Portage County Tea Party leader Tom Zawistowski launches bid to be next Ohio GOP chairman

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Kent businessman has launched a bid for chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, signaling the first of what could be several Tea Party challenges to the state's powerful GOP establishment.

Tom Zawistowski declared his candidacy in a letter sent Tuesday to members of the State Central Committee.

The 66-member panel will meet later this month to determine a successor to Chairman Bob Bennett,

after a second, shorter stint at the party's helm. From Gov. John Kasich on down,

has endorsed Matt Borges, the party's executive director, to replace Bennett.

Those blessings are likely to carry considerable influence with committee members who have been loyal to Kasich and his allies. But Zawistowski was among dozens of Tea Party leaders and other activists who last month

they accused of abandoning conservative principles.

"As Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party I believe that I can not only heal the fractures in our coalition, but grow our conservative base by implementing the changes that must be made to reach those citizen[s] who believe as we do but feel shut out by the Republican Party," Zawistowski wrote in the letter. "The vast majority of the grassroots Liberty Movement members are disenfranchised Republicans who want to be part of a Republican Party that represents their views."

Zawistowski serves as executive director of the Portage County Tea Party and has organized state Tea Party events such as the 2011 "We the People Convention." He also is the founder and chief executive of

in Kent.

Reached by telephone, Borges said he does not take the April 26 vote for granted.

"This is a decision that our Central Committee is going to make," he said. "It's their job and prerogative to decide who's going to lead the party in the future. Tom and anyone else who wants to come and present their thoughts is certainly welcome to."

The complaints from Tea Party leaders come as Kasich struggles to sell a two-year budget to a Republican-controlled General Assembly. Activists

GOP lawmakers with primaries if they support Kasich's proposed Medicaid expansion or certain parts of his tax plan. The governor, who is not likely to draw a viable primary opponent, will discuss his budget Wednesday at the City Club of Cleveland.

Though they have reservations about parts of the Kasich plan, Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder and Senate President Keith Faber are in lockstep with Kasich on Borges. So are all of the elected executive officeholders in state government.

Borges said Tuesday that he doesn't see Zawistowski's challenge as a harbinger.

"Obviously they're an incredibly important part of our Republican family," Borges said of the Tea Party. "The smart thing for us to do is all work together toward victory in 2014. That's going to be the job of whoever the next party chairman is."

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