POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

This short item was published by Gongwer ahead of Ohio’s primary elections in May, and even in a year with more than the usual share of weird election-related stories, this one stands out:

Candidate Disavowed: In an unusual move, the Ohio Democratic Party is telling voters not to cast a ballot for one of the three candidates vying to take on U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Cincinnati) in the general election.

ODP Chairman David Pepper in a statement urged primary voters to cast their ballots for Jill Schiller or Janet Everhard and to reject the candidacy of William Smith.

“Unfortunately, voting for William Smith in the Democratic primary would ensure Wenstrup escapes accountability from his constituents for yet another term. Smith has run in the Democratic primary for three consecutive cycles, and with his generic ballot name–and perhaps an assist from an unregistered super PAC that made robocalls supporting him in 2012–he has managed to sneak through two times,” Mr. Pepper said.

“In two general elections over the past six years, Smith has made no attempt to campaign, raise funds or talk with voters. Because he does not take the responsibility of being a candidate seriously, he deprives the voters of a real choice.”

Schiller won the primary with 17,808 votes, or 54.2% of the total cast. But Smith still received 3,732 votes, or 11.4% of the total.