Trump supporter plans challenge against Ohio GOP chairman whose ‘dog threw up’ over Trump

An Ohio Republican official says she has the backing of President-elect Donald Trump to unseat the state's GOP chairman, who was slow to back the party's nominee.

Jane Murphy Timken, vice chairwoman of the Stark County Republican Party, announced in a letter to state party officials that she would challenge the leadership of Ohio GOP chairman Matt Borges, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Borges supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Republican primary, but he said in October that he had come around to backing Trump for president -- although his wife remained firmly opposed to the real estate developer and former reality TV star.

Kate Borges refused to allow her husband place a Trump sign in their yard, and she joked after the second debate that the candidate made the family dog sick.

“Trump was so bad, he made the dog throw up,” said Kate Borges, who was loyal to Kasich, who is a family friend, but did not back Hillary Clinton.

Timken is among the Trump loyalists seeking to oust state and national GOP officials deemed insufficiently supportive of the president-elect.

“Every Republican president since Lincoln remakes the party in their image — and particularly in the case of Trump, who has led a movement, you’ll see a lot of candidates,” Roger Stone, a longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, told Politico.

“Once the nomination was settled, Chairman Borges had the obligation to fully support the nominee and his campaign,” Timken told party officials Sunday by letter. “He did not, and his actions have divided the party leadership. This was his choice.”

Timken said she had spoken to Trump, who she said agreed it was time for a change in the party's leadership.

She attended a Trump fundraiser Thursday night in Cincinnati before his appearance there for a planned nationwide "victory tour."

Borges was at the Ohio Republican Party's Christmas party instead, although he said that event had been scheduled long ahead of Trump's appearance.

Trump's Ohio campaign manager, Bob Paduchik, publicly scolded Borges for engaging in a

"self-promotional media tour" in the weeks before Election Day.

Borges, who defeated a Tea Party leader in 2013 to become the state chairman, said he has the votes to gain re-election.

He oversaw landslide wins for GOP candidates statewide in 2014 and 2016.