Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp has started a political action committee to support conservative local candidates across the county after early voting data showed more Democratic ballots were being pulled than Republican in this month’s primaries.
He announced the move Tuesday — election day — in an email to his campaign donors. It’s called W PAC, meant to fundraise and distribute money to local campaigns, the email said, so elected officials continue to represent a conservative majority in the region. The “W” can stand for Weston, Wamp or win, Wamp told a reporter by text.
All countywide partisan positions are held by Republicans, and about three-quarters of officials on the school board and Hamilton County Commission are Republicans.
Wamp is looking to support Republican candidates amid a national political climate in which the Democratic base may be more motivated to go to the polls, he said by phone Tuesday, before primary election day turnout data was available.
“Conservatives have gotten used to winning around here for a long time,” Wamp said. “Being complacent is not much of a plan for continuing to serve. That’s really what this is about. Conservatives think things are going pretty well, and so they’re not as motivated to get out and vote. Sometimes, these local elections get overlooked, and we’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen this summer.”