Ohio state troopers drop endorsement of FitzGerald in governor's race

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio state troopers organization has withdrawn its endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald while declining to back Republican Gov. John Kasich.

The decision by Troopers for a Safer Ohio was announced Monday. It comes amid revelations FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive, lacked a permanent driver’s license for a decade.

Campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt says what prompted the reversal is unclear. She says the driver’s license issue was fully vetted during FitzGerald’s endorsement interview.

Monday’s bulletin cited FitzGerald’s missing license as a reason some members of the Ohio Highway Troopers Association union wanted to revisit the endorsement.

Hitt says she expects unionized police and firefighters who’ve endorsed FitzGerald still to support him, after Kasich supported limits on public employee unions and called an officer an “idiot.”