Charles R. Earl (born June 6, 1946) is an American politician and former member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...

80th district from 1981 to 1984 when he declined to seek reelection. A member of the Libertarian Party, he received enough signatures to obtain ballot access and become a candidate for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in the 2014 election.

Early life, education, and family

Earl was born in

Fostoria, Ohio Fostoria (, ) is a city located at the convergence of Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is approximately south of Toledo and north of Columbus. The city is known for its railroads, as a ...

, a town near Findlay. Charlie attended public schools in

Sycamore, Ohio Sycamore is a village in Wyandot County, Ohio, United States. The population was 861 at the 2010 census. History Sycamore was laid out in 1842, its name derived from nearby Sycamore Creek. Geography Sycamore is located at (40.950402, -83.17091 ...

and then enrolled at College of Wooster graduating in 1975 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English. Later, Earl enrolled at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...

graduating in 1992 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in mass communication but stayed for two more years pursuing doctoral studies.

Ohio House of Representatives (1981–1984)

With Mike Oxley elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in a special election following the death of

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivale ...

Tennyson Guyer, Earl was appointed to serve the remainder of Oxley's term in the

. In 1982, Earl won election to a full term. In 1984, Earl opted not to run for another term, and was succeeded by

Lynn Wachtmann Lynn Wachtmann (born December 24, 1954) is a former Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, who had represented the 81st District from 2007 to 2014. Prior to his term in the House, Wachtmann was a two-term state Senator, represen ...

. He subsequently returned to the private sector.

2010 Ohio Secretary of State election

In 2010, Earl decided to run for office, this time as a Libertarian. While initially looking to obtain his seat back in the

, he decided to instead run for

Ohio Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corporations, etc.) and granting them the author ...

. He lost the election, and has since again returned to private life.

2014 gubernatorial election

Earl has announced his candidacy for Governor of Ohio. Earl has achieved enough valid signatures to obtain ballot access in the election. However, he was barred from the ballot because of technical faults in the signatures collected. The decision was appealed in federal court but the court determined the signatures were not collected by Libertarian Party or independent petitioners as required by law.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website

Speeches and Interviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl, Charlie 1946 births Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio Libertarians People from Fostoria, Ohio 20th-century American politicians Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Bowling Green State University alumni