Taylor, McIntosh win GOP primary races

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

It took a month and a half longer than expected, but Ohio’s 2020 primary election is finally, but not completely, over.

Although some provisional ballots remain to be counted, along with possibly some last-minute mailed ballots that met the April 27 deadline but haven’t been received yet at the Van Wert County Board of Elections, but neither are expected to change the results, which include primary victories by incumbent County Probate-Juvenile Judge Kevin Taylor and political newcomer Jeff McIntosh, who won the Republican nomination for county treasurer over former Van Wert mayor Jerry Mazur.

Judge Taylor, who defeated Republican challenger Scott Gordon 2,539 to 1,210 for his party’s nomination, said he was gratified by the support he received, but felt the election delay put more stress on both him and his opponent.

“It’s been a long process, and that’s the most frustrating for me and Mr. Gordon,” Taylor said, “that we hoped this thing would be done in March and it went an extra six weeks.”

The judge added that the expanded election period also resulted in both candidates spending more money on the election — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic made going door-to-door impractical — as well as more added more uncertainty than usual.

Still, Taylor said he felt that he and Gordon both handled the situation as well as possible.

“I thought we both tried to focus on positive things, which I thought we did,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to finishing out his final six-year term.

“I’ve enjoyed the job; I’ve had it for eight years, this will give me a final six … I can’t run again,” said Taylor, who will exceed the age limit for re-election by the time this final term is completed.

Meanwhile, challenges still remain for the probate-juvenile judge when his court and the other county offices return to their regular schedules on Monday, with Taylor saying some employees will likely still work at home because of the lack of social distancing space in the court offices.

McIntosh was a winner over Mazur by a 2-to-1 margin, earning the GOP nomination by a count of 2,649 to 1,165. There has been no formal announcement on whether McIntosh will be appointed early to the position, a good possibility since the office currently is being served by an interim treasurer. 

The Ohio State University Extension 0.35-mill, five-year levy renewal also easily passed, 4,036 to 1,045, while Venedocia voters passed two fire renewal levies by a unanimous 12-0 margin, a local alcohol sales option was passed in Van Wert’s Precinct 2B by a vote of 78 to 29, and Van Wert County voters were in favor of a Delphos Municipal Income Tax, 440-223, and also approved a Delphos City Schools income tax levy 673-367. The fate of both of those levies will be decided by Delphos voters who live in Allen County.

Van Wert County voters also approved a Parkway Local School District levy 77-25.

On the Democratic primary ballot, Joe Biden won the vast majority of presidential primary votes (690), while Bernie Sanders garnered 143 votes, Elizabeth Warren earned 35 votes, Cory Booker 32 votes, and Tulsi Gabbard 30 votes. Amy Klobuchar received 25 votes, Tom Steyer received 12 votes, and four candidates received less than 10 votes.