The heritage of our County lies with agriculture, a profession and a lifestyle that requires hard work, determination, perseverance and passion. It also requires personal motivation, willingness to take risks and selflessness. The men and women who founded our County from Ottoville, to Ft. Jennings, to Continental, to Cloverdale, to Dupont, to Leipsic, to Belmore, to Ottawa, to Glandorf, to Gilboa, to Pandora, to Columbus Grove, to Vaughnsville and everywhere in between lived their daily life rooted in deep faith. With so much risk and uncertainty associated with agriculture, it’s hard to imagine living a life where you did not place your trust and confidence in our Creator. 

While they worked extremely hard, they also enjoyed their freedoms, their independence, their self reliance, and the promise of a future where they could grow as people and as a community without the suffocating pressures and demands dictated by bloated government.  

These were common-sense, law-abiding, private and practical people who shouldered great responsibility. For the men and women we call our ancestors, they couldn’t help but be genuine and sincere people. They had little time to be anything else. When they gave you their word, it was better than the most meticulously prepared legal document. When a neighbor suffered a catastrophe, they dropped what they were doing and rushed to their aid. After rising early in the morning and working well into the evening, they reached even deeper to volunteer their time and talents for the benefit of their local Putnam County community in order to make it a better place. When the needs of the nation called them to defend liberty and freedom, they left the security of their homes and their families and gave their lives while their families in the areas of Continental, Kalida, Ottawa, Leipsic, Pandora, Columbus Grove, Cloverdale and Belmore found additional strength to fill the void that had been left behind. 

These are the values they instilled in their children and the values that have been inherited from generation to generation all the way up to the present day. These are also the values embraced and championed by the Putnam County Republican Party. 

We are not afraid to roll-up our sleeves and get to work. We do not hesitate to answer the call when our communities and our nation need us. We ask for very little because we’ve been taught to take of ourselves and be accountable for our lives. All we ask is the protection and assurance of our freedoms and liberties.  

An example of our resolve and our tenacity is as recent as the year 2006 when we lost nearly 3,000 jobs due to the Philips plant closing. Most places would have shut down and been crippled. But with the resilience of Putnam County and our well known work ethic, we hardly missed a beat. People started businesses, worked on farms, took manual labor jobs and found ways to provide for their families. Since that time, new factories and businesses started to appear in Putnam County and others expanded.  

We are experiencing a time in our country where the differences between a Republican and a Democrat could not be more distinctive. The Putnam County Republican Party is guided by three high-level principles that are found in a fundamental document of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence. These three principles are….. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. 

It’s our understanding and definition of these three principles that so clearly distinguishes us from the Democratic Party. Let’s talk about each one. 

We are proud to be Pro-Life. We believe the miracle of life begins at conception. If you are someone who has lost a child due to a miscarriage, you probably understand the profound sense of loss. How is that feeling possible if life does not begin at conception? The creation of life is not about convenience and the termination of life should also not be about convenience. Life must be cherished and protected. This is a divine directive and a quality that places us apart from many parts of the world where life is not regarded so highly. 

The Democratic Party believes that life is a choice and routinely uses the label of Pro-Choice. They believe it is a person’s choice to terminate a pregnancy simply because the pregnancy is inconvenient. 

If we are a country founded on the sanctity of life (which we are), then we must protect and defend the miracle of life and the right of that life to pursue and enjoy happiness. The Putnam County Republican Party does! 

As precious as life is, liberty may be equally so. A life without liberty makes it nearly impossible to realize that life’s true potential. We are a unique country created on a principle of liberty unlike anywhere else in the world. Prior to the birth of our nation, our founding fathers and mothers lived in a society where they were required to be obedient to a monarchy. They had to closely watch every one of their actions so as not to offend the monarchy. They had to be careful of the words they said publicly in fear of offending the monarchy. They were afforded little opportunity to dream of a better life with a limitless future. Any chance for upward mobility was governed by the opinions and the directives of the monarchy. It was not a society that applauded “what you know and what you can do”. Rather, it was a society of “who you know” and “what can you do for me”. Their individuality was suppressed. Because of the tyranny they endured, they understood that a person could not be truly great unless they were endowed with liberty. 

When government gets inflated and steals too much power, liberty is jeopardized and so is the ability for an individual to realize his or her true potential in life.  

Liberty also brings individual responsibility. People are responsible for their words and their actions. When words and actions are not respectful of others, break a law or infringe on the liberties of others, there will and should be consequences. Furthermore, an individual is entrusted with a responsibility to serve a community by using his or her experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and talents. 

It’s extremely important to keep the powers of government at the local level so that the best interests of that community are served. Keeping power at the local level requires responsible people to step forward and use common sense to ensure the future well-being of a community.  

The Democratic Party believes that government should be large. Large government needs large taxes and runs up debts that are incomprehensible. It believes that government should take care of its people, tell them how to live and solve their problems. It believes if you’re successful financially in life, the government should have the right to take a large amount of that money and redistribute it as it sees fit. It takes away local-level decision making and believes national government should mandate how communities educate children and provide services to its citizens.  

The Putnam County Republican Party adamantly believes in protecting liberty. We believe government at every level should be small and lean. We believe the true power of government should be at the local level to address the unique needs of a local community. We believe that an individual should be able to enjoy every liberty endowed to them by The United States Constitution. We believe that it is through the protection and promotion of liberty that this County and this Country will remain strong, unique and successful. Liberty empowers the people and it is the people who will keep this County and this Country a special place to live a life.  

Happiness is the responsibility of the individual; it is not the responsibility of government. Happiness is a conscious choice. If you want to be happy, focus on your individual happiness each and every day. Your commitment and your perseverance will eventually deliver results. If we properly protect life and liberty, every life will be given the opportunity to pursue happiness. However, an individual must be accountable and responsible for his or her happiness because only the individual knows what will make him or her happy. Happiness is not about financial success. Rather, happiness is about individual satisfaction and the definition of happiness is different for everyone, as it should be in a society endowed with liberty. 

The Democratic Party believes that happiness is government’s responsibility and should make financial resources available to those who believe that they are entitled to receive that compensation from government without conditions, repercussions or expectations of paying back that compensation. When it comes to the governing style and philosophies of the Democratic Party, it’s a strategy of solving problems by creating more levels of bureaucracy and giving out money instead of solving root problems at local levels, uplifting people and showing them a path to a better life that delivers personal happiness. 

The Putnam County Republican Party believes that people must be empowered with the responsibility of personal happiness. People, not government, must provide growth, inspire and mentor others to show them the path to personal happiness. 

These are the principles and values that guide the Putnam County Republican Party and we believe firmly they are the values and the principles that will keep our County and our Country a great place unlike any other in the world for endless generations. 

• Small and Lean Government with Minimum Taxes

• Local-Level Decision Making

• Fiscal Responsibility

• Freedoms (Live Life Based on Your Personal Choices, Not Government’s)

• Accountability (You Are Responsible for Your Happiness, Government is Not)

• Protect and Respect of Life (as soon as it begins at conception)

The Putnam County Republican Party works hard to identify candidates for public office that embrace and follow the principles and values we have outlined above. Once candidates are elected, we work equally as hard to ensure that these candidates govern in a manner that is consistent with our principles and values. 

It’s our goal and objective to present you with Republican Party candidates who are inspired to serve for the benefit and protection of the principles and values we have outlined herein. They are not motivated by personal gain or status. They are common-sense, responsible people who will serve our values both today and make sure those values remain strong to provide our future generations with a bright and prosperous future to pursue dreams and happiness. 

It’s imperative for people to step up with a duty and a passion to serve for the benefit of our community. The power belongs at the local level with the people it intends to serve. As the great Republican Abraham Lincoln so eloquently stated, “That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

The Putnam County Republican Party is open to everyone in Putnam County regardless of gender, age, race, class or any other type of social classification. The Putnam County Republican Party is about people with shared common values and principles who want to have a positive impact on the principles of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. 

We have clearly communicated who we are and what clearly distinguishes us from the Democratic Party. Now it’s time to listen to you. Let’s keep the conversation going. 

If you share our values and beliefs, we welcome you to join us and take an activity role to leave your mark so that we the people of Putnam County can secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. 

Join us by attending our meetings that take place throughout Putnam County, follow us on our Facebook Page and contact us with your questions or comments by sending us a message here on our website.