Wenstrup ousts Schmidt

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt was defeated by Republican opponent Brad Wenstrup in the March 6 primary election.

Schmidt took the majority of votes in Adams, Brown, Highland, Pike, Ross and Scioto counties, while Wenstrup won the majority of the votes in the more urban Clermont and Hamilton counties.

In Clermont County, which is Schmidt’s home county, Wenstrup received 14,212 votes, or 50.17 percent of votes cast, while Schmidt received 11,777 votes or 41.58 percent of votes cast. Schmidt’s other opponents, Tony Brush and Fred Kundrata received the remaining votes.

Wenstrup also received the majority of votes in Hamilton County, where he had more than 8,000 votes over Schmidt.

Wenstrup, who is a Cincinnati doctor, said he didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician, but after joining the United States Army Reserves and being deployed to Iraq, he said he became more involved with the Republican party and speaking with residents in the community.

“Along the way people kept saying you need to run for office,” Wenstrup said before the election. “It just kept coming from people.”

He said prior to the election that he made the decision to run for office after he realized his experience, both as a doctor and in the military, made him a candidate that can understand issues affecting citizens. He also said leadership and honesty are traits that are lacking in representatives.

“I think people want to be able to look at their congress person and say ‘I trust you,’” Wenstrup said.

Wenstrup will be the Republican candidate on the November ballot where he will face Democratic candidate William Smith, who defeated his opponent David Krikorian March 6.