A Democratic candidate for governor said she would withhold the Ohio National Guard from President Donald Trump if he engages in an “unjust” military action.

Former Ohio state Rep. Connie Pillich, D-Montgomery, on Thursday joined the call for a special prosecutor to investigate possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign - and then she went further.

“Should President Trump act unilaterally and enter into an unjust war to cover-up and distract the American public, I as governor, will not allow the lives of Ohio National Guard troops to be sacrificed in such a conflict,” Pillich said in a statement.

"Absent an affirmative act of Congress supported by both Democrats and Republicans, I will exercise my authority as governor to declare a state of emergency. Thereby, as commander-in-chief of the Ohio National Guard, I will stop the deployment of those brave men and women from being used as part of a cover-up war."

In an interview, Pillich said that it is plausible that Trump would use military action to try to make people forget the controversy with Russia. In 2015, Turkish President Recep Tatyyip Erdogan did something similar when he found himself losing an election, she said.

“The president is governing in a very bizarre way,” Pillich said. “He’s governing through distraction.”

A lawyer and an Air Force veteran, Pillich said the Ohio Constitution gives the governor the power to declare a state of emergency and become commander-in-chief of the 18,000-member Ohio National Guard. As commander-in-chief she could refuse to deploy it if Trump undertakes what she believes is an illegitimate military action, she said.

A federal statute sets out the circumstances under which the president can federalize state guard units, such as when John F. Kennedy did so in 1963 with units in Alabama. The statute appears to be silent, however, on whether state constitutions can trump that power.

Pillich and her staff acknowledged that the move she laid out Thursday seems unprecedented and would likely end up in court – a battle Pillich said she is willing to have.

Since she regards Trump as dangerous, Pillich was asked if she believed he should be removed from office. She said she didn’t know, adding that that would be a question for Congress.

mschladen@dispatch.com

@martyschladen