Ohio state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

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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2018 Ohio General Assembly elections
General	November 6, 2018
Primary	May 8, 2018

2018 elections
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Battle lines were drawn in Ohio’s 2018 state House primaries, with the next speakership at stake.

The two candidates for speaker — Finance Committee Chairman Ryan Smith and former House Speaker Larry Householder — supported opposing candidates in the primaries because they expect their support in the January 2019 speaker's race.

Twenty-nine state House primaries were contested, giving both Smith and Householder opportunities to campaign for their preferred primary candidates.

Householder-aligned candidates won 15 primaries and Smith-aligned candidates won three.

Smith's speakership bid had the backing of some of Ohio’s elected Republican leaders, including recently departed House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. Rosenberger’s wing of the Ohio Republican Party included moderates such as Gov. John Kasich, former state House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, and wealthy activist Ginni Ragan.

Householder was considered the outsider in this conflict. After wrestling control of the speakership away from Davidson’s preferred successor in 2001, he controlled the Republican conference through 2004 by maintaining an alliance with the party’s socially conservative wing and focusing much of his energy on fundraising.

He departed office in 2005 in the face of ethical controversies but returned in 2016 as Donald Trump rose to the helm of the Republican Party. His 2019 speakership bid was supported by pro-Trump donors such as restaurateur Tony George, labor unions, and energy companies connected to coal mining.

Outside groups lined up behind the Smith and Householder camps and paid for ads in 15 Republican primaries as of late April. The Honor and Principles PAC and the Conservative Alliance PAC targeted Householder candidates; the Growth and Opportunity PAC opposed Smith candidates.

A new front in the battle opened in April when Rosenberger resigned due to an FBI investigation into his activities with lobbyists. State Rep. Kirk Schuring was set to serve as interim speaker until a new leader could be elected. On June 5, Smith was elected as the temporary speaker of the house.

To read more about the Smith vs. Householder conflict and the Rosenberger resignation, click here.

Overall, 33 primaries (29 state House and four state Senate) were held May 8, and 15 of them featured challenges against incumbents.

For information about the Democratic primary elections in Ohio, click here.

The general election was on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was February 7, 2018. In the state Senate, 17 of 33 seats were up for election. In the state House, all 99 seats were up for election.

As of April 2018, Ohio was one of 26 Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta is a term used to describe a single-party government where one political party holds the governor's office and a majority in both chambers of the state legislature. To find out more about state government trifectas, click here.

Reaction to outcome

• State Rep. Ryan Smith (R): "I still feel confident I’ve got a tremendous amount of votes to get across the finish line [for the May 15 election]. The caucus knows who I am, what I’m about and how hard I work...They spent a tremendous amount of money on negative campaigns, which clearly proved effective."
• Cleveland Plain-Dealer: "Smith likely was wounded by his ties with Cliff Rosenberger, who resigned as Ohio house speaker in April after revelations that the FBI was looking into international travel he'd taken with lobbyists...State lawmakers are supposed to meet on May 15 to pick someone to serve as speaker for the rest of the year. Tuesday's election improved Householder's odds."
• Former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges: "I’ve seen this act before. Larry Householder effectively stormed the castle about 18 years ago. I watched him and in many cases helped him do that all those years back and he hasn’t changed. He’s still a machine. And his political operation in Tuesday’s primary was incredibly impressive. That’s a very powerful message then to send to the remainder of the current caucus to say hey, it’s going to be me come January so maybe you might want to think about getting on board now.”
• State Rep. David Leland (D): "Those people who got elected for Team Householder still have to win the election in November and so if they don’t win in November, the fact that they won primaries on May 8th is irrelevant. So we are hoping the Democrats will win a number of those seats and we will have new Democratic members in the House."

Battleground races

Ballotpedia identified battleground races in the 2018 Ohio state legislative Republican primary elections.

The battleground races we identified mostly involved conflict between Householder- and Smith-backed candidates. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "many, if not all, of the...House GOP primary races this year have become proxy battles in the war for the House speaker's gavel in 2019."

Householder-aligned candidates won 14 primaries and Smith-aligned candidates won three. The race in District 98 was too close to call.

Overview of Householder vs. Smith races

This chart contains all races where a Householder- or Smith-aligned candidate was identified.

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

House battleground races

House District 6

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup between candidates supported by House speaker candidates Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The matchup was between businessman Michael Canty (Smith-aligned) and former state Rep. Jim Trakas (Householder-aligned).

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 6

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Trakas	57.0	6,070
		Michael Canty	43.0	4,581

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,651
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House District 16

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup involving a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Ryan Smith. The matchup was between incumbent state Rep. David Greenspan (Smith aligned) and Monique Jonevieve Boyd. Restaurateur Tony George, who aligned with Larry Householder, previously said that he was recruiting a candidate for the race.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 16

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Greenspan	88.4	8,187
	Submit photo	Monique Jonevieve Boyd	11.6	1,076

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 9,263
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 19

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup between candidates supported by House speaker candidates Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The matchup was between incumbent Tim Barhorst (Householder-aligned) and Dave Ferguson (Smith-aligned). Chris Curry also filed to run.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 19

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Barhorst	53.3	4,893
	Submit photo	Dave Ferguson	39.5	3,621
	Submit photo	Chris Curry	7.2	660

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 9,174
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House District 21

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Larry Householder. Stu Harris received campaign donations from the pro-Householder FirstEnergy PAC. Doug Smith also filed to run and had an unknown factional alliance.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 21

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stu Harris	70.9	5,164
		Doug Smith	29.1	2,123

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 7,287
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House District 37

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Larry Householder. Mike Rasor received campaign donations from the pro-Householder FirstEnergy PAC. Craig Shubert and Dexter Vaughan also filed to run and had unknown factional alliances.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 37

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Rasor	67.1	5,915
		Craig Shubert	16.8	1,485
	Submit photo	Dexter Vaughan	16.1	1,417

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 8,817
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House District 42

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a competitive matchup, although it did not identify it as part of the Householder vs. Smith proxy fight. It featured a matchup between state Rep. Niraj Antani, Miamisburg Vice-Mayor Sarah Clark, and Marcus Rech.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 42

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Niraj Antani	63.0	6,843
	Submit photo	Sarah Clark	28.0	3,034
		Marcus Rech	9.0	978

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,855
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 43

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Larry Householder. It featured a matchup between Kenneth Henning (Householder-aligned) and Jeffrey Todd Smith (unknown affiliation).

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 43

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeffrey Todd Smith	52.8	4,065
	Submit photo	Kenneth Henning	47.2	3,636

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 7,701
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 47

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Larry Householder. State Rep. Derek Merrin received campaign donations from Householder. Barbara Lang also filed to run and had an unknown factional alliance.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 47

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Merrin	64.6	5,431
		Barbara Lang	35.4	2,981

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 8,412
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 50

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with candidates supported by House speaker candidates Larry Householder and Ryan Smith. It featured a matchup between Josh Hagan (Householder-aligned), the brother of incumbent Christina Hagan and a recipient of campaign donations from the pro-Householder FirstEnergy PAC, and Reggie Stoltzfus (Smith-aligned), who held a fundraiser that featured Speaker Rosenberger. Christina Hagan did not seek re-election and instead filed to run for Ohio's 16th Congressional District.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 50

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Reggie Stoltzfus	60.8	6,736
		Josh Hagan	39.2	4,352

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 11,088
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jacob Urick (R)

House District 51

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a competitive matchup. Cincinatti.com identified it as part of the Householder vs. Smith primary battle. Incumbent Wes Retherford (pro-Smith) faced primary challenges from Sara Carruthers (pro-Householder) and Greg Jolivette. The Butler County Republican Party endorsed Carruthers over Retherford. The party also declined to endorse him in 2012 when he challenged an incumbent for the seat. Retherford received a DUI in March 2017 and the Butler County GOP chairman said this factored into the endorsement decision. Retherford said, "The county party lost every contested endorsed race they had last time around (in 2016), and I think if anything that Donald Trump’s election should be a clue that the voters are going to have their way and they’re not playing party politics anymore.” The Ohio Republican Party endorsed Retherford in the race. “I’m honored that Speaker (Cliff) Rosenberger supports my re-election bid and added my name to the list of House Members to be endorsed by the ORP,” said Retherford. Carruthers launched a $104,000 TV ad campaign on April 2.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 51

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sara Carruthers	46.5	3,189
	Submit photo	Wes Retherford	31.9	2,188
	Submit photo	Greg Jolivette	21.6	1,482

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 6,859
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 61

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup between candidates supported by House speaker candidates Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The matchup was between former state Rep. Jamie Callender (Householder-aligned) and John Plecnik (Smith-aligned).

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 61

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jamie Callender	56.3	6,079
		John Plecnik	43.7	4,723

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,802
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 64

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Democrat incumbent filed for re-election

What made this a battleground race?

The matchup was between Randy Law and Martha Yoder to face Democratic incumbent Michael O'Brien. A major difference between the candidates was the future of the state's Medicaid expansion program. Yoder said she would vote to eliminate the expansion; Law said he would put cost controls on the expansion but not eliminate it.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 64

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Martha Yoder	58.2	3,410
		Randy Law	41.8	2,453

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 5,863
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 65

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

Erin Neace challenged state Rep. John Becker. Neace was targeted by negative mailers from the Growth & Opportunity PAC, which ran negative ads against pro-Smith candidates. Becker said he was not associated with the group and did not know why it was opposing Neace.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 65

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Becker	70.8	7,464
		Erin Neace	29.2	3,079

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,543
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 67

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

3rd Rail Politics identified this race as a matchup between candidates supported by House speaker candidates Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The matchup was between term-limited state Sen. Kris Jordan (Householder-aligned) and Denise Martin (Smith-aligned). Brian Lorenz also filed to run.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 67

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kris Jordan	40.2	5,029
	Submit photo	Denise Martin	30.3	3,797
	Submit photo	Brian Lorenz	29.5	3,692

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 12,518
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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House District 72

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

This was a matchup between Larry Householder and Kevin Smith. As of May 3, nearly $1 million had been spent in the primary, making it the most expensive primary in 2018. Householder and two aligned political action committees, the Hardworking Americans Committee and the Growth and Principles PAC, had spent about $785,000 on television and radio ads. The anti-Householder Honor and Principles PAC had spent about $170,000 opposing him. Black was not involved in the satellite spending. Click here to read more about satellite spending on behalf of Black by anti-Householder groups.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 72

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Larry Householder	63.4	7,590
		Kevin Black	36.6	4,385

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 11,975
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House District 73

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

Incumbent Rick Perales faced a challenge from Jocelyn Smith, who accused him of assaulting and forcibly kissing her in January 2015. Perales denied that he assaulted Smith, but he said he had engaged in what he called an "inappopriate" relationship with her through phone calls and text messages. Read more about the allegations on our page on sexual misconduct in state capitols.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 73

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Perales	80.4	8,350
	Submit photo	Jocelyn Smith	19.6	2,037

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,387
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House District 80

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

No

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with candidate supported by House speaker candidates Larry Householder and Ryan Smith. Jena Powell received campaign donations from the pro-Householder FirstEnergy PAC. John O'Brien received support from the pro-Smith OHROC. J.D. Winteregg and George Lovett also filed to run. As of May 4, $220,000 had been spent in the race. More than $100,000 of the total was spent by George Lovett, who largely self-funded his campaign.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 80

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jena Powell	49.5	7,264
	Submit photo	John O'Brien	21.0	3,075
		J.D. Winteregg	18.8	2,762
	Submit photo	George Lovett	10.7	1,566

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 14,667
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House District 81

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Yes

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup involving a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Ryan Smith. The matchup was between incumbent state Rep. James Hoop (Smith aligned) and Thomas Liebrecht.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 81

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Hoops	65.6	7,273
		Thomas Liebrecht	34.4	3,813

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 11,086
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House District 83

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

No

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidates Larry Householder and Ryan Smith. It featured a matchup between Cheryl Buckland (Smith-aligned), a nurse and Republican activist, and Jon Cross (Householder-aligned), the president of the Hardin County Chamber who received campaign donations from the pro-Householder First Energy PAC.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 83

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jon Cross	58.7	7,499
		Cheryl Buckland	41.3	5,282

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 12,781
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House District 84

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

No

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidates Larry Householder and Ryan Smith. It featured a matchup between Travis Faber (Householder-aligned), the nephew of incumbent Keith Faber and recipient of campaign donations from the pro-Householder First Energy PAC, Susan Manchester, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Oh.), and farmer Aaron Heilers (Unaffiliated).

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 84

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan Manchester	36.7	5,446
	Submit photo	Travis Faber	32.0	4,747
	Submit photo	Aaron Heilers	31.3	4,650

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 14,843
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House District 86

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

No

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup with a candidate supported by House speaker candidate Larry Householder. Tracy Richardson received campaign donations from the pro-Householder FirstEnergy PAC. Robert Matthew Sammons also filed to run and had an unknown factional alliance.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 86

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tracy Richardson	71.8	6,627
		Robert Matthew Sammons	28.2	2,608

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 9,235
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House District 90

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup between candidates supported by House speaker candidates Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The matchup was between Brian Baldridge (Householder-aligned) and Gina Collinsworth (Smith-aligned). Justin Pizzulli and Scottie Powell also filed to run.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 90

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Baldridge	39.6	3,477
		Gina Collinsworth	31.5	2,768
	Submit photo	Justin Pizzulli	19.2	1,688
	Submit photo	Scottie Powell	9.7	848

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 8,781
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House District 91

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup involving a candidate supported by former House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, an ally of Ryan Smith. The matchup was between Beth Ellis (Smith/Rosenberger-aligned) and Shane Wilkin (Householder-aligned).

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 91

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shane Wilkin	56.8	6,200
	Submit photo	Beth Ellis	43.2	4,717

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,917
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House District 98

Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

Term-limited

What made this a battleground race?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer identified this race as a matchup involving candidates supported by Ryan Smith and Larry Householder. The major matchup was between Shane Gunnoe (Smith-aligned), Brett Hudson Hillyer (Householder-aligned), and Greg Ress. The other candidates who filed were Mark Behrendt and Larry Hawthorne.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 98

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brett Hudson Hillyer	31.7	2,510
	Submit photo	Shane Gunnoe	31.5	2,498
	Submit photo	Greg Ress	25.4	2,016
		Larry Hawthorne	7.2	573
	Submit photo	Mark Behrendt	4.1	327

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 7,924
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2019 House speaker election

Ryan Smith

The two Republicans who ran for House speaker in 2019 were House Finance Committee Chairman Ryan Smith and state Rep. Larry Householder, who served as speaker from 2001 to 2004. State Rep. Robert McColley had also been planning to run, but he withdrew in September 2017 and endorsed Smith.

Smith was first appointed to the chamber in 2012 and served as chairman of the House Finance Committee in the 2017 legislative session. In his bid for speaker, he received the implicit support of House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, who was term-limited and could not seek re-election in 2018. After McColley withdrew from the race, Smith said he had the support of over half of the members of the Republican caucus running for re-election in 2018.

Larry Householder

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. While he was serving as speaker, an anonymous memo surfaced and claimed 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.

Householder was elected to the Ohio House again in 2016. He came into conflict with Rosenberger due to his dislike of some of his committee assignments. In his bid for speaker, he received the support of Republican donor Tony George.

Rosenberger resignation

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.

State Rep. Kirk Schuring, the number two Republican in the state House leadership, took over from Rosenberger until a new speaker could be elected.

The Alliance Review reported that Smith and Householder would both have strengths and weaknesses if they attempted to take over from Rosenberger in 2018. Smith was thought to have the support of a majority of sitting members of the Republican caucus, but his close relationship with Rosenberger might cause some to reconsider. Householder was said to have the political skills necessary to take the speakership, and he would provide a clear alternative to Rosenberger's tenure. However, he also faced an FBI investigation in the early 2000s.

On April 13, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported that Smith, Dorothy Pelanda, Andy Thompson, and Jim Butler were interested in the speakership for 2018. Householder did not say whether he would run.

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."

On April 16, Smith said he had the votes to win the speaker's race.

The vote for to replace Rosenberger was set for May 15. Schuring said he would not endorse a candidate.

On May 15, Smith ran against Pelanda and Thompson in the Republican caucus election. He 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 May 22, another vote to elect an interim speaker was canceled.

On June 5, Smith was elected as the temporary speaker of the house.

How did Smith and Householder differ?

According to 3rd Rail Politics, the Smith vs. Householder contest for speaker mirrored a statewide struggle between Republicans aligned with moderate figures such as Gov. John Kasich (R) and former House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson (R) and Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump (R) and his supporters. Donors aligned with the competing factions included restaurateur and Trump supporter Tony George for the Householder wing and activist Ginni Ragan for the Smith wing.

Conflict between Smith and Householder

OHROC spending in primaries

In January 2018, Householder said that elements of the Ohio Republican Party, including the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee (OHROC), supported Smith by spending money in Republican primaries without incumbents running. “My problem is, the purpose of OHROC has changed,” Householder said. “No longer is it about trying to get Republicans elected that are incumbents and to protect the majority. The purpose of OHROC now is to be a private campaign fund for one person to fuel his ambitions.”

Smith said that Householder was being disingenuous because he had over $700,000 in cash on hand that he could spend on general election contests. “He keeps all his money for his single goal of holding the gavel again,” Smith said. “I’m the team player who gives all my money so the caucus can be defended and we can put people up in an election that we can win with.”

Smith and Speaker Rosenberger also said that Householder targeted incumbent legislators supportive of Smith in their primaries and in general elections. Householder denied that he was funding any Democratic campaigns.

On February 6, state Rep. Scott Ryan, the vice-chairman of OHROC sent an email to members of the House Republican caucus saying that Householder had also spent OHROC funds in open Republican primaries while he had served as speaker. A memo attached to the email outlined Householder's involvement in Republican primaries in 2002, alleging that he spent over $200,000 in party funds on four primary races and that he attempted to convince Doug Mink to back out of a primary against his ally Jim Raussen.

In response to the email, state Rep. Anthony DeVitis said there had been no active House speaker's race when Householder spent the funds and that the 2018 spending could endanger incumbents in the general elections. He said, “I don’t want to see that happen and Speaker Rosenberger should not be putting Rep. Smith’s political ambition ahead of our colleagues. Any seat we lose will be at the feet of Speaker Rosenberger, Rep. Smith, and you who are spending precious OHROC resources for personal gain.”

On April 12, Householder sent a letter to then-Speaker Pro Tempore Kirk Schuring asking that the $53,500 he donated to OHROC be returned. He said that OHROC was funding challenges against Republicans who were allied with him. He also said that Scott Ryan and former state Rep. Bill Hayes (R) had encouraged a primary challenge against him by Kevin Black and that OHROC was not assisting him in the race. Furthermore, he said that Smith and Rosenberger were raising money to oppose him in his primary.

Labor union support

Labor union political action committees weighed in on the speaker's race. Labor unions traditionally supported Democrats over Republicans due to Democratic opposition to right-to-work laws. With Republicans in control of the state, unions began to work with the GOP.

As of March 2018, most states surrounding Ohio had passed right-to-work laws saying that workers could not be required to pay certain union fees. Ohio had not passed such legislation. Some members of the Ohio Republican Party, including Speaker Rosenberger and Senate President Larry Obhof (R), had expressed support for making Ohio a right-to-work state. Others, including Gov. John Kasich (R), expressed opposition to Ohio adopting a right-to-work law.

Unions PACs gave about $220,000 to Householder and $20,000 to Smith in 2017. Householder said that union members were moving into the Republican Party under the presidency of Donald Trump. “They recognize that we share a lot of the same values that those who use their hands and backs every day share,” he said, “I see them as part of the Republican Party.”

Smith criticized Householder's fundraising from unions but said that he was willing to listen to pro-union members of the Republican caucus. “Part of being a leader is allowing the discussion to go on and see where it takes itself,” Smith said. Smith also said that he thought Householder's support from unions would decrease his support among House Republicans supportive of right-to-work legislation.

Ohio state Rep. John Becker (R), a supporter of right-to-work laws, saw little difference between Householder and Smith when it came to union legislation, saying neither would likely attempt to make Ohio a right-to-work state.

“I don’t get a warm feeling from either one of them that they are going to be leaders to make Ohio a right-to-work state,” Becker said. “I think the labor unions are going to be equally happy with either candidate.”

Campaign finance

Larry Householder

In 2017, Householder's campaign committee, Friends of Larry Householder, raised about $288,000 and spent about $102,000.

Top Householder contributors in 2017 included:

• Ohio Coal PAC ($12,700)
• United Steelworkers District 1 ($10,000)
• American Electric Power Committee For Responsible Government PAC ($10,000)
• RPM Manufacturing in America PAC ($6,000)
• Ohio Conference of Teamsters ($5,000)

FirstEnergy PAC, affiliated with the Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp., donated to Householder and his allies in 2018, giving about $150,000 to 16 candidates as of April 2018. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, FirstEnergy Corp. allowed Householder to use its corporate jet to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Householder and his allies supported legislation that would allow FirstEnergy subsidiaries to charge $2.50 more per month to help subsidize the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants, which the company announced would close by 2021.

Householder reported disbursing $92,500 to the following 12 candidates ($7,707.79 each) in April 2018:

• Brian Baldridge
• Tim Barhorst
• Jamie Callender
• Jon Cross
• Josh Hagan
• Kris Jordan
• Derrick Merrin
• Jena Powell
• Mike Rasor
• Tracy Richardson
• Jim Trakas
• Shane Wilkin

Also reported in April 2018 was $90,600 in donations to Householder candidates by Wayne Boich, chairman of Boich Companies and a player in the coal industry, $28,200 in donations from Murray Energy, a coal mining company, and further donations by ACT Ohio, a construction trades representative, and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18.

Ryan Smith

In 2017, Smith's campaign committee, Friends of Ryan Smith, raised about $378,000 and spent about $530,000. He contributed $480,000 to OHROC.

Top Smith contributors in 2017 included:

• The Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio ($5,500)
• FirstEnergy PAC ($5,000)
• Bricker and Eckler ($5,000)
• Capitol Partners PAC ($5,000)
• Ohio Oil and Gas Association ($3,000)

OHROC reported disbursing $354,200 to the following nine candidates (varying amounts) in April 2018:

• Michael Canty
• Gina Hall Collinsworth
• Beth Ellis
• Dave Ferguson
• Shane Gunnoe
• Denise Martin
• John O'Brien
• John Plecnik
• Reggie Stoltzfus

Also reported in April 2018 was $79,700 in donations to Smith candidates by Ginni Ragan, bringing her total contributions to House Republicans in 2018 to $224,400. OHROC raised $818,000, most of which came from incumbent Republicans, and had spent about $1 million as of April.

Satellite spending

Outside groups supporting Householder and Smith ran mailers, radio messages, and television advertisements in the primaries. The groups supporting pro-Smith candidates (or opposing pro-Householder candidates) were the Honors and Principles PAC and the Conservative Alliance PAC. The pro-Householder group was the Growth and Opportunity PAC.

According to the Canton Repository, the Conservative Alliance PAC and the Growth and Opportunity PAC paid for advertisements in more than 15 Republican primaries.

Pro-Smith

Honor and Principles PAC ran the following ad opposing Larry Householder in the Columbus media market on April 1, 2018.

Third party group Honor and Principles PAC is up with a spot in Columbus DMA using #Trump to hit former OH Speaker Larry Householder. Ran during Sunday morning news shows this a.m. pic.twitter.com/2m8PKuIgNl

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) April 2, 2018

The Conservative Alliance PAC also helped pay for similar negative ads targeting Householder. As of April 19, the two groups had spent about $350,000 on television and radio ads in primaries across the state. As of April 2018, the Conservative Alliance PAC had not reported any donations. The Honors and Principles PAC reported a $175,000 donation from LZP LLC, a group incorporated by Cleveland attorney James Ryan.

Householder responded with the following ad, released April 9:

"Stick to Our Guns," released April 9, 2018

On April 18, Householder filed a lawsuit against the Honor and Principles and Conservative Alliance PACs as well as a number of associated political firms and the groups' anonymous donors. In the suit, Householder claimed that the ads were false and defamatory. He asked that they be taken off the air.

The Conservative Alliance PAC listed a number of prominent conservatives as board members, including American Conservative Union (ACU) Chairman Matt Schlapp, Becky Norton Dunlop of the Heritage Foundation, and communications professional Charlie Gerow.

The ACU denied that any of the individuals listed as board members were involved with the PAC. It sent cease-and-desist letters to radio stations running the anti-Householder ads and released the following statement: “A terrible fraud has been committed against the people of Ohio, Rep. Larry Householder, and the American Conservative Union. A mysterious and shady organization is deceiving Ohioans by falsely claiming that ACU Board Members are behind these heinous attack ads.”

The Conservative Alliance PAC said that the ACU board members were mistakenly listed on their filing form by a radio station employee named Carl White who confused the PAC with the ACU. White wrote an apology letter that said he committed an error.

When asked by the Canton Repository, Ryan Smith said he had no connection to the Conservative Alliance PAC.

Pro-Householder

In April 2018, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported that the Growth and Opportunity PAC was sending out negative mailers against pro-Smith candidates James Hoops, Beth Ellis, Michael Canty, and John Plecnik. The group's treasurer did not respond to questions about why it was becoming involved in the race.

Incumbents who did not advance to the general election

Retiring incumbents

Six Republican state Senate incumbents did not seek re-election in 2018:

• Kevin Bacon (District 3)
• Bill Beagle (District 5)
• Gayle L. Manning (District 13)
• Kris Jordan (District 19)
• Frank LaRose (District 27)
• Scott Oelslager (District 29)

Twenty-one Republican state House incumbents did not seek re-election in 2018:

• Marlene Anielski (District 6)
• Anne Gonzales (District 19)
• Mike Duffey (District 21)
• Jim Hughes (District 24)
• Kristina Daley Roegner (District 37)
• Marilyn Slaby (District 38)
• Michael Henne (District 40)
• Jeff Rezabek (District 43)
• Kirk Schuring (District 48)
• Christina Hagan (District 50)
• Nathan Manning (District 55)
• Ron Young (District 61)
• Andrew Brenner (District 67)
• Stephen Huffman (District 80)
• Robert Sprague (District 83)
• Keith Faber (District 84)
• Dorothy Pelanda (District 86)
• Terry Johnson (District 90)
• Shane Wilkin (District 91)
• Andrew Thompson (District 95)
• Al Landis (District 98)

Incumbents defeated

One Republican state House incumbent was defeated in his primary:

• Wes Retherford (District 51)

Competitiveness

See also: 2018 primary election competitiveness in state and federal government and Ohio state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018

There were 41 open seats in 2018, which was higher than the 27 open seats in 2016 and 2014. The 33 contested Democratic primaries was up from 17 in 2016 and 18 in 2014. The 33 contested Republican primaries was up from 28 in 2016 but down from 34 in 2014. The 320 candidates running was up from 274 in 2016 and 289 in 2014.

Year	Total seats	Open seats	Total candidates	Democratic primaries contested	Republican primaries contested	Total contested	Incumbents contested in primaries	Total incumbents contested in primaries
2018	116	41	320	33	33	28.4%	21	28.0%
2016	115	27	274	17	28	19.6%	14	15.9%
2014	116	27	289	18	34	22.4%	23	25.8%

Partisan control

The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio State Senate as of July 2018:

Ohio House of Representatives

Party		As of July 2018
	Democratic Party	33
	Republican Party	65
	Vacancies	1
Total		99

Ohio State Senate

Party		As of July 2018
	Democratic Party	9
	Republican Party	24
	Vacancies	0
Total		33

Competitiveness

This chart shows the trends in Republican primary competitiveness from 2014 to 2018.

2018

Generally, the competitiveness in 2018 was similar to the levels seen in 2014, with about the same number of total primaries and primary challenges against incumbents. The following information is included in the charts below:

• Incumbent primary challenges: The number of incumbents who ran for re-election and faced a primary challenger.
• Incumbent primary challenges (%): The percentage of incumbents who faced primary challenges out of those who ran for re-election.
• Incumbent primary defeats: The number of incumbents who were defeated in their primaries.
• Incumbent primary defeats (%): The percentage of incumbents who were defeated out of those who faced challenges.
• Total Republican primaries: The total number of Republican primaries, counting those in seats held by incumbents of both parties and those that occurred in open seats.
• Total Republican primaries (%): The percentage of races that held Republican primaries out of all seats in the chamber that held elections.

Ohio General Assembly Republican primaries, 2018
	Incumbent primary challenges		Incumbent primary defeats		Total Republican primaries
Chamber	Raw number	%	Raw number	%	Raw number	%
House of Representatives	13	27.7 percent	Pending	Pending	29	29.3 percent
State Senate	2	11.1 percent	Pending	Pending	4	23.5 percent

2014-2016

These charts show data on competitiveness in Republican primaries in the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate from 2014 to 2016. When compared to other state legislatures, Texas was ranked 14 in primary competitiveness in 2016 and was ranked 11 in 2014.

Ohio House of Representatives Republican primaries, 2014-2016
	Incumbent primary challenges		Incumbent primary defeats		Total Republican primaries
Year	Raw number	%	Raw number	%	Raw number	%
2016	6	11.8 percent	1	16.7 percent	20	30.3 percent
2014	14	N/A	2	14.3 percent	28	42.4 percent

Ohio State Senate Republican primaries, 2014-2016
	Incumbent primary challenges		Incumbent primary defeats		Total Republican primaries
Year	Raw number	%	Raw number	%	Raw number	%
2016	4	44.4 percent	0	N/A	8	50.0 percent
2014	5	N/A	0	N/A	5	29.4 percent

National competitiveness

The charts below contain data on competitiveness in all Republican primaries in state houses and state senates from 2014 to 2016. To see a running count of Republican primary competition in the 2018 elections, click here.

State House Republican primaries, 2014-2016
	Incumbent primary challenges		Incumbent primary defeats		Total Republican primaries
Year	Raw number	%	Raw number	%	Raw number	%
2016	493	22.2 percent	64	13.0 percent	758	16.1 percent
2014	492	22.9 percent	68	13.8 percent	N/A	N/A

State Senate Republican primaries, 2014-2016
	Incumbent primary challenges		Incumbent primary defeats		Total Republican primaries
Year	Raw number	%	Raw number	%	Raw number	%
2016	103	18.3 percent	19	18.4 percent	225	18.6 percent
2014	97	N/A	17	17.5 percent	N/A	N/A

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Ohio law provides for closed primaries, meaning a voter to be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However a voter of any affiliation can choose the ballot they would like to vote on the day of the primary and their choice may be regarded as registration with that party.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Early voting

Ohio permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Ohio. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.

Absentee ballots may be requested for each individual election beginning on January 1, or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier. The request must be received by the local county board of elections by the close of business on the seventh day before the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be postmarked at least one day before Election Day and received by the elections board no later than 4 days after the election.

See also

• Ohio state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018
• Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2018
• Ohio State Senate elections, 2018
• Ohio State Legislature
• Ohio elections, 2018

External links

• 3rd Rail Politics series on Larry Householder
  • Meet Larry Householder
  • Mr. Householder Goes To Columbus