Republican officials and surrogates in Ohio on Tuesday sharply criticized a Democratic candidate for attorney general after social media posts in which he disparaged conservative activist Charlie Kirk days after Kirk was shot dead.
Elliot Forhan, a former state representative running for Ohio attorney general, posted on Facebook what Fox News described as “F*** Charlie Kirk,” and shared commentary calling Kirk “a champion of tyranny, not democracy.” Those posts, published days after Kirk was gunned down while speaking at a university event in Utah on Sept. 10, 2025, prompted calls from some GOP leaders for Forhan to exit the statewide contest.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, told Fox News Digital that "No public servant should say that about any human being, much less somebody who was just assassinated." Yost said Forhan had shown himself to be "a petulant and undisciplined child, ill-suited to public office."
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose called the posts "probably demented publicity designed to get attention" and said the rhetoric reflected a broader trend he attributed to the Democratic Party. "This guy was literally the target of a law enforcement investigation that called his behavior ‘a credible risk of escalating to violence or violent conduct,’" LaRose said, adding that Forhan "should be watched carefully and denounced aggressively."
Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney who serves as a Republican National Committee surrogate, urged Forhan to "immediately withdraw" from the attorney general race, saying the state's top law enforcement officer should be "a guardian and defender of justice, not a cheerleader for violence." Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to the Forhan campaign for comment.
Forhan is contesting for a top statewide office in a state that has voted for Republican presidential candidates in recent cycles. Republicans framed his posts as disqualifying for a candidate who would be charged with upholding state law and defending Ohioans' safety and civil liberties.
The disputed comments come amid a wider public backlash over social media responses to Kirk's death. In the days since the Sept. 10 shooting, several individuals in public life have been criticized for posting remarks that appeared to mock or celebrate the assassination. Memorials for Kirk have been held around the country and overseas, and some tributes were defaced and subsequently restored.
The assassination has also prompted federal officials to seek increased security resources. The White House has been reported to request additional funds from Congress to bolster protection for the executive and judicial branches in the wake of the attack.
Forhan, who served in the Ohio House of Representatives, has not issued a public statement included in the Fox News account responding to the calls for his withdrawal. The episode adds to tensions in a politically charged environment where candidates' past and present social media activity has become a focal point for both opponents and the public as campaigns for statewide offices intensify.
The dispute is likely to draw further scrutiny as the Ohio attorney general race progresses and as parties weigh the political implications of partisan rhetoric tied to a high-profile assassination that has reverberated across the country.
