Dave Johnson was re-elected the Republican Party’s 33rd District state central committeeman, beating Rick Barron in a contentious race and one that has led to a lawsuit.

Johnson of Salem, longtime chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, received about 77 percent of the vote to 23 percent for Barron of Boardman.

The district includes all of Mahoning, Columbiana and Carroll counties.

Johnson, who also is treasurer of the Ohio Republican Party, sued Barron and the political action committees of the three counties contending Barron’s social media posts about getting the endorsements of the three PACs were designed to confuse voters into believing he received support from the county Republican parties in each county.

After Barron said last Thursday that he would take down the posts and not publish any new ones, Johnson dropped the lawsuit he filed July 15 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

A day after having the lawsuit dismissed, Johnson filed a motion saying Barron violated the terms and asked a court magistrate to hold him in contempt of court.

Johnson calls the PACs “sham operations, falsely purporting to represent the duly constituted local county Republican organizations.”

Barron filed a response Monday that Johnson was “delaying the dismissal” in a “frivolous attempt to keep the case open until the election.” He also said the PACs are legitimate.

The Ohio Republican PAC, which isn’t affiliated with the state party, created associated PACs in all of the state’s 88 counties in 2014. Those PACs are not affiliated with the county parties and don’t raise or spend money, though the Ohio Republican PAC does.

The three county PACs filed a claim Monday in the Ohio Supreme Court against Nicole Alexander, the Mahoning County magistrate in the case, and Judge Anthony Donofrio, for whom Alexander works, saying the Ohio Election Commission in Columbus has original jurisdiction over election cases such as this, and after that, those legal matters are heard in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

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