Republican State Representative and former Columbus City Schools Board President Dave Dobos has dropped out of the race to retain his House seat, following several embarrassing revelations, although his name will still appear on the March 19th ballot.
Shortly before he won the November 2022 race for the newly drawn 10th House district representing southern Columbus, Dobos admitted he had failed to list a $1.3 million dollar debt on his campaign finance report - a requirement under Ohio law. Two creditors claim Dobos defrauded them by using their name and money to obtain credit for personal and business use.
Last year reports surfaced that Dobos - who frequently mentioned his degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - had attended MIT, but according to the school, never received a degree.
Dobos would have faced two Republican challengers in the March primary; Brian M Garvine and Shafi Ahmed Shafat. Two Democrats - Mark Sigrist and Sarah C. Pomeroy, are also running for the 10th district House seat.
According to the Franklin County Elections Board, Dobos has indicated he will continue his bid for a seat on the GOP Central Committee. Dobos served on the Columbus City School Board from 1993 to 2001.
