Mary Taylor in The Cincinnati Enquirer

On Civil Rights: Running-mate Nathan Estruth led anti-gay-rights campaign

"Nathan is a smart, savvy and accomplished leader," Blackwell told The Enquirer. "Choosing him is a game changer in the GOP primary." The official announcement came at City Gospel Mission in Cincinnati, where Estruth is a donor.

In 2006, Estruth led a group called Common Sense Ohio, which used telemarking to poll voters about conservative issues. In Montana, the automated poll asked voters whether they support judges that "push homosexual marriage and create new rights like abortion and sodomy," according to a New York Times report.

Estruth also served on the board of directors of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center called an anti-LGBT hate group.