to the voters in March.
Ultimately, any single candidate needed to secure 60% of the votes on Thursday night to earn the endorsement, but no candidate was able to do so.
"We have qualified black attorneys seeking the seat of the Franklin County Prosecutor's office,” said Nana Watson, president of the Columbus chapter of the NAACP.
Watson said her organization has continued to push for no endorsement from the party so that the decision can be left up to the voters.
"We don't need anybody to tell us who to vote for, the people need to tell us who to vote for, not the party,” Watson said.
The party’s screening committee reviewed and met with each of the three candidates running for the seat. It then recommended that Anthony Pierson be selected for the party’s endorsement.
Before the executive committee was given the chance to vote, each candidate was given several minutes to speak. Each of them made a plea as to why they are the best fit.
The one standout was Shayla Favor, a Columbus City Councilmember, who asked the committee not to vote.
"I humbly stand before you this evening not to elicit support for my campaign but for the opportunity for all of us to earn the vote the old-fashioned way,” Favor said.
After the vote, Pierson received 77 votes, Favor received zero votes and Harris received two votes, followed by an uproar of applause in the room for no party endorsement.
"This is a historic moment. History was made right there. The democratic process did work,” Watson said.
Despite some being at odds, the voters will have the chance to ultimately decide who will challenge Republican John Rutan on the ballot in the fall.
"There's been a lot of talk about to endorse or not to endorse, but at the end of the day I've always said the final decision is up to this body,” said Michael Sexton, chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party.
This now means all three candidates will have their names on the ballot for the Democratic Primary coming up on March 19.