PX column: Dan Hils bows out of Hamilton County race, leaving Republicans embarrassed and without commissioner candidate at crunch time

Jason Williams | Cincinnati Enquirer

The GOP's so-called mystery candidate turned out to be a big bust.

Cincinnati police union leader Dan Hils has withdrawn from the Hamilton County commissioner's race just one week into the campaign, an embarrassment for the local Republican Party days before the filing deadline.

"We are disappointed in this development because we were assured that Dan Hils was committed to this race," Hamilton County GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou told Politics Extra. "(Incumbent Commissioner) Denise Driehaus does not deserve reelection. We are working to find the right candidate to defeat her, and I am confident that person exists."

It's believed that Sgt. Hils didn't have the support of his Fraternal Order of Police members to run in a partisan race while also continuing to lead the union, especially after he was recently reelected president.

“I recognized that I could not give the campaign the effort it would require while still performing my duties as FOP president,” Hils said in a statement Tuesday night. “My first priority is and will remain the members of my union.”

Hils should've sorted all that out before announcing his campaign for commissioner on Dec. 2. He's left the local GOP with egg on its face heading into what's already expected to be a rugged year for Republicans in a Trump-resisting county.

The filing deadline is Dec. 18. GOP leaders are scrambling to find someone else willing to challenge Driehaus, a Democrat seeking her second term on the board of commissioners. The Republicans' bench is already thin, and their few big-name options haven't been up to the task of running in 2020.

The GOP has not placed a high priority on the countywide executive seats. Instead, the party has focused most of its time and resources on Prosecutor Joe Deters' reelection campaign and on maintaining control of the court system. It's probably a smart strategy given the political climate heading into 2020.

Nonetheless, here are some potential candidates the GOP could consider to run against Driehaus:

• Mary Hill, Woodlawn village councilwoman

• Cheryl Sieve, Delhi Township trustee

• Josh Gerth, Anderson Township trustee

• Marcus Thompson, who this year ran unsuccessfully for Anderson Township trustee

All of those potential candidates are respected, but none of them have run for countywide office.

Hils had never run for public office before. But as the outspoken FOP president, he is a relatively familiar name on the local political scene.

The GOP struggled for months to find a candidate to challenge Driehaus. For weeks, however, it was rumored that a mystery candidate had stepped up for the Republicans. It turned out to be Hils, a West Side native and 33-year veteran of the Cincinnati police department.

Hils had a lot working against him, and it would've taken a near miracle for him to win. Among Hils' challenges: Lack of experience, being an unabashed Trump supporter and facing one of the biggest names in Greater Cincinnati politics.

But Republican Party leaders saw Hils as helping them to build their bench for the post-Trump elections. Specifically, Hils could've used next year's election to build countywide name recognition and position himself to seriously challenge Commissioner Stephanie Dumas in 2022.

The Republicans should have a better chance of getting back a seat on the board of commissioners in the midterm. But two things need to happen first. They need a commissioner candidate to step up and develop name ID in 2020, and the GOP will have to make a renewed commitment to winning countywide executive offices.

Email political columnist Jason Williams: jwilliams@enquirer.com