There’s more to U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce than his endorsement by President Donald Trump and more to his Republican primary challenger Niki Frenchko than her attention-grabbing photos to draw people to her “OnlyFrenchko” website.

With early voting starting Tuesday and the May 5 primary a month away, each campaign has its focus. I will be writing an article shortly detailing the platforms of the two Republicans as well as the three Democrats running in the 14th Congressional District race.

But first I wanted to expand on what Joyce and Frenchko are doing.

Joyce is running ads that tout Trump’s endorsement of his reelection bid. Trump endorsed all 10 incumbent Republican House members in a series of social media posts in November.

Trump wrote Joyce “is doing an incredible job” and is “a true America First patriot” who “has my complete and total endorsement for reelection — he will never let you down.”

Trump added, “In Congress, Dave is fighting tirelessly to grow our economy, cut taxes and regulation, promote made in the USA, champion American energy dominance, keep our now very secure border secure, stop migrant crime and defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Joyce’s commercials are solely about Trump’s endorsement, including, “In the May 5 Republican primary, stand with President Trump and vote to reelect Congressman Dave Joyce.”

When I asked Joyce about this a few days ago, he said Corry Bliss, a prominent Republican campaign consultant he’s hired, told him, “The most potent thing you have to get voters’ attention and cut through the noise is President Trump’s endorsement. He put together the ads, and I understand where he’s coming from with it. At the end of the day, I’m going to continue to vote the way people in the district think I should. Each county (in the 14th District) voted for President Trump,” with him winning by double digits.

Frenchko says Joyce “caters to the people who put him there — the PAC donors. He’s not conservative enough for this district.”

Frenchko points to scorecards that show Joyce often votes against Trump.

Joyce said, “You can go to any one of those vote totals and find what you want. Whatever taste you have, you can go pick out a poll or a group and say, ‘I’m terrible.’ But at the end of the day, the president endorsed me, and I voted with the president 97% of the time.”

Frenchko also dismissed Trump’s endorsement, saying the president backed all of the incumbent Republicans months before the filing deadline.

Frenchko said, “I’m asked if I support Trump. Yes, I support my president whenever he’s right. But when he does something that I believe is incorrect, I’ll be the person who has to say those things, such as ‘Why didn’t you vet them to make sure they actually vote conservative?’ That’s one thing.”

Frenchko said the people in the 14th District are “by and large, gun-carrying, constitutional conservative and (Joyce) pushed for more red-flag laws.”

Ohio Gun Owners, a Second Amendment group, is backing Frenchko while criticizing Joyce.

Joyce criticized Frenchko for posing with an assault rifle.

Joyce said that “is just the kind of stuff we don’t want in politics anymore.”

While Joyce, who had a $3,260,984 surplus in his campaign fund as of Dec. 31, is focusing on Trump. Frenchko, who can’t compete financially with Joyce, is trying a different tact.

Frenchko garnered attention – including on the front pages of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator — with the launching of her OnlyFrenchko.com website that seeks to capitalize on the reaction she’s received to nude photos — she is covered up — she’s posted on Facebook.

The homepage includes two nude photos of Frenchko with the website’s name and “everything exposed” strategically covering her. The photos were taken during visits to St. Martin in the French West Indies.

The idea, Frenchko said, came from Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy saying on a local webcast that when she filed against Joyce, he got a text from the congressman saying, “Looks like I won the naked Niki contest.”

Frenchko was initially coy about whether there would be nudity on the website’s paywall. But as there obviously isn’t any, she said she is “exposing everything, including what they don’t want you to see,” meaning Joyce’s record.

When I asked her if the website shows she isn’t a serious candidate and was using it as a publicity stunt, Frenchko paused for so long that I asked her if we were engaging in a staring contest. She said she was thinking of a response.

Frenchko said, “I think people are entitled to their opinions without doing research. As soon as you click on the page, you’ll see everything — all of my platforms are there. Every single platform that I have is right there as soon as you click. So to say that without clicking on it is someone talking about it without looking.”

Joyce said Malloy mentioned the “naked Niki” name “but I get blamed for it.”

Joyce said, “I don’t look at her website. I don’t have time for that. I’m making the case on why I believe I deserve the opportunity” to be reelected.

As for the covered-up nude photos of Frenchko on Facebook, Joyce said, “I got old ladies in the Republican Party who were calling me about that. ‘Have you seen this?’ I try not to. I love my wife. I stay home. She somehow believes I’m looking at her and naming her and doing all this other stuff.”

David Skolnick covers local, state and national politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.