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.
