Forcing candidates to quit is not good for politics

Just because some people go through the effort to run for elected office doesn't mean people will see their names on the ballot when they go to vote.
That is quite clear when you look at the statewide races.
A number of potential candidates dropped out of races before the Feb. 16 filing deadline.
Since the filing deadline, Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon and Montgomery County Treasurer Hugh Quill withdrew from Democratic primaries for auditor and treasurer, respectively. That leaves one Democrat in those races, and avoids primaries for auditor and treasurer.
The withdrawals allow the party's endorsed candidates, state Rep. Barbara Sykes of Akron in the auditor's race and Franklin County Treasurer Richard Cordray, to save their money, while collecting more, for use in the November general election against their Republican opponents.
The Republicans have done the same thing.
Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann is the party's lone candidate for the secretary of state's race. About six weeks ago, there were three Republicans vying for that seat.
Franklin County Recorder Robert G. Montgomery and state Rep. Jim Trakas of Independence withdrew from the race since then.
When asked the reason for getting out of their races, the answer from the former candidates and from their party leaders is like a broken record. The candidates are "team players" who got out of the race as a "sign of unity."
[For those born after 1980, records are large, round vinyl objects that play music on something called a turntable. As the record spins, you place a tone arm with a pointed needle at its tip on the record and music comes out of the speakers. Sometimes the needle gets caught in a tiny groove and continuously repeats the same second or so of music thus the term, "broken record."]
While the "team players" line is often used, there are other circumstances. In some cases, party leaders placed tremendous pressure on candidates to quit the race or face their wrath. Those candidates suddenly stopped receiving contributions and other support from donors, and found themselves with no choice but to quit.
Others are promised by party leaders they would receive support for future races if they withdraw this year.
With three different state Democratic chairmen over the past four years and talk from Ohio Republican Chairman Robert Bennett that he's retiring soon, those promises are probably empty rhetoric.
Others aren't "team players."
State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Chesterland Republican, won't withdraw from the attorney general primary. Never a favorite of the GOP establishment, Grendell says Bennett told him to "get out of the race for the sake of my political career."
Party establishment types aren't thrilled about contested primaries, but don't take certain candidates too seriously.
Examples would be former state Rep. Bryan Flannery of Strongsville, running for governor in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, and Merrill Samuel Keiser Jr. of Fremont, running against U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Avon in the U.S. Senate primary.
But placing pressure or making empty promises to leave people with no choices in several down-ticket races makes voting in the primary a waste of time. Why vote when the party has made the selection for you?
This isn't anything new, but I find it disturbing that party bosses decide who runs and if someone challenges the chosen ones, they could face political repercussions.
While primaries are costly, they are also an excellent way for candidates to increase their name recognition.
I'm not going out on a limb saying that only a tiny amount of Mahoning Valley voters know anything about Hartmann, Sykes and Cordray or where they stand on issues. With no primary opposition, voters will remain in the dark about many candidates on the statewide ballot.