Scott Rupert Certified for 2016 Ohio US Senate Race

Statement

On March 10th, the Rupert for Senate campaign submitted signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State for validation and certification to have candidate Scott Rupert added to the November ballot for the US Senate race. On May 23rd the long wait ended when the campaign received notice that Scott will indeed appear on the November 2016 ballot, with the designation "nonparty candidate."

Rupert immediately commented, "My first choice for designation would have been "independent candidate' with a small "i' except Ohio law does not permit the use of the word "independent' as a designation in any way. My guess as to the reason for this law is that many voters would make independent their default choice because polls show the majority of voters in Ohio identify themselves as independent voters."

This fact bolsters Rupert's belief that the challenge isn't in convincing voters to choose an independent candidate. "Most of them already want to make that choice, so the goal is making them aware the choice exists before they show up to vote," he explained. "We have to make each individual voter comfortable with the idea they aren't the only one making the move to vote independent."

This is Rupert's second consecutive run to represent Ohio in the United States Senate. In 2012, his prior bid earned nearly 5% of the ballot with 250,000 votes: an excellent showing for an unrecognized independent candidate. In 2016, now that he is known, name recognition is much less of an issue for this truck-driver-turned-statesman.

The Rupert for Senate campaign, and especially Scott himself, extend heartfelt gratitude to each and every individual staffing the County Boards of Election for their effort throughout the validation process (86 of 88 counties received petitions). "I've seen the signatures," stated Rupert, "and I can appreciate how difficult their job must be. By comparison, getting on the ballot was the easy part."

Now begins the harder work of reaching Ohioans with the message: Finally, there is a real choice!

Source