Election for speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, 2019

Elections in Ohio, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 10 - Nov. 5
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Non-photo ID required
• Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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2020 → ← 2016
2018 Ohio House elections
General	November 6, 2018
Primary	May 8, 2018

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On January 7, 2019, state representatives elected on November 6, 2018, selected Larry Householder (R) to serve as speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2019 to 2020.

Householder, who served as speaker from 2001 to 2004 before returning to the state House in 2016, defeated sitting House Speaker Ryan Smith (R). Smith was elected as speaker in June 2018 to replace Cliff Rosenberger (R), who resigned in April after the FBI opened an investigation into his interactions with lobbyists.

Jeremy Pelzer of The Plain-Dealer described the Smith vs. Householder conflict as being about differences in personality rather than policy. However, labor unions pushed Democrats to support Householder over Smith due to Householder's opposition to right-to-work legislation that would prohibit private sector labor union membership as a condition of employment. Read more about the differences between Smith and Householder below.

Householder received 52 votes of support, more than the 50 votes he needed. Smith received 45 votes. Householder was supported by 26 Republicans and 26 Democrats, while Smith was supported by 34 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

The May 8 Republican primaries (which occurred shortly after Rosenberger's April resignation) were a proxy battle between Householder and Smith supporters. Householder-backed candidates won 15 primaries, while Smith-backed candidates won three. However, four of the Householder candidates were defeated in the November 6 general elections.

Selecting the speaker of the house

Because Republicans had the majority in the chamber at the time of the election, by tradition, they were supposed to select a speaker candidate from within their caucus, with 31 of 61 votes constituting an absolute majority. The entire chamber would then vote for speaker on the House floor and a successful candidate would need to win a majority of the whole chamber, 50 of 99 votes if all members were present and voting.

In the June 6 election where Smith replaced Rosenberger as speaker, the interim speaker, Kirk Schuring (R), required that the Republican caucus' chosen candidate receive more than 50 Republican votes to guarantee she or he would win the full chamber vote. Because no caucus candidate reached 50 votes, Smith, Jim Hughes (R), and Andy Thompson (R) all participated in the full chamber vote alongside House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn (D). On the House floor, there were 11 rounds of voting. Under Ohio state law, the vote requirement changed from a majority to a plurality after 10 rounds of voting, allowing Smith to win with 44 votes. Householder chose not to run in the election.

As the longest-serving member of the majority party, state Rep. Jim Butler (R) (an ally of Larry Householder) was in charge of setting the Republican caucus vote for the January 2019 speaker election. As of November 27, he had not set a date and said, “it is clear that neither candidate has the required 50 votes.”

On December 20, state Rep. James Hoops (R) (an ally of Ryan Smith) sent a letter to the House GOP caucus imploring Butler to hold a vote.

On December 26, WOSU reported that Smith allies in the House leadership (including Speaker Pro Tem Kirk Schuring) were planning to hold the informal leadership vote on December 27. They argued that Butler's position of Dean of the House was not enshrined in state law and that because he was not following precedent in calling for a vote, they could hold a vote without him. Butler said he was that only one who could legitimately call for a vote and that any vote called by Schuring would be a "campaign event" to "support Ryan Smith."

On December 27, 34 House Republicans voted to support of Smith as the next speaker. Twenty-six Republicans, including Householder, did not attend the vote (one seat became vacant after Brian Hill was appointed to the Ohio Senate). After the vote was held, Smith said, "“Out of the 26 remaining, I hope there’s supporters in there that didn’t make the vote today, and there are other people who have said to me that if you have the majority behind you, I’m not going to fight the will of the caucus.”

Speaking of Butler's decision to not hold a vote, Smith said, “We moved forward because we needed to. This should have happened six weeks ago. We have tried to be patient in the caucus to allow this to play out, but we can’t go into Jan. 7 not knowing who has the majority of votes.”

Butler, who did not attend the vote, released the following statement: “As I said in my earlier statement, the meeting today was nothing more than a Ryan Smith campaign event. To describe an illegitimate meeting of 34 people as anything else is quite a stretch when it takes 50 votes of the 99-member House to become speaker. The actual vote for the next speaker of the House with all 99 representatives present will take place on Jan. 7th.”

On January 4, 2019, Jeremy Pelzer reported that Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn withdrew from the speaker's race after 20 of the 38 incoming Democrats said they would vote for Householder for speaker at an internal caucus meeting. Seven Democrats said they would support Smith and eight said they would support Strahorn. According to Pelzer, "In recent weeks, Householder and his allies have worked to win over incoming Democrats; labor groups, especially, have pushed hard for Democratic lawmakers to support the Perry County Republican on the grounds that he has vowed not to support anti-union initiatives such as 'right-to-work,' which would prohibit private-sector labor union membership as a condition of employment."

On January 7, Pelzer reported that Householder told Democrats that, if elected speaker, he would "name Democratic and Republican co-chairs for some House subcommittees that deal with energy generation, education funding, and criminal justice reform, among other things...[and] narrow Republicans’ majority on all standing committees to a roughly 60-40 ratio."

Householder was elected speaker on January 7 with 52 votes of support, 26 from Republicans and 26 from Democrats. Smith received 45 votes of support, 34 from Republicans and 11 from Democrats.

Following the vote, Householder gave a speech where he said he would take a bipartisan approach during the session. He also said he would hire a professional HR representative for the House, televise House committee hearings, not allow committee amendments to be tabled, and create standing committees on education, criminal justice, and energy with Democratic and Republican co-chairs.

26 Republicans voted for Householder:

• Niraj Antani (i)
• Brian Baldridge
• John Becker (i)
• James Butler (i)
• Jamie Callender
• Sara Carruthers
• Jon Cross
• Anthony DeVitis (i)
• Jay Edwards (i)
• Brett Hudson Hillyer
• Larry Householder (i)
• Don Jones
• Kris Jordan
• Don Manning
• Derek Merrin (i)
• Scott Oelslager
• Phil Plummer
• Jena Powell
• Tracy Richardson
• Bill Roemer
• Tim Schaffer (i)
• Jeffrey Todd Smith (i)
• Nino Vitale (i)
• Scott Wiggam (i)
• Shane Wilkin
• Paul Zeltwanger (i)

26 Democrats voted for Householder:

• Kristin Boggs (i)
• Janine Boyd (i)
• Juanita Brent
• Richard Brown (i)
• Jack Cera (i)
• Erica Crawley
• Jeff Crossman
• Sedrick Denson
• Tavia Galonski (i)
• Paula Hicks-Hudson
• Glenn Holmes (i)
• Stephanie Howse (i)
• David Leland (i)
• Michele Lepore-Hagan (i)
• Adam Miller (i)
• Michael O'Brien (i)
• Phil Robinson
• Michael Sheehy (i)
• Michael Skindell
• Kent Smith (i)
• Lisa Sobecki
• Bride Rose Sweeney
• Emilia Sykes (i)
• Terrence Upchurch
• Casey Weinstein
• Thomas West (i)

Speaker candidate profiles

Larry Householder

Larry Householder was first elected to represent State House District 72 in 2016 and was prevented by term limits from seeking re-election in 2024. He previously served in the state House from 1997 to 2004 and was the speaker of the House from 2001 to 2004. In 2006, he was elected to serve in the Perry County auditor's office for two years.

Before and after his first stint in the state House, Householder operated an insurance agency. He graduated from Ohio University.

Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith was elected as the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives in June 2018, taking over from Cliff Rosenberger (R). Prior to becoming speaker, Smith served as chairman of the House Finance Committee. He was first elected to represent State House District 93 in 2012 and was prevented by term limits from seeking re-election in 2020.

Before coming to the state house, Smith worked as a financial advisor. He earned his B.S. in Finance from Ohio State University in 1995.

Differences between Householder and Smith

Personality

Jeremy Pelzer of The Plain-Dealer described the conflict this way: "Smith and Householder are both conservative Republicans who don’t differ much ideologically. Rather, this is a battle of personalities."

He wrote the following descriptions of the candidates:

• "Smith, a tall, boyish-faced financial adviser from Gallia County, is soft-spoken with a slight Southern drawl. Supporters say he’s inclusive and a good listener; critics paint him as unprepared and note he’s term-limited in 2020."

• "Householder, a burly, self-assertive former speaker from Perry County, is seen by his allies as a leader who can push through a bolder legislative agenda and by his critics as a scandal-prone, power-hungry political mastermind."

A May 2017 article in Columbus Monthly also contained descriptions of the candidates' leadership styles:

Smith:

• Then-Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, a Smith supporter, said, “Ryan has a very inclusive leadership style that is very straightforward and honest about what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it.”

• Smith said the following when asked about the qualities that would make him a good speaker: “Any speaker needs to be a good communicator, a good listener, have integrity and be honest.”

Householder:

• About Householder, lobbyist Neil Clark said, “He works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The man is never off. He had no problem having conference calls at 3 o’clock in the morning. He went to bed late and got up early. If they think they’re going to run over him in his aspirations to be speaker, they’re mistaken, because he takes it very seriously.”

• State Rep. Bill Seitz said, “[Householder] was far more democratic—and I mean in a small-d way—with his caucus and far more personally engaged with members of his caucus than most of the other leaders I have known.”

• Dan Williamson, the Columbus Monthly author, said, "Passionate about the legislative process, Householder was a hands-on lawmaker and cunning tactician. Members of his House Republican Caucus felt like they were part of something bigger than themselves; they were part of a family, with Householder as its patriarch. He demanded intense loyalty, but—as corny as it sounds—he also made them feel loved."

Policy

Labor unions

On December 12, 2018, Jeremy Pelzer of the Plain Dealer reported that Householder's speakership bid was receiving support from labor unions. Pelzer wrote, "The reason, according to union officials, is that Householder – unlike Smith – has said he would not support anti-union measures that have repeatedly popped up in the Republican-dominated legislature. That includes so-called 'right to work' legislation to prohibit private-sector labor union membership as a condition of employment and anti-collective bargaining bills such as Senate Bill 5, which was repealed by voters in 2011 amid a firestorm of criticism."

Supporters in primaries

During the May 8, 2018, Republican primaries preceding the speakership vote, Smith had the support of the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee (OHROC), a campaign arm of the state party, and Ginni Ragan, a donor affiliated with Cliff Rosenberger. He also had the implicit support of two satellite groups: the Honors and Principles PAC and the Conservative Alliance PAC (The Conservative Alliance PAC was also involved in the 2018 Oklahoma state House primaries. Read more here.)

Householder was supported by restauranteur Tony George (a pro-Donald Trump donor), FirstEnergy Corp., and a satellite group called the Growth and Opportunity PAC. Labor unions also supported Householder as he advocated bringing union workers into the Republican Party under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Commentary on the speaker's race

This section includes quotes and commentary on the speaker's race from persons or organizations involved in Ohio politics.

• "Householder doesn’t have the strength within the Republican Party as he once did, and the inside-Statehouse wisdom is that he won’t beat Smith...Householder seems to be a somewhat divisive figure among Republicans these days, and Smith seems to have done a good job during his six months as speaker. Hopefully, Republicans can lay aside their differences and make the right choice before another messy process is required." - The Cresent News editorial board on December 11, 2018

• "The [Nov. 6] election put some dents in Householder’s support, though he also may have picked up a vote via a surprise Republican flip of a seat in Mahoning County. He appears to still have enough backing to make a run, potentially creating another messy leadership vote." - Jim Siegel of The Columbus Dispatch on November 7, 2018

• “[The Householder vs. Smith battle] is not good for the institution. It’s not good for the people of Ohio, and it’s dysfunctional.” - Stu Harris, Republican candidate for House District 21, on October 26, 2018

Noteworthy events

Rosenberger resigns and is replaced by Smith

In April 2018, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger (R) resigned due to an FBI investigation into his relationships with lobbyists and overseas travel. Rosenberger denied that he engaged in any wrongdoing, but he said he would step down due to the nature of the inquiry.

Rosenberger was unable to run for re-election in 2018 due to term limits. The race for the 2019-2020 speakership between Smith and Householder was already underway, and Rosenberger supported Smith in the contest.

State Rep. Kirk Schuring, the number two Republican in the state House leadership, took over from Rosenberger until a new speaker could be elected. Smith, Dorothy Pelanda (R), and Andy Thompson (R), but not Householder, announced they would run for the speakership.

When asked about his potential run by the Plain-Dealer, Thompson said, "Because of the warring parties out there, you need someone who is not attached too much to the one side or the other. And I'm not attached to either side."

In a Republican caucus election on May 15, Smith received the most votes, but he did not eclipse 50, which Schuring said was the number required for a new speaker to be seated.

On June 6, Smith was elected as speaker of the house. He faced Thompson, Jim Hughes (R), and House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn (D) in 11 rounds of voting on the House floor (after 10 rounds of voting, the threshold moved from a majority of those present to a plurality). In the final round of voting, Smith received 44 votes, Strahorn received 28 votes, Thompson received 13 votes, and Hughes received seven. According to WOSU, Householder supporters split between Thompson and Hughes, while Democrats largely consolidated behind Strahorn.

2018 Republican primaries

See also: Ohio state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

The Republican state house primaries on May 8, 2018, were a proxy battle between Householder and Smith, as each supported candidates they believed would support them in the 2019 speaker's race. In the 20 proxy battles identified by Ballotpedia, Householder candidates won 15, Smith candidates won three, and candidates affiliated with neither won two. In the general elections, 11 of the 15 Householder candidates won while all three Smith candidates and both unaffiliated candidates won.

Primary matchups

Factional alliances in the Ohio House of Representatives Republican primaries
District	Candidate	Householder or Smith	Primary result	General election result
District 6
	Michael Canty	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Jim Trakas	Householder	Won	Lost
District 16
	State Rep. Dave Greenspan	Smith	Won	Won
	Monique Jonevieve Boyd	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 19
	Tim Barhorst	Householder	Won	Lost
	Dave Ferguson	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Chris Curry	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 21
	Stu Harris	Householder	Won	Lost
	Doug Smith	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 37
	Mike Rasor	Householder	Won	Lost
	Craig Shubert	Unknown	Lost	N/A
	Dexter Vaughan	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 43
	Kenneth Henning	Householder	Lost	N/A
	Jeffrey Todd Smith	Unknown	Won	Won
District 47
	State Rep. Derek Merrin	Householder	Won	Won
	Barbara Lang	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 50
	Josh Hagan	Householder	Lost	N/A
	Reggie Stoltzfus	Smith	Won	Won
District 51
	Sara Carruthers	Householder	Won	Won
	State Rep. Wes Retherford	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Greg Jolivette	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 61
	Jamie Callender	Householder	Won	Won
	John Plecnik	Smith	Lost	N/A
District 67
	Kris Jordan	Householder	Won	Won
	Denise Martin	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Brian Lorenz	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 72
	Larry Householder	Householder	Won	Won
	Kevin Black	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 80
	Jena Powell	Householder	Won	Won
	John O'Brien	Smith	Lost	N/A
	J.D. Winteregg	Unknown	Lost	N/A
	George Lovett	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 81
	State Rep. James Hoops	Smith	Won	Won
	Thomas Liebrecht	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 83
	Jon Cross	Householder	Won	Won
	Cheryl Buckland	Smith	Lost	N/A
District 84
	Travis Faber	Householder	Lost	N/A
	Aaron Heilers	Unaffiliated	Lost	N/A
	Susan Manchester	Unknown	Won	Won
District 86
	Tracy Richardson	Householder	Won	Won
	Robert Matthew Sammons	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 90
	Brian Baldridge	Householder	Won	Won
	Gina Collinsworth	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Scottie Powell	Unknown	Lost	N/A
	Justin Pizzulli	Unknown	Lost	N/A
District 91
	Beth Ellis	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Shane Wilkin	Householder	Won	Won
District 98
	Shane Gunnoe	Smith	Lost	N/A
	Brett Hudson Hillyer	Householder	Won	Won
	Greg Ress	Unknown	Lost	N/A
	Mark Behrendt	Unknown	Lost	N/A
	Larry Hawthorne	Unknown	Lost	N/A

General election results

See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2018

Householder speakership (2001-2004)

Householder first served as speaker from 2001 to 2004. Heading into the 2000 elections, he was not in line for leadership as retiring-Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, a moderate Republican, had tapped fellow moderate Bill Harris to replace her. Householder gained the support of the rural and socially conservative wing of the party and funded primary challengers running against Harris-aligned candidates. Enough of his primary candidates won and he was elected speaker for the 2001 legislative session.

As speaker, Householder presided over the passage of a concealed carry law, a ban on same-sex civil unions, increased funding for food banks, a new school funding formula, and an increased gasoline tax to pay for infrastructure projects.

In 2004, an anonymous memo surfaced claiming Householder was involved in laundering campaign contributions. According to Columbus Monthly, the subsequent investigations into Householder's activities possibly contributed to his decision to forego a run for statewide office in 2006 after term-limits ended his tenure in the state House in 2004.

See also

• Ohio state legislative Republican primaries, 2018
• Ohio House of Representatives
• State Speaker of the House