2018 General Election Candidate Profiles

Governor 

Mike DeWine (R)  - current Ohio Attorney General, served as a Greene County prosecuting attorney, as an Ohio state senator, as a U.S. representative, as Ohio Lieutenant Governor and in the U.S. Senate. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Richard Cordray (D) - former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Treasurer, Ohio Solicitor General, and as an Ohio State representative. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Lieutenant Governor

Jon Husted (R) - current Ohio Secretary of State, served in the Ohio Senate, Speaker in the Ohio House of Representatives, and was vice president of business & economic development at the Dayton-Area Chamber of Commerce. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Betty Sutton (D) - former U.S. representative, Ohio state representative, Barberton City Council member, and administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Website:Facebook:Twitter

U.S. House of Representatives - District 12

Troy Balderson (R) - newly elected U.S. representative, two-term Ohio state senator, and chairman of the Senate committee on energy and natural resources. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Danny O’Connor (D) - current Franklin County recorder who previously worked in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. Website:Facebook:Twitter

U.S. Senate

Jim Renacci (R) - current U.S. representative, certified public accountant, former President of the Wadsworth City Council, and former mayor of Wadsworth. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Sherrod Brown (D) - current U.S. senator, ranking member of the Senate banking committee, former chairman of the subcommittee on jobs, rural economic growth and energy innovation, former U.S. representative, Ohio Secretary of State, and Ohio general assembly member. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Ohio Attorney General

Dave Yost (R) - current Ohio Auditor of State, former prosecutor for Delaware County, former Delaware City Council member & county auditor, former lawyer, and former reporter for the Columbus Citizen-Journal. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Steve Dettelbach (D) - former prosecutor in the criminal section of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil rights division, former prosecutor on the DOJ’s Northern Ohio Organized Crime and Corruption Strike Force, former appointed U.S. attorney for Ohio’s northern district. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Auditor of State

Keith Faber (R) -current Ohio state representative, former Ohio Senate President, and owner of a private law practice. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Zack Space (D) - former public defender, former Dover City Law Director, and former U.S. representative. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Secretary of State

Frank LaRose (R) - current Ohio state senator and former U.S. Special Forces and 101 Airborne Division member. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Kathleen Clyde (D) - current Ohio state representative, lawyer, previously worked in the Ohio Senate and was the Ohio Speaker’s Deputy Legal Counsel. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Treasurer of State

Robert Sprague (R) - current Ohio state representative, former Findlay City treasurer and auditor. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Rob Richardson (D) - served as the University of Cincinnati’s board chair and established the UC Scholars Academy, law school graduate. Website:Facebook:Twitter

State Senator - District 3

Anne Gonzales (R) - current Ohio state representative, served as chair of the health and aging committee, former mayor of Westerville, former Westerville City Council member, and realtor. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Tina Maharath (D) - former intern with the U.S. Senate and Ohio House. Facebook:Twitter

State Representative - District 19

Tim Barhorst (R) - small-business owner and licensed insurance agent, previous president of the Kiwanis Club of Columbus and the Agonis Club of Columbus. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Mary Lightbody (D) - teacher in K-12 and university classrooms for 25 years, and Westerville Public Library board of trustees member. Website:Facebook:Twitter

Issue 1:

What you need to know:

Opposed by Republican Mike DeWine, supported by Democrat Richard Cordray

Converts felony 4 and felony 5 drug possession and drug use crimes to misdemeanors with no jail time for first and second offenses committed within a 24-month period

Keeps drug trafficking crimes as felonies

Prohibits judges from sending people to prison if they violate probation with something other than a new crime, such as missing an appointment

Cuts prison time for offenders who complete rehabilitation programs, except those convicted of murder, rape or child molestation

Puts money saved by fewer people going to prison into drug treatment and crime victim programs

Allows people convicted of certain drug crimes to petition the court for resentencing or release or to have the charge changed

For more information on elections, you can visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

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