The secretary of state’s office listed Larry Ealy as having filed petitions to appear on the Democratic primary ballot. Running with Ealy as his lieutenant governor is Ken Gray.
Ealy could not be immediately reached for comment. In 2009 a candidate by that name filed to run for mayor of Dayton, but his petitions were rejected by the Montgomery County elections board, according to newspaper reports.
FitzGerald, meanwhile, has been campaigning for months already, appearing in each of Ohio’s 88 counties at least once. He also filed his paperwork Wednesday naming Sharen Neuhardt, an attorney from the Dayton area, as his running mate.
FitzGerald already has the Democratic Party’s endorsement. But should Ealy’s petitions be approved, the two could both appear on the primary ballot in May.
Wednesday was the last day for candidates to file their candidacy petitions to appear in the May primary. And a full slate of Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians submitted petitions. Candidates for the Green Party also filed for the gubernatorial race.
