Betsy Rader

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Betsy Rader

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

The Ohio State University, 1982-08

Law

Yale Law School, 1986-06

Personal

Birthplace

Coshocton, Ohio

Religion

United Church of Christ

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Betsy Rader (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio State Senate to represent District 18. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Rader completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Rader studied at Ohio State University and Yale Law School.

Elections

2020

See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Ohio State Senate District 18

Jerry Cirino defeated Betsy Rader in the general election for Ohio State Senate District 18 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Cirino (R)	60.5	115,754
		Betsy Rader (D)	39.5	75,535

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 191,289
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 18

Betsy Rader advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 18 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Betsy Rader	100.0	23,183

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,183
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 18

Jerry Cirino advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 18 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Cirino	100.0	23,690

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,690
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Ohio's 14th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 14

Incumbent David Joyce defeated Betsy Rader in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 14 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Joyce (R)	55.2	169,809
		Betsy Rader (D)	44.8	137,549

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 307,358 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Macko (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 14

Betsy Rader advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 14 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Betsy Rader	100.0	36,077

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 36,077
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 14

Incumbent David Joyce advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 14 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Joyce	100.0	50,317

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 50,317
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matt Lynch (R)
• Evan Carp (R)

Green primary election

No Green candidates ran in the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Adam Hickey (G)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Betsy Rader completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rader's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Appalachian Ohio, and my mom was a divorced single mother of four who struggled to make ends meet with low wage jobs. I worked my way through The Ohio State University and Yale Law School, and have lived in my community in Russell Township in Northeast Ohio for over 20 years. I have advocated for causes big and small throughout my life, running my county's child advocacy program for abused children, working as Senior Counsel for the Cleveland Clinic, and serving with the Innovation Center at Medicare and Medicaid to improve health care delivery. I've served as an executive for growing small businesses. Now I'm an employment lawyer with my own small business, standing up for workers' rights. My husband and I went to public schools, as did our three children, and good public schools are critical to making sure America remains a land of opportunity for all. I have had a spinal fusion and know that affordable health care and protection for pre-existing conditions is critical for everyone's quality of life. I've represented people who work hard but can't make ends meet, and who have been treated unfairly in the workplace, and I know that people are willing to work hard and just want a fair shake. I've served on the Board of the Geauga Park Foundation and served on my township's zoning commission, and I know that people in my community value green space, clean air and clean water, and put a high priority on Lake Erie as a resource.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will stand up for affordable health care, protection for pre-existing conditions, and bringing down prescription drug costs.
• I will stand up for children, including restructuring funding for public education in Ohio so that it is equitable and adequate to provide a good education to every child.
• I will stand up for fair elections and fight corruption, including getting rid of gerrymandering and getting big special interest money out of politics.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ohio legislators must prioritize what matters to people rather than catering to the special interest lobbies. It is critical to implement campaign finance reform and get rid of gerrymandering so that elected officials are accountable to their constituents. To lead the way, I am not taking any corporate PAC money and have pledged not to become a lobbyist after serving in the legislature.

Ohio's education funding system was held unconstitutional over two decades ago. Funding our public schools adequately must be a top policy priority. We also must fund and improve children's services and address the foster care crisis to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

Ohio's average life expectancy is declining, we have the third highest rate of children who are uninsured, and one of the highest rates of drug overdose deaths. The health of our people must be a top priority, and we must address issues like the costs of prescription drugs and protection for pre-existing conditions.

Environmental policy in this state must be based on science and the public interest, not the desires of special interest lobbies. We must respect and restore Home Rule and oppose legislation that, e.g., would stop cities from banning plastic bags.

Ohio must pass the Fairness Act, ensure that every person in this state has equal rights, and protect women's reproductive freedoms.

Hard work should be respected and people should earn a living wage and have workplace rights.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My political philosophy is demonstrated in an Op Ed that I wrote, which was published in the Washington Post and named one of their "most moving pieces" in 2017. They captioned it, "I was born in poverty in Appalachia. 'Hillbilly Elegy' doesn't speak for me." ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-grew-up-in-poverty-in-appalachia-jd-vances-hillbilly-elegy-doesnt-speak-for-me/2017/08/30/734abb38-891d-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html )

In this piece, I spoke about the importance of social programs like public education in helping me and others to succeed, and the beneficial role that government can play in people's lives by providing opportunity. I believe that we all benefit from working together as a community and that no one just pulls themselves up by their bootstraps. Equality of opportunity inspires people to work hard because they feel they have a fair shot to improve their lives, and it is a defining characteristic of American culture that has led to our greatness as a nation.

Equality of opportunity should extend to the ability to have our voices represented in government, and that is why I am adamant about campaign finance reform, fair districts and fair elections.

Indeed, equality is the first "truth" set forth in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a hard worker and have often been characterized as someone who "gets things done." I also work well within teams and enjoy bringing people together and collaborating to reach goals. I am altruistic and driven not by financial gain but rather by a desire to help people and improve our community and our state. I am ethical and will stand up for what is right. I am thoughtful and intelligent, and will competently evaluate and draft laws. Throughout my life, I have dedicated my time to volunteerism and public service, and I will be a public servant in the role of state senator.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was delivering newspapers when I was 11 years old, and I delivered papers for about three years in order to pay for things like school supplies and my violin lessons. It was a demanding job since I had to walk in all sorts of weather and customers were very particular about receiving the paper on time and in the specific location where they wanted it to be placed. I even got attacked by a customer's dog once.

I also learned about how low wage workers can be mistreated since the newspaper company required even an 11 year old to pay for all the papers myself and accept the risk of the customers not paying for the papers. I would have to go to each customer's house every week to ask them to pay me, and if they didn't pay, I was the one who lost money. Every couple of months, my mom would get fed up and go around with me to help me with the deadbeats, but some never did pay.

What is your favorite book? Why?

To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book because in addition to being beautifully written, it addresses important themes of injustice and inspires me as an attorney and as a person to stand up for what is right.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that a wide variety of experiences can prepare someone well for service in the legislature. Indeed, a diversity of backgrounds and experiences creates a better and more representative legislative body. For instance, by electing teachers to the state legislature, you gain their knowledge of children, education and school funding. By electing healthcare providers, you gain their knowledge of the healthcare system and the challenges to healthcare delivery and funding. By electing attorneys, you gain their knowledge of the law and the justice system. The list goes on. Therefore, while previous experience in government or politics can certainly be useful and helpful, I do not think it is necessary.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes, I believe it's not just beneficial but necessary to build relationships with other legislators. A legislative body is just that - a body of people who must be able to work together in order to create policy and legislation that will benefit the public as a whole. Different perspectives from legislators representing different parts of the state will help to create better ideas and strategies for moving Ohio into the future. When people have good personal relationships, they can more easily move past differences of opinion to come to mutually acceptable resolutions, and so it's important for our legislators to develop those relationships in order to arrive at bipartisan agreements.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I hear many stories from people who cannot afford their health care costs, especially prescription drugs. One particular story was from a woman I first met when she and her husband were retired but financially secure after a lifetime of saving. However, when I spoke to her later, her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and the costs of his treatments including the chemotherapy costs were draining their life savings. She was concerned that they would become bankrupt. Hardworking people should not be one medical emergency away from bankruptcy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

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External links

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Ohio State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert McColley

Minority Leader:Nickie Antonio

Senators

District 1

Robert McColley (R)

District 2

Theresa Gavarone (R)

District 3

Michele Reynolds (R)

District 4

George Lang (R)

District 5

Stephen Huffman (R)

District 6

Willis Blackshear (D)

District 7

Steve Wilson (R)

District 8

Louis Blessing (R)

District 9

Catherine Ingram (D)

District 10

Kyle Koehler (R)

District 11

Paula Hicks-Hudson (D)

District 12

Susan Manchester (R)

District 13

Nathan Manning (R)

District 14

Terry Johnson (R)

District 15

Hearcel Craig (D)

District 16

Beth Liston (D)

District 17

Shane Wilkin (R)

District 18

Jerry Cirino (R)

District 19

Andrew Brenner (R)

District 20

Tim Schaffer (R)

District 21

Kent Smith (D)

District 22

Mark Romanchuk (R)

District 23

Nickie Antonio (D)

District 24

Thomas Patton (R)

District 25

William DeMora (D)

District 26

Bill Reineke (R)

District 27

Kristina Roegner (R)

District 28

Casey Weinstein (D)

District 29

Jane Timken (R)

District 30

Brian Chavez (R)

District 31

Al Landis (R)

District 32

Sandra O'Brien (R)

District 33

Alessandro Cutrona (R)

Republican Party (24)

Democratic Party (9)