A longtime Ohio congressman has a primary opponent this year who’s all about the naked truth.

Niki Frenchko, a former Trumbull County commissioner, told The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, that she heard Geauga County Republican Rep. Dave Joyce had referred to her as “naked Niki” after she posted about visiting a nude beach on vacation in France. And Frenchko decided to double down.

“Since Dave Joyce and his team call me ‘naked Niki’ and some have even accused me of having an OnlyFans account, I figured I might as well expose everything,” she said in a video on Facebook. “So I’ll be launching my own OF page so check back soon and subscribe.”

Frenchko created a campaign website at OnlyFrenchko.com, with the heading in a similar blue font to OnlyFans, a subscription-based website popular among explicit content creators. The campaign website includes censored photos of Frenchko on the beach with a scroll that reads “Warning: Washington Insiders May Find This Content Offensive.”

“Voters who visit OnlyFrenchko.com won’t find scandal – they’ll find the unfiltered truth about Frenchko’s America-First agenda,” a press release for the campaign reads.

The Enquirer reached out to Joyce’s campaign staff to ask about his comments about Frenchko.

Campaign staff responded with “Congressman Joyce is honored to be endorsed by President (Donald) Trump because he voted with the president 97% of the time and fights every day to advance the America First agenda.”

Who is Niki Frenchko?

Frenchko described herself as a “Thomas Massie-style Republican” to The Enquirer. She said she supports releasing all of the Epstein files and campaigning only with small-dollar donations rather than foreign government or special-interest group money.

“I’m not afraid. I would work in the Freedom Caucus because that’s the group that holds Congress accountable to the American people,” she said.

Frenchko is an Army Reserve veteran and former real estate agent with a master’s degree in public administration. She campaigned for Trumbull County commissioner on increased transparency and less cronyism in county government and ousted a longtime Democrat in 2020.

After she criticized the county sheriff for conditions at the jail at a commissioner’s meeting in 2022, the sheriff’s officers arrested her. Frenchko filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff and his department, the county, the deputies and the other commissioners.

A federal judge ruled in her favor in 2024 and found that the arrest had violated Frenchko’s First Amendment rights.

“Here in America, we do not arrest our political opponents,” Judge Philip Calabrese wrote in his order.

How to vote

Ohio’s 14th District includes Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull counties, as well as parts of Mahoning County.

The primary election is May 5. The deadline to register to vote is April 6. To check your district or register to vote, visit voteOhio.gov.

Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.