Bernadine Kennedy Kent
Bernadine Kennedy Kent (Republican Party) is running for election to the Ohio House of Representatives to represent District 3. She is a write-in candidate in the Republican primary on May 5, 2026.[source]
Kent (Democratic Party) was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing District 25. She assumed office on January 1, 2017. She left office on December 31, 2020.
On December 17, 2019, Kennedy Kent announced she would not seek re-election to a third term.[1]
Biography
Kent worked as a teacher and an assistant principal for Columbus City Schools for over 20 years. She was voted educator of the year during that time. She works as the director of the organization Parent Advocates for Students in Schools (P.A.S.S.).[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Kent was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Community and Family Advancement |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Government Accountability and Oversight |
| • Health |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 5, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 3
Incumbent Ismail Mohamed (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 3 on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Ismail Mohamed | |
| ||||
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Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 3
Bernadine Kennedy Kent (R) is running in the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 3 on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Bernadine Kennedy Kent (Write-in) | |
| ||||
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Libertarian Party primary
The Libertarian Party primary scheduled for May 5, 2026, was canceled.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Elijah Williams (L)
Campaign finance
Endorsements
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2020
Bernadine Kennedy Kent did not file to run for re-election.
2018
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 25
Incumbent Bernadine Kennedy Kent defeated Debbie Staggs in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 25 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bernadine Kennedy Kent (D) | 84.5 | 33,788 |
| Debbie Staggs (R) | 15.5 | 6,187 | ||
| Total votes: 39,975 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 25
Incumbent Bernadine Kennedy Kent defeated Ismail Mohamed and Lamar Peoples in the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 25 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bernadine Kennedy Kent | 45.7 | 4,990 |
| Ismail Mohamed | 39.7 | 4,332 | |
 | Lamar Peoples | 14.6 | 1,595 | |
| Total votes: 10,917 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daahir Omar (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 25
Debbie Staggs advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 25 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Debbie Staggs | 100.0 | 1,328 | |
| Total votes: 1,328 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Ohio House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 16, 2015. Incumbent Kevin Boyce (D) did not seek re-election.
Bernadine Kennedy Kent defeated Seth Golding and Napoleon A. Bell in the Ohio House of Representatives District 25 general election.[3]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Bernadine Kennedy Kent |
70.80% | 33,826 | |
| Republican | Seth Golding | 14.86% | 7,100 | |
| Independent | Napoleon A. Bell | 14.34% | 6,853 | |
| Total Votes | 47,779 | |||
| Source: Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
Bernadine Kennedy Kent defeated Dontavius Jarrells, Jeffrey Mackey, and Mayo Makinde in the Ohio House of Representatives District 25 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 25, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Bernadine Kennedy Kent |
35.18% | 5,699 | |
| Democratic | Dontavius Jarrells | 25.91% | 4,197 | |
| Democratic | Jeffrey Mackey | 19.50% | 3,158 | |
| Democratic | Mayo Makinde | 19.41% | 3,144 | |
| Total Votes | 16,198 | |||
Seth Golding ran unopposed in the Ohio House of Representatives District 25 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 25, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Seth Golding (unopposed) |
100.00% | 2,960 | |
| Total Votes | 2,960 | |||
2015
- See also: Columbus City Schools elections (2015)
Opposition
Four of the seven seats on the Columbus City Schools Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015. A primary election was held on May 5, 2015.
Three incumbents—Gary Baker, Shawna Gibbs, and Mary Jo Hudson—won re-election to their seats. Eric Brown won the fourth seat left open by incumbent Bryan Steward. Challengers Jim Hunter, Bernadine Kennedy Kent, Tina Pierce and Ben Tyson were defeated in the general election. Brian Bainbridge and Robert Sharrah were defeated in the primary election.[6][7]
Results
| Columbus City Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mary Jo Hudson Incumbent |
20.0% | 59,922 |
| Eric Brown |
18.0% | 53,778 |
| Shawna Gibbs Incumbent |
15.7% | 46,947 |
| Gary Baker Incumbent |
12.6% | 37,755 |
| Tina Pierce | 10.9% | 32,699 |
| Ben Tyson | 9.1% | 27,173 |
| Jim Hunter | 7.6% | 22,813 |
| Bernadine Kennedy Kent | 6.0% | 17,910 |
| Total Votes | 298,997 | |
| Source: Franklin County, Ohio, "2015 General Election Official Results," November 27, 2015 | ||
| Columbus Board of Education, At-Large Primary Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Mary Jo Hudson Incumbent |
16.1% | 16,399 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shawna Gibbs Incumbent |
13.8% | 14,068 | |
| Nonpartisan | Eric Brown |
13.1% | 13,343 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tina Pierce |
10.4% | 10,595 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bernadine Kennedy Kent |
8.8% | 9,018 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary Baker Incumbent |
8.6% | 8,748 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ben Tyson |
8.3% | 8,505 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim Hunter |
7.5% | 7,683 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian Bainbridge | 7.5% | 7,607 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Sharrah | 6% | 6,078 | |
| Total Votes | 102,044 | |||
| Source: Franklin County Board of Elections, "Franklin County Only Official Results Primary Election May 2015," accessed October 26, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Kent reported $8,003.51 in contributions and $8,003.51 in expenditures to the Franklin County Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $0 on hand in the election.[8]
Endorsements
Kent received no official endorsements for her campaign during the election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2016
Kent's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Ms. Kent fervently believes what leads to success is a commitment to factual, sincere communication and an allegiance to the pledge of representative government – not self. She is determined to bridge the communication gap between the people, their government, and the business community. Spending responsibly, greater accountability, and line-by-line reviews of each agency forces government agencies to be transparent and more efficient in the spending of the people's tax dollars. For Ms. Kent, it all comes full circle - a relevant and quality education for all children is critical to America's economic future as well as its people. Bias has no place in our society where children are involved. It is through education in world-class schools, job growth and equity in pay and a massive reduction in crimes of violence against our nation's children, we will emerge in a whole vibrant and inclusive 21st-century society.[9] |
” |
| —Bernadine Kennedy Kent[10] | ||
2015
Kent highlighted the following goals on her campaign website:
| “ | 1. Reduce class sizes and train our teachers to teach through technology by providing classroom assistants that are tech savvy to aid in making education more relevant to an ever-changing world.
2. Offer Equal opportunity for all students to participate in the sciences, the arts, technology, and skill-producing education so that we can return to neighborhood schools for safety, financial reward and sense of community. 3. Eliminate standardized testing as a factor in determining whether a child advances or as a way to grade schools or define the effectiveness of teachers. 4. Utilize the budget to properly foster accountability, gain oversight, and eliminate unnecessary spending as well as fraud, waste, and abuse. 5. Recognize and value those public employees, parents, and community members, who work behind the scenes to help our students succeed.[9] |
” |
| —Bernadine Kennedy Kent's campaign website (2015), [11] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Ohio General Assembly in 2020.
- Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Innovation Ohio — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills affecting working families.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Ohio Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Ohio General Assembly in 2019.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Ohio General Assembly in 2018.
- Innovation Ohio — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills affecting working families.
- Ohio Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills impacting Ohio's business community.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Ohio General Assembly in 2017.
- Ohio Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills impacting Ohio's business community.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Ohio Democrats hope 'boots on the ground' for 2020 elections will end GOP's supermajorities in legislature," December 18, 2019
- ↑ Facebook, "Bernadine Kent," accessed October 15, 2015
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "2016 Official Elections Results," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Columbus City Schools, "Board of Education," accessed July 14, 2015
- ↑ Franklin County, Ohio, "2015 General Election Unofficial Results," November 3, 2015
- ↑ Franklin County Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kent for Ohio, "Main page," accessed February 29, 2016
- ↑ Vote Bernadine Kennedy Kent for Columbus School Board, "Goals," accessed October 15, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kevin Boyce (D) |
Ohio House of Representatives District 25 2016–2020 |
Succeeded by Dontavius Jarrells (D) |
