Donald Trump’s campaign on Saturday severed ties with the Republican Party’s state chairman in Ohio.
The Trump campaign’s Ohio director Bob Paduchik said Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges used his position to advance his campaign to become the next Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, according to Cleveland.com.
{mosads}The move is a major snag for Trump’s campaign in a must-win state where he’s neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton.
In a letter to Ohio’s GOP central committee members, Paduchik said Borges “does not represent or speak for the candidate and he no longer has any affiliation with the Trump-Pence campaign.”
Paduchik said Borges’s “loyalty to Governor John Kasich’s failed Presidential campaign eclipse his responsibility as Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.”
Borges told party members last week they would face no repercussions if they rescinded support for Trump, in the wake of revelations that the presidential nominee bragged to TV presenter Billy Bush in 2005 about his ability to grab women.
“There’s no worse way to be spending my Saturday 30 days from an election that (we) absolutely should have won this year than to be spending 100 percent of my time on the phone or on emails or answering questions or [granting interviews] on a topic like this that isn’t helping us advance the ball,” Borges said at the time, according to Cleveland.com.
Paduchik accused Borges of self-promotion, arguing the state chairman was all-but-openly campaigning to replace RNC chairman Reince Priebus. Paduchik said Borges had engaged in a self-promotional media campaign, smearing Trump in the process.
“I have no idea what game he was playing. Some Ohio Republicans have described it as disgraceful, I find it utterly bizarre,” Padchiuk said.
Paduchik said he spoke to Trump on Thursday about Borges’ behavior.
Paduchik said Trump told him: “This is why people have lost faith in the establishment and party leaders.”
Borges responded Saturday, listing the Ohio Republican Party’s efforts to support the Trump campaign, including handling human resources “so they can remain focused on their primary mission.”
Borges said that he offered Trump a public endorsement in September at the State Central Committee meeting, but the campaign declined the offer.
He said he regularly communicates with Paduchik. “Interestingly, none of Bob’s concerns were voiced until he shared them publicly today,” said Borges.
“I won’t let a staffer’s ego get in the way of us doing all we can to win elections up and down the ballot this year,” he said, according to multiple reports.
Ohio is a key battleground state in 2016, and a perennial target for Republicans because no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning the state.
Clinton leads the state by just under two points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
–Updated: 6 p.m.