John Bechtold is a Republican

American Republican Party

The American Republican Party was a minor nativist political organization that was launched in New York in June 1843, largely as a protest against immigrant voters and officeholders. In 1844, it carried municipal elections in New York City and Philadelphia and expanded so rapidly that by July,...

 Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 politician who served in the Ohio General Assembly

Ohio General Assembly

The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...

. An attorney, Bechtold initially won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives

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....

 in 1966, following the 1965 Voting Rights Act's allocation of districts in Ohio. Winning reelection in 1968 and 1970, Bechtold had aspirations to succeed Charles Kurfess

Charles Kurfess

Charles Frederick Kurfess is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving as Speaker of the House for part of his career. He was first elected in 1956 to an at large district, and was elected eleven times following. Following his retirement from politics, he went on to serve as a...

 at the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

In 1972, redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

 weakened Bechtold's chances for reelection, and he was challenged for the nomination by Helen Fix

Helen Fix

Helen Fix is a Republican Ohio politician and a former member of the Ohio General Assembly. A graduate of Richmond University and a former newspaper reporter, she served on Amberley Village Council for four terms. Fix initially decided to run for the Ohio House of Representatives in 1972, following...

. While it looked initially like Bechtold had secured the nomination, a recount declared Fix the winner by one vote. As a result, Bechtold's time in the legislature ended after three terms.

Following his time in the House, he returned to Cincinnati and private practice.