On June 16,2021,the Ohio House of Representatives voted to expel former Speaker Larry Householder following his indictment in the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal,which centered on the passage of House Bill 6. The resolution to expel Householder passed by an overwhelming margin,though a small group of lawmakers voted against removal.
According to reporting by the Dayton Daily News,Sara Carruthers,a Republican representing Hamilton,voted against expulsion. The newspaper reported that Carruthers said she believed expulsion was premature and that Householder should be afforded due process,stating that she did not think lawmakers should remove a member before a criminal conviction.[2]
The vote occurred nearly a year after Householder was charged with racketeering conspiracy in connection with a $60 million bribery scheme tied to House Bill 6. Contemporary reporting described how House leadership and rank-and-file members debated the institutional and constitutional implications of expelling an indicted lawmaker prior to trial.[3]
In 2018,Carruthers successfully ran in the Republican primary against state Representative Wes Retherford,who had been arrested for drunk driving.[5] She easily won the general election.
In 2019,it was found that Carruthers was sued for an alleged fraud case surrounding when she adopted twins more than a decade ago but failed to live up to a promise that she would provide a home for the birth mother and her three children.[6] Despite an audio recording of Carruthers admitting to the allegations,she claimed it was an extortion attempt.[7]
In 2022,Carruthers gained attention during her run for the newly drawn 47th State House District when her democratic opponent,19-year-old Miami University student Sam Lawrence,announced his campaign and gained notoriety. Carruthers beat Real Estate Agent Cody Harper in the Republican primary and won against Lawrence in the general election.[8]
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