Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
John Russell (Ohio)
John Russell was a 2018 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 12th Congressional District of Ohio. Russell was also a 2018 Democratic special election candidate for the same seat.[1]
Russell was a 2016 Democratic candidate for District 68 of the Ohio House of Representatives.[2] Of his bid for office Russell stated: "I'm running because people need better chances to earn money. I've learned from owning a business that jobs come from customers. So, we all have a stake in each other, and making our chances better."[3]
Biography
Russell received his B.S. in agricultural science from Cornell University in 2012. He is the owner/operator of Fall Creek Farm in Galena, OH.[3]
Elections
2018
Ohio's 12th Congressional District regular election
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Ohio District 12
Incumbent Troy Balderson defeated Danny O'Connor and Joe Manchik in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Troy Balderson (R) | 51.4 | 175,677 |
 | Danny O'Connor (D) | 47.2 | 161,251 | |
 | Joe Manchik (G)  | 1.4 | 4,718 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 341,647 (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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jonathan Veley (Independent)
- Matthew Brendan O'Connor (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Danny O'Connor | 40.5 | 18,211 |
 | John Russell | 16.3 | 7,310 | |
 | Zach Scott | 16.1 | 7,236 | |
 | Jackie Patton | 14.0 | 6,299 | |
 | Ed Albertson | 7.9 | 3,531 | |
 | Doug Wilson | 3.7 | 1,683 | |
 | John Peters | 1.5 | 670 | |
| Total votes: 44,940 | |||
| = 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
- Crystal Lett (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Troy Balderson | 28.7 | 19,552 |
 | Melanie Leneghan | 27.6 | 18,777 | |
 | Tim Kane | 16.9 | 11,491 | |
| Kevin Bacon | 14.3 | 9,711 | ||
 | Carol O'Brien | 6.5 | 4,415 | |
 | Jon Halverstadt | 1.7 | 1,130 | |
 | Mick Shoemaker Jr. | 1.2 | 802 | |
 | Lawrence Cohen | 1.2 | 798 | |
 | Pat Manley | 1.1 | 741 | |
 | John Adams | 0.9 | 618 | |
| Total votes: 68,035 | |||
| = 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
- Brandon Grisez (R)
- Gary Chiero (R)
Green primary election
Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
Joe Manchik advanced from the Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Manchik | 100.0 | 181 |
| Total votes: 181 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election
See also: Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election, 2018
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Ohio District 12
Troy Balderson defeated Danny O'Connor and Joe Manchik in the special general election for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Troy Balderson (R) | 50.1 | 104,328 |
| Danny O'Connor (D) | 49.3 | 102,648 | |
| Joe Manchik (G) | 0.6 | 1,165 | |
| Total votes: 208,141 | |||
| = 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
- Jonathan Veley (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Danny O'Connor | 40.9 | 18,422 |
| Zach Scott | 16.8 | 7,544 | |
| John Russell | 16.7 | 7,515 | |
| Jackie Patton | 13.6 | 6,111 | |
| Ed Albertson | 8.1 | 3,638 | |
| Doug Wilson | 3.9 | 1,771 | |
| Total votes: 45,001 | |||
| = 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
- Crystal Lett (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Troy Balderson | 29.2 | 20,101 |
| Melanie Leneghan | 28.3 | 19,437 | |
| Tim Kane | 17.1 | 11,743 | |
| Kevin Bacon | 14.3 | 9,819 | ||
| Carol O'Brien | 6.4 | 4,406 | |
| Jon Halverstadt | 1.5 | 998 | |
| Lawrence Cohen | 1.2 | 807 | |
| Mick Shoemaker Jr. | 1.1 | 750 | |
| Pat Manley | 1.1 | 729 | |
| Total votes: 68,790 | |||
| = 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
- Gary Chiero (R)
- Brandon Grisez (R)
Green primary election
Special Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12
Joe Manchik advanced from the special Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Manchik | 100.0 | 197 |
| Total votes: 197 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 Margaret Ruhl (R) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.
Rick Carfagna defeated John Russell in the Ohio House of Representatives District 68 general election.[4]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 68 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Rick Carfagna |
67.56% | 41,321 | |
| Democratic | John Russell | 32.44% | 19,838 | |
| Total Votes | 61,159 | |||
| Source: Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
John Russell ran unopposed in the Ohio House of Representatives District 68 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 68, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Russell (unopposed) |
100.00% | 6,400 | |
| Total Votes | 6,400 | |||
Rick Carfagna defeated Beth Lear, Jason Rogers, Patrick Quinn and W. Myles Bancroft defeated in the Ohio House of Representatives District 68 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 68, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Rick Carfagna |
42.69% | 11,176 | |
| Republican | Beth Lear | 34.43% | 9,014 | |
| Republican | Jason Rogers | 14.82% | 3,879 | |
| Republican | Patrick Quinn | 6.15% | 1,610 | |
| Republican | W. Myles Bancroft | 1.92% | 502 | |
| Total Votes | 26,181 | |||
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
John Russell participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 9, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and John Russell's responses follow below.[7]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Reducing Income Inequality by Investing in Jobs and Raising the Minimum Wage 2) Fight for a Universal Single-Payer Healthcare System |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Our public policies need to promote systems that expand rights opportunities for regular working people. I grew up in a small manufacturing town that was left behind years ago. When the jobs left; my community lost healthcare, property values fell, and opioids crept in and claimed childhood friends. Instead of crafting laws that benefit those with enough money to buy a congressman, I want to fight for policies that empower those on the outside of power and give them the tools to get ahead.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[9]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. John Russell answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
| “ | Senator Sherrod Brown. He keeps his head down and works on policies that aren't in the headlines but benefit working people. He stays true to what he believes in, even if it's not the most popular opinion.[9] | ” |
| “ | The Grapes of Wrath. It illustrates what happens when we don't ensure that people have basic dignity through a job, and it shows the real consequences of unchecked capitalism. We were at our weakest during that era, and we were strongest when we chose to tackle the systemic problems of our economy head on through investment and labor laws.[9] | ” |
| “ | First, being willing to show up in places that don't agree with you and having a conversation. Secondly, the integrity to stick by what you believe in even if your party disagrees with you. And finally, empathy. The decisions you make as an elected official effect the lives of people that don't have the time or resources to influence laws on their own. It's important to know that people are more than simple statistics on poverty and health; that they are real people facing real problems that need to be solved.[9] | ” |
| “ | When I was 15, I started farming 15 acres of corn and sunflowers for my neighbor.[9] | ” |
| “ | In high school, on the way home, I ran over a raccoon (longways). My date was screaming bloody murder, but there was nothing I could do for it.[9] | ” |
| “ | Not necessarily. It's certainly helpful to have experience navigating a bureaucracy, but that's knowledge that can be filled with staffing and connections. As a representative, what you consider when you cast your vote is what makes the most impact. Whether you prioritize the impact on your constituents or your donors is what will define how effective you will be.[9] | ” |
See also
- Ohio's 12th Congressional District election, 2018
- Ohio House of Representatives
- Ohio House of Representatives District 68
- Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Ohio State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2018 Primary Candidates (State & District)," accessed May 7, 2018
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on March 15, 2016
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "2016 Official Elections Results," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "John Russell's responses," April 9, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
