Thomas Cooke

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Thomas Cooke

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

St. John's University, 1980

Graduate

National Intelligence University, 1986

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1973 - 2000

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

Religion

Atheist

Profession

Government

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign TikTok

Personal LinkedIn

Thomas Cooke (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio State Senate to represent District 4. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Thomas Cooke was born in New York, New York. Cooke's career experience includes working in government. He served in the U.S. Army from 1973 to 2000. Cooke earned a bachelor's degree from St. John's University in 1980 and a graduate degree from the National Intelligence University in 1986. Cooke has been affiliated with Kiwanis, American Legion, and MENSA.

Elections

2024

See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Ohio State Senate District 4

Incumbent George Lang defeated Thomas Cooke in the general election for Ohio State Senate District 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		George Lang (R)	62.9	104,251
		Thomas Cooke (D)	37.1	61,381

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 165,632
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 4

Thomas Cooke advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 4 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Cooke	100.0	8,375

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,375
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 4

Incumbent George Lang defeated Candice Keller and Mark Morgan in the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 4 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		George Lang	60.1	19,862
		Candice Keller	27.4	9,040
	Submit photo	Mark Morgan	12.5	4,141

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 33,043
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cooke in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Thomas Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Retired military intelligence and federal staff officer. Focused on serving the community and "bringing the heart back into Ohio" by working to ensure all Ohioans are treated with fairness and respect. Community-oriented with concern for access to health in general and mental health in particular. Ability to consensus build and cut to the root of the issues. The government should focus on people, not corporate interests.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Tax money toward public schools before vouchers to support private/non-charter institutions.
• Reproductive freedom and a woman's right to choose the best course of action for her health.
• Equal access to health care regardless of the ability to pay. FinancIal considerations should not dictate whether or not to seek assistance.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public tax money being used to support private institutions; school superintendents making the decision to allow school staff to have weapons in the building; legislative decisions to restrict womens' access to reproductive care; discriminatory practices against the LGTBQ+ community.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father--he was a cop...he loved being a cop. Worked multiple jobs to provide additional comforts to the family. He was loyal to the PBA but his first loyalty was to thise on his "beat".

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Federalist Paper #10 -- guarding against "factions" and working for the public good.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Representing the desires of the community--setting aside personal biases; access; responsiveness to constituents; transparency in finances. Calling out corrupt practices; refusing quid pro quo.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I care about people. I want them to see a doctor when sick; I want to be behind them when they face an injustice. I listen. I can see nuance when others only see black and white. I represent THEM...I owe the people my 100%.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Voting to ensure the people are protected from any harm--to include freedom of expression and conscience. Upholding the State and Federal Constitutions and denying any restrictions for health access, access to all institutions and protection from any legislation which might have a negative impact on the constituency.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I fought to better the lives of those who entrusted me with their confidence by voting for me.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

JFK assassination--8 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Paperboy/ 3 years--ages 9-12. Learned self-reliance, the importance of customer service and both money and time management. Later, fast food...customer service and workplace camaraderie.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Killer Angels. Placed the human element into an historic military encounter.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Mr. Smith who went to Washington...

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Stuck In The Middle--Steelers Wheel

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I was once told I always say what needs to be said, but I don't always know the best time to say it.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Continual focus on the public good...the Governor should not be fully partisan and support the will of the majority

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Environmental policy regarding oil extraction/transition to renewable energy; access to health care for all regardless of financial considerations; youth programs to stem the use of narcotics.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not necessarily...it is more important to have experience as a constituent.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Of course. We are ONE governing body representing ALL the people. We must know from where the other side develops its policies in order to build consensus benefitting all without excluding any.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Eugene O'Neill...he could argue with the other side and then have a beer with them.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A woman has to live apart from her husband because he earns $100/week over the allowable limit to continue receiving Medicaid for her son--the "cliff" scenario; one constituent is leaving Ohio because he is overwhelmed as a mental health counselor and has too large a workload--"burn out" he called it.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Why do you never see hippos hiding in trees? Because they are very good at it.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Emergencies arise...Limited powers/a specified time frame with a short period before reconsideration.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

Rescind automatic granting of fracking licenses on public lands.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

UAW, FOP, Planned Parenthood, AFSCME, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

What committees interest you?

Health and Human Services; education.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

This is the people's money and they should always know how it is being used. There should be no secret discussions and all transactions fully available for public scrutiny.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

The SOS should NOT have the ability to craft the wording of the ballot initiatives. I would put this effort before a bipartisan board/panel.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Thomas Cooke campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Ohio State Senate District 4	Lost general	$31,527	$20,479
Grand total			$31,527	$20,479
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Ohio State Senate District 4

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Ohio State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert McColley

Minority Leader:Nickie Antonio

Senators

District 1

Robert McColley (R)

District 2

Theresa Gavarone (R)

District 3

Michele Reynolds (R)

District 4

George Lang (R)

District 5

Stephen Huffman (R)

District 6

Willis Blackshear (D)

District 7

Steve Wilson (R)

District 8

Louis Blessing (R)

District 9

Catherine Ingram (D)

District 10

Kyle Koehler (R)

District 11

Paula Hicks-Hudson (D)

District 12

Susan Manchester (R)

District 13

Nathan Manning (R)

District 14

Terry Johnson (R)

District 15

Hearcel Craig (D)

District 16

Beth Liston (D)

District 17

Shane Wilkin (R)

District 18

Jerry Cirino (R)

District 19

Andrew Brenner (R)

District 20

Tim Schaffer (R)

District 21

Kent Smith (D)

District 22

Mark Romanchuk (R)

District 23

Nickie Antonio (D)

District 24

Thomas Patton (R)

District 25

William DeMora (D)

District 26

Bill Reineke (R)

District 27

Kristina Roegner (R)

District 28

Casey Weinstein (D)

District 29

Jane Timken (R)

District 30

Brian Chavez (R)

District 31

Al Landis (R)

District 32

Sandra O'Brien (R)

District 33

Alessandro Cutrona (R)

Republican Party (24)

Democratic Party (9)