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The cancellation of Tuesday's primary election in Ohio was the last straw for some in the Republican Party.

While Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton have garnered praise from both Democrats and Republicans, not everyone is on board with the government's recent measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Resistance among some of the Republican Party outsiders has grown online.

"I have a tough time believing (Acton) is for the best interest for our health," Melissa Ackison, a Marysville Republican running for state Senate in north-central Ohio told The Enquirer. When DeWine suspended the primary on Monday, she posted a series of videos on Facebook slamming the Republican governor for abusing his authority. She called for his impeachment.

"I think man has become so reliant on science and the fact they believe they can combat a viral situation by shutting government down. I don’t trust what’s happening."

These views aren't shared by the Republican mainstream and impeachment is highly unlikely. In fact, leadership has distanced itself from those who have discussed the possible impeachment of Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton.

Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder dismissed talks of impeachment as primary "silly season."

"I would caution voters that if a candidate is willing to exploit a health crisis for their own gain, one can only imagine what they might do if elected," he said in a statement to The Enquirer.

More Republican skeptics

But polls have shown Republicans more skeptical of the need for government action to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a national poll conducted by National Public Radio, PBS and Marist on March 13 and 14, 54% of Republicans saw the novel coronavirus threat as overblown, compared with 20% of Democrats.

Some experts have started to express concern about whether the cost of social distancing is too high, such as the closing of schools. Former CDC director Thomas Friedenunder President Barack Obama, in an essay published Monday in Vox, wrote the country must "must consider the huge societal costs of closing schools against what may be little or no health benefit."

Northern Kentucky's congressman, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Garrison, has been one of the most visible skeptics of the government's response.

He received flak for his vote against the Coronavirus Relief Bill and his online comments deriding anti-gouging laws and the closure of businesses.

Ohio State Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, showed her disdain for the state's actions when she took to the pulpit Wednesday. She spoke to a congregation at Solid Rock Church in Warren County. The church opted to have the service despite the state ban on large gatherings, and drew criticism from many on Facebook who watched the livestream. The ban excludes religious gatherings.

"Closing their doors are the weak legislators that are backing down and letting unconstitutional acts take place," Keller said to the congregation. "They're taking their rights away from you. The church has got to lead the way on this."

This is not Keller's first brush with controversy. She made headlines when she blamed last year's Dayton mass shooting on "drag queen advocates," "homosexual marriage," open borders and even former President Barack Obama.

State Rep. John Becker, a Clermont County Republican from Union Township, thought DeWine went too far by closing bars and restaurants on Sunday. He believes the governor broke the law by halting the primary.

Becker this week also suggested impeachment could be in DeWine's future.

"And now the question is, what do we do about it?" Becker wrote Tuesday in a Facebook post. "Obviously, impeachment is being discussed."

He told The Enquirer he believes the medical evidence of the pandemic's seriousness. Some have questioned Becker's grasp on medical knowledge in the past, particularly around some of his controversial anti-abortion bills. Most notably, Becker last year introduced a bill to ban insurance coverage for abortions with an exception for re-implanting an ectopic pregnancy into the uterus, a procedure doctors say doesn't exist.

Becker believes in "flattening the curve" to keep the hospitals from being overwhelmed.

That still doesn't give the governor the right to stop an election, he said. That authority rests with the legislature, he said.

When asked by The Enquirer, Becker refused to say who is discussing impeachment among lawmakers. Any impeachment discussion should wait until after the pandemic, Becker said. He said he's not calling for impeachment...yet.

"After the dust settles, when people are no longer in panic mode, and restaurants are open again, at that time, if the General Assembly feels impeachment is warranted, then it's warranted," Becker said.

What would it take?

Becker said he doesn't know how many people have to get sick and die before the government's actions are justified. But "I'll know it when he sees it." Becker said he understands closing government services and schools. But not private businesses like bars and restaurants.

"If it's about saving lives, why don’t’ we close down highways and swimming pools where kids drown?" Becker said. "People get killed on highways. People die all the time from lots of cases of influenza."

He then questioned why DeWine doesn't "order all abortion clinics to close" if he wants to save lives.

Ackison said it would be hard to convince her the government's recent actions were justified "on the information they're providing." She said she has "no trust in a woman who promotes socialist policies."

"There's never a time for government overreach to dip into the lives of private businesses," Ackison said.

For some Republicans, the state of emergency is more nuanced. That's why Warren County is not under a state of emergency while the surrounding counties of Hamilton, Clermont, Butler, Montgomery and Greene are.

The three Republican commissioners voted on Tuesday 2-1 to not declare a state of emergency. Emergency responders had asked for the declaration.

An emergency declaration allows for the counties to get reimbursed federal money, set up an operations center for emergency operations and speed up disaster-related purchases by allowing them to skip the competitive bid process.

Young said the county has money to pay for the emergency supplies for first responsers and doesn't need to get in the federal queue.

So why not just go ahead and declare an emergency to be safe?

Commissioner Dave Young said he believes there are cases in Warren County but thinks it's premature to declare a state of emergency. Young said he supports the measures DeWine has taken so far.

"We’re not a hot spot right now," Young said. "I take the word 'declaring an emergency' very seriously."

It's likely, however, there are cases in Warren County, based on the state's estimates. Acton last week estimated 100,000 cases in Ohio, a number she expected to roughly double weekly.