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Removal of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder from office, 2020-2021
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On July 21, 2020, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) was arrested and charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering scheme.[1][2] A federal jury found Householder guilty on March 9, 2023, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 29, 2023.[3][4]
Householder allegedly participated in a $60 million bribery case related to the legislative passage of a $1.5 billion funding bill for two nuclear power plants.[5][6] According to the Associated Press' Julie Carr Smyth and John Seewer, "Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants’ financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo."[7] Four other people, including former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, were also arrested.[1]
Following his arrest, the Ohio House of Representatives voted 90-0 to remove Householder from the speakership position.[8] He remained in office as a member of the House following his removal as Speaker and won re-election in November 2020 against four write-in candidates. On June 16, 2021, members of the House voted 75-21 to remove Householder from office.[9]
This page provides information about the arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) and his removal from office, including background information about Householder, his position in Ohio's state government, and the details surrounding the arrest.
For more information about the legal proceedings involving Householder, click here.
Charges
The criminal complaint filed against Householder described the alleged offense as "Conspiracy to Participate, Directly or Indirectly, in the Conduct of an Enterprise's Affairs through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity."[10] The section of federal law violated (18 U.S.C. § 1962) was created by the 1970 Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, more commonly known as RICO.[11] According to Justia, "RICO allows for prosecution of all individuals involved in a corrupt organization."[12] Prior to RICO's passage, crimes associated with a larger criminal enterprise had to be tried individually.[12]
The complaint concluded with the following:
| “ | To summarize, while operating together—and functioning as Householder's "team"—the Defendants enriched themselves and increased Householder's political power by: engaging in a scheme to defraud the public of the honest services of Householder, involving the receipt of millions of dollars in secret bribe payments through Householder's 501(c)(4) account in return for Householder taking official action to help pass a legislative bailout for two nuclear power plants; bribing and attempting to bribe individuals working on behalf of the Ballot Campaign in an attempt to receive inside information and defeat the Ballot Campaign; and concealing the scheme, their illegal activity, and the source of the funds by transferring the Company A-to-Generation-Now payments through other controlled entities and knowingly engaging in monetary transactions with the proceeds.[13] | ” |
| —Special Agent Blane J. Wetzel, F.B.I[10] | ||
Text of the complaint
Read the full complaint filed against Householder here.
Timeline
2025
2024
2023
2021
2020
Biography
At the time of his arrest, Householder represented Ohio's House District District 72. He was first elected to the position in 2016 and was elected Speaker of the House in 2019. Householder previously served in the House from 1997 to 2004, including a tenure as Speaker of the House from 2001 to 2004.
Householder ran for re-election to represent District 72. He was the only candidate on the ballot in the general election, after running unopposed in the April 28, 2020 Republican primary. He won re-election on November 3, 2020, defeating four write-in candidates. On June 16, 2021, members of the House voted 75-21 to remove Householder from office.[9]
2020 election
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 72
Incumbent Larry Householder defeated Marci McCaulay, Jay Conrad, Robert Leist, and Kaitlyn Clark in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 72 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Larry Householder (R) | 71.0 | 31,707 |
| Marci McCaulay (D) (Write-in) | 13.0 | 5,822 | ||
 | Jay Conrad (R) (Write-in)  | 9.1 | 4,046 | |
 | Robert Leist (L) (Write-in) | 5.2 | 2,312 | |
| Kaitlyn Clark (Independent) (Write-in) | 1.7 | 742 | ||
| Total votes: 44,629 | |||
| = 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 Ohio House of Representatives District 72
Incumbent Larry Householder advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 72 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Larry Householder | 100.0 | 11,142 |
| Total votes: 11,142 | |||
| = 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 House Speakership election, 2019
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.[23] 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.[24]
Householder received 52 votes of support, more than the 50 votes he needed.[25] Smith received 45 votes.[26] 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.
May 8, 2018, Republican 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.[27][28] 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.)[29]
Householder was supported by restauranteur Tony George (a pro-Donald Trump donor), FirstEnergy Corp., and a satellite group called the Growth and Opportunity PAC.[30][31][32] Labor unions also supported Householder as he advocated bringing union workers into the Republican Party under the presidency of Donald Trump.[33]
Speakership vote
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."[24]
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."[34]
Householder was elected speaker on January 7 with 52 votes of support, 26 from Republicans and 26 from Democrats.[25] Smith received 45 votes of support, 34 from Republicans and 11 from Democrats.[26][35][36]
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)
See also
- Noteworthy criminal misconduct in American politics (2019-2020)
- Election for speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, 2019
- 2020 Ohio legislative session
- Ohio House of Representatives
- Larry Householder
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Hill, "Ohio House Speaker arrested on bribery charges: report," July 21, 2020
- ↑ Dayton Daily News, "NEW DETAILS: Larry Householder, four others face racketeering conspiracy charges in federal court," July 21, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Columbus Dispatch, "Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges found guilty," March 9, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Courthouse News, "Former Ohio Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to 20 years in bribery case," June 29, 2023
- ↑ Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, other top Republicans call on Speaker Larry Householder to resign," July 21, 2020
- ↑ WHIO, "Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 4 others arrested in $60 million federal racketeering conspiracy," July 21, 2020
- ↑ AP, "Ohio House speaker, 4 others arrested in $60M bribery case," July 21, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 NBC 4i, "Householder indicted as Ohio House removes him as Speaker," July 30, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Associated Press, "Ohio House expels former Republican speaker in historic vote," June 17, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, "United States of America v. Matthew Borges criminal complaint," July 17, 2020
- ↑ Government Publishing Office, "Public Law 91-450," October 14, 1970
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Justia, "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Law," accessed July 29, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Columbus Dispatch, "Appeals court rejects ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder's request for a second look," July 25, 2025
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Federal appeals court upholds conviction of Householder in public corruption case," May 6, 2025
- ↑ Zanesville Times Recorder, "Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder appeals 2023 bribery conviction," February 5, 2025
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 WKYC Studios, "Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder appeals conviction in $60 million HB 6 scandal," February 27, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedplea - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcupp - ↑ Cincinnati Inquirer, "Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder indicted in federal bribery case," July 30, 2020
- ↑ Marion Star, "Ohio House sets Thursday vote to remove Larry Householder as speaker," July 28, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "Powerful Ohio Republican Is Arrested in $60 Million Corruption Scheme," July 21, 2020
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, "Long-awaited speaker vote showdown looms in Ohio House," November 8, 2018
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 The Plain-Dealer, "Democratic support brings Republican Larry Householder close to becoming Ohio House speaker," January 4, 2019
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Twitter, "Jeremy Pelzer on January 7, 2019"
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Twitter, "Jeremy Pelzer on January 7, 2019"
- ↑ The Columbus-Dispatch, "Powerhouse GOP lawmakers trade barbs in House leadership fight," January 31, 2018
- ↑ Cincinatti.com, "How one GOP heiress influenced the Ohio House – and its leader's demise," April 24, 2018
- ↑ Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Ohio State Rep. Larry Householder sues political groups over attack ads," April 18, 2018
- ↑ Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Capitol Letter," April 17, 2018
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Behind-the-scenes fight over next Ohio House speaker looms over still-forming state legislative races," December 21, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland Plain Dealer, "FirstEnergy PAC writes big checks to House speaker hopeful Larry Householder, campaign allies," April 20, 2018
- ↑ Columbus Dispatch, "Union money now fuels GOP legislative campaigns in Ohio," February 25, 2018
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, "Ryan Smith, Larry Householder square off in Ohio House speaker showdown: Capitol Letter," January 7, 2018
- ↑ Twitter, "Jeremy Pelzer on January 7, 2019
- ↑ Twitter, "Jeremy Pelzer on January 7, 2019
