- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, oversaw his state's elections in 2020.
- At the time, he defended the integrity of the vote and called baseless stolen claims "irresponsible."
In the days after the 2020 election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose suggested that former President Donald Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud were irresponsible.
But that was when LaRose was tasked with overseeing the state's election. Now, as LaRose is seeking his next job as US Senator from Ohio, he's backing Trump's 2024 comeback bid just days after launching his Senate campaign.
In a statement on the endorsement, LaRose cited Trump's ability to strike "so much fear in the opposition" and said that he "won't back down from a fight, even at his own peril."
"His enemies, foreign and domestic, will stop at nothing in their attempt to keep him from winning this race," said LaRose.
—Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) July 24, 2023
Just three years ago, LaRose struck a far different tone on Trump.
Speaking with reporters shortly after the 2020 election — when the former president was making claims of widespread fraud and laying the groundwork for an attempt to reverse the election results that culminated in the January 6 assault on the Capitol — LaRose defended his state's election results.
"I certainly have faith in Ohio's elections, and I believe that other states… almost all, I think all the other states do it very well also," LaRose said at the time. "All I'm saying is there's a reason why there's an opportunity to present evidence in a courtroom, and if you have that evidence you have to bring it forward and vet it out."
He also said it was "irresponsible" to make baseless claims of a stolen election, even referencing Stacey Abrams' refusal to concede her loss in the 2018 gubernatorial election in Georgia.
"We've gone down the path of constantly challenging the elections when we don't like the results," said LaRose. "I think it was irresponsible when members of the Democratic Party claimed the Georgia election was stolen and didn't have evidence, and I think it's irresponsible when Republicans say an election was stolen and don't have evidence. If anyone has evidence they need to show it."
Over time, LaRose's position vis-a-vis Trump has shifted. Last year, as he sought re-election against a conservative primary challenger, he welcomed an endorsement from the former president.
LaRose is currently running in what's expected to be a hotly-contested GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who's considered vulnerable.
He's facing off against Bernie Moreno, a businessman who's won the backing of Sen. JD Vance, as well as former state Sen. Matt Dolan.
An endorsement from Trump in the primary could prove pivotal to determining the outcome — though LaRose may have to answer for his thoughts on that as well.
In a leaked audio recording obtained by POLITICO in May, LaRose suggested that Trump's endorsement wasn't all that it's often thought to be, arguing that there's a 60% of GOP voters that "doesn't care who he endorses."