Ohio GOP drafting plan for primary

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder said Tuesday lawmakers are not likely to reach a deal by deadline Wednesday to keep the state's presidential primary in March.

  House Republicans, meanwhile, are working on a proposal to hold the state's two separate primary elections on one date, possibly in late April. They are in the early stages of crafting the plan, said Mike Dittoe, a spokesman for Batchelder.

  The primaries were separated to give lawmakers more time to compromise on new congressional district boundaries after a GOP-drawn map was challenged by Democrats.

Ohio's state, local and U.S. Senate primaries remain in March, but the presidential and U.S. House primaries are scheduled to take place in June. However, a second primary election day would cost taxpayers an additional $15 million.

  "That's a big concern with myself, Speaker Batchelder and a lot of people," Elyria Republican Rep. Matt Huffman told The Columbus Dispatch. "We're working on solving that problem independently of the map."

  Batchelder told reporters Tuesday that a deal on a new congressional map was unlikely this week. Wednesday is the filing deadline for congressional and presidential candidates and the last day a deal can be reached to hold all the primaries in March.

  Dittoe said Republicans had not yet discussed consolidating the primary with House Democrats.

  House Democratic caucus spokeswoman Sarah Bender said Democrats support having a single primary, but have not been approached with specifics on any deal. She said an April 24 primary was part of a proposed compromise, but talks have since stalled.

  Earlier Tuesday, a group of 38 members of county boards of election sent a letter to Batchelder urging him to consolidate the primary. They called a second primary an "undue burden."

  "If $15 million in funding is in fact available, there are much better ways in which those resources could be spent."