S2 Ep59: That’s So Cincinnati: Hamilton County GOP leader addresses his and the party’s future after tough election

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou watched election night as a blue wave swept in, taking with it two county elected leaders – treasurer and recorder – and nine judgeships.

The latter flipped both the common pleas and appellate courts to a Democrat majority – something that was unthinkable a decade ago for the once-dominant Hamilton County GOP.  

Those losses have some local Republicans quietly grumbling about the need for new party leadership. Triantafilou addressed his and the party's future on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast.

"If you go around the state of Ohio, (Republican leaders) think we do a terrific job here and we do," Triantafilou said. "We have a great staff. We have great volunteers. We have great donors. I understand I'm on the hot seat. I'll take the heat as it comes. I know my business. I know what it takes to win. I also know the challenges associated with winning in a blue county. What's the future for me? I'm staying."

Triantafilou, who's led the party since 2008, welcomes the challenge of recruiting a new wave of GOP candidates. 

"My focus is really going to be on finding candidates who have the appeal across the political spectrum," Triantafilou said. "That's going to take some infighting within my party as we push to get candidates who don't always toe the party line."

He added: "I want to unite the party, so I end up taking a fair amount of arrows to do that. But I'm going to start speaking out a little bit stronger about the people who aren't working with us."

Triantafilou's interview begins at the 21:45 mark in the episode, which can be listened to for free by clicking the link at the top of the article. That's So Cincinnati also is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major listening platforms. 

Other takeaways from Triantafilou's interview:

• With Prosecutor Joe Deters' reelection on Tuesday, Republicans were able to hold onto the most powerful seat in local government. Speculation has already started about whether Deters, the longest-tenured prosecutor in county history, will finish out his next term.

"As I told Joe, he needs to stay healthy and run again in four years because he gives us our best chance to hold that seat," Triantafilou said. "He's been a great candidate and a terrific prosecutor. He hasn't committed to running in 2024, let me make sure that's clear." 

• On former Cincinnati City Councilwoman Amy Murray, who left in February to take a job in Washington with the Trump administration, Triantafilou said he expects Murray will return to Cincinnati if the president loses to Joe Biden.

Murray considered running in Ohio's 1st Congressional District, but decided not to challenge Steve Chabot in the Republican primary. Will she look to run for office locally again?  

"When you're the coach trying to put players on the field, I'm dying to get Amy Murray. She's a five-tool player, so to speak in baseball parlance," Triantafilou said. "She's got everything you want in a candidate. She's brilliant, a great legislator, a great government official. She's a good fundraiser. I would love to see Amy Murray return to the local political scene, but I have no idea what her next step is going to be."