A Democrat running for Congress just posted on Facebook that leftists should infiltrate the Republican Party.
He signed a Republican ballot declaration under penalty of felony the same week.
But one mistake exposed this scam he was trying to run on Republican voters.
Samuel Ronan Signed a Republican Ballot Declaration Under Penalty of Felony
Samuel Ronan has been losing elections since 2016.
He ran as a Democrat for the Ohio House that year and lost the general election.
He ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2017 and lost that too.
A primary for Congress in 2018 got him 17% of the vote.
So in 2026, Ronan tried something new – he filed to run as a Republican in Ohio's 15th Congressional District against GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Carey.
To get on the ballot, he signed a declaration swearing he was a member of the Republican Party and would abide by its principles.
Signing that declaration is a felony if you lie.
Ronan signed it anyway.
Then his own Facebook post surfaced: "Leftists need to infiltrate Republican spaces and primary them" – and that's why he was "running as a Republican now."
Republican voter Mark Schare found the post, compiled the social media evidence, and filed a formal protest with the Franklin County Board of Elections.
The board tied two-to-two along party lines.
That kicked the decision to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
LaRose didn't hesitate.
Frank LaRose Removed Him From the Ohio Primary Ballot and Explained Why
LaRose pulled Ronan from the May 5 primary ballot on March 19.
He said the issue wasn't ideological purity – it was the integrity of the electoral process.
Ronan had spent a decade pushing Democrats to pose as Republicans in red districts.
LaRose pointed to Ronan's own January 2026 post admitting his strategy was to run Democrats in "deep red districts, as Republicans, just to get a foot in the door."
Ronan fired back with a federal lawsuit claiming Ohio violated his First Amendment rights by using his political speech against him.
Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison – a Trump appointee – threw it out fast.
Her ruling was blunt: lying about party affiliation on a candidacy declaration is not protected speech just because the First Amendment is involved.
The Sixth Circuit – three Republican-appointed judges – agreed.
Ronan ran to the Supreme Court for emergency relief.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh referred the application to the full court.
The full court denied it without a word of explanation.
Democrats Are Running as Republicans in Deep Red Districts and Ohio Just Shut It Down
Ronan's scheme wasn't a personality quirk.
Democrats know Ohio isn't a swing state anymore.
Trump carried it three times, and the state moves further right every cycle.
They can't win honest elections in deep-red Ohio districts, so they're looking for ways to steal the primaries instead.
Ohio AG Dave Yost's office told the Supreme Court there was "just one problem" with Ronan's candidacy: he's a Democrat.
LaRose called it something else: political transgenderism.
In his written decision, Ronan had taken advantage of an open primary process far too vulnerable to trickery and fraud – and used it to advance a dishonest campaign to "run Democrats as Republicans."
The fix, LaRose argued, is a closed primary system with partisan voter registration before the next attempt.
Because Ronan almost pulled it off.
The Franklin County Board of Elections certified his candidacy in February before the protest was even filed.
If Mark Schare hadn't dug up those Facebook posts, a man who ran for DNC Chair in 2017 might have been on the Republican primary ballot in a deep-red congressional district – and some voters would never have known who they were voting for.
The courts held the line this time.
LaRose held it too.
The question is how many other Ronans are already on ballots in states where nobody filed a protest.
Sources:
- Alexandra Koch, "Supreme Court blocks candidate after alleged GOP infiltration scheme exposed," Fox News, April 9, 2026.
- "He urged leftists to 'infiltrate' GOP primaries — the Supreme Court just said no," The Washington Times, April 9, 2026.
- "Sixth Circuit OKs Disqualifying Republican Primary Candidate Who Admits He's a Democrat Infiltrating the Party," Reason / Volokh Conspiracy, April 8, 2026.
- "SCOTUS delivers bad news to Ohio 'Democrat' who tried to run as a Republican," Blaze Media, April 10, 2026.
- Kelsey Reichmann, "Supreme Court keeps former DNC candidate off Ohio GOP primary ballot," Courthouse News Service, April 10, 2026.
