Don Leonard
Don Leonard (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio's 15th Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on May 5, 2026.[source]
Leonard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Don Leonard earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in regional development from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University. His career experience includes working as a professor of city and regional planning at The Ohio State University. Leonard has also served in the U.S. Peace Corps in South America.[1][2]
Elections
2026
See also: Ohio's 15th Congressional District election, 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.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15
Don Leonard and Adam Miller are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15 on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Don Leonard  | |
 | Adam Miller | |
| ||||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15
Incumbent Mike Carey and Samuel Ronan are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15 on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Carey | |
 | Samuel Ronan | |
| ||||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Evan Pargeter (R)
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15
Brennan Barrington is running in the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Ohio District 15 on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Brennan Barrington | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Don Leonard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leonard's responses.
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Against all odds, I’ve lived my version of the American Dream. After college, I spent two years with the U.S. Peace Corps in South America. After receiving a doctorate in government from Cornell University, I have been blessed to serve as a professor of city and regional planning at The Ohio State University.
My daughter was born at OSU Hospital on a frigid night in January of 2025. For three precious weeks I shut out the outside world and focused on caring for my wife and rocking my daughter to sleep.
By the time I returned to my classroom, the world was almost unrecognizable. State and federal lawmakers were attacking free thought on college campuses. Trump’s tariff war was threatening to drive up prices, crash the supply chain, and wipe out everyone’s retirement savings. Meanwhile, masked federal agents were abducting legal residents off of American streets. All while the courts and Congress looked the other way.
My wife and I looked at our newborn baby and wondered what kind of country she was going to grow up in.
We decided we had to do something.- ONE JOB SHOULD BE ENOUGH:
The hard-working families of Central Ohio deserve better than an economy where it takes two or three jobs just to get by.
For the past 45 years, Reagan Republicans and more than a few Reagan-lite Democrats have been inflicting trickle-down economics on Ohio's cities and towns. They've cut government funding for schools, hospitals, and social safety nets. They've cut trade deals that leave blue-collar workers, unions, and entire communities powerless in the face of globalization. And they've cut taxes for billionaires and corporations on Wall Street while leaving Main Street high and dry. - Congress can put $1000/mo back in the pockets of working families by tackling the big-ticket items that drain working families' finances most: -HEALTHCARE: We must cut the out-of-pocket cost of private health insurance in half while at the same time ensuring that all Americans have access to a public option for their health insurance. -HOME OWNERSHIP: Every working family should be able to afford to buy a home. That begins with a 21st century GI Bill for starter home construction. -UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE: Childcare should not cost families a second mortgage. Expand head start and provide subsidies for private care. -AFFORDABLE AGING: No-one should struggle financially because they choose to stay home to care for a family member.
- WE'VE GOT TO GET THE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS AND BACK IN THE POCKETS OF WORKING FAMILIES: The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC represents a complete betrayal of America's founding principles. The decision created the dark-money pathway that allowed an unelected billionaire named Elon Musk to contribute more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's re-election campaign in 2024. While it is impossible to know for certain whether Trump's election depended upon these funds, we know that Musk focused on swing states like Pennsylvania and paid campaign workers $47 per registered voter located. We also know that, once in office, Trump gave Musk unprecedented authority to cut critical government programs.
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.
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
