Ohio Democrats have broken the Republican supermajority in the Ohio House of Representatives, limiting lawmakers’ ability to override new Democratic Gov. Amy Acton’s veto.
Ohio voters elected 42 Democrats and 52 Republicans to the Ohio House, according to unofficial election results. Five of the races were too close to call Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s pretty upsetting to the overall functioning of the Assembly,” said David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati.
“(Ohio Republicans are) pretty used to getting what they want, and even though Republicans maintain a majority, they’ve lost their ‘we can do whatever we want’ majority.”
A supermajority consists of 60 or more seats in the Ohio House and 20 or more seats in the Ohio Senate. Republicans have held a supermajority in the Ohio House since 2013.
“When you have a party that is simply unaccountable to any other system of checks and balances, that means they can do whatever they want, and that’s been particularly the case for the Republican legislature,” said David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron.
“It was just a huge event for Democrats to be able to break the hold they have on the legislature.”
Republicans will have to work with Democrats to pass legislation, political analysts say.
“This provides an opportunity for the Legislature and the governor to work together, but it will take good will and hard work, and it will not be easy,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio.
Republicans in the Statehouse are not used to having to work with Democrats, Cohen said.
“It’s not something they really want to do, but it’s something they’re going to be forced to do if they want to, to be able to get laws passed and passed,” he said.
Niven expects Acton and Republican lawmakers to be at odds over school funding and school vouchers.
“I don’t think there’s a middle ground on this,” he said. “It’s a philosophical difference, and I don’t know if it’s possible for them to come together.”
The remainder of the General Assembly before Acton takes office in January “is looking to be pretty nasty,” Turcer said.
“Legislative leaders will likely advance proposals that could limit the governor’s authority,” she said.
“There are things like executive agencies that fall under the jurisdiction of the governor that end up making a lot of administrative rules, and the Legislature could take back some of those rules and put control back in its own hands.”
Ohio House Races
Republicans currently hold a 65-34 majority in the Ohio House, but some Republican incumbents lost to their Democratic opponents in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results.
- Democrat Megan Coy defeated incumbent state Rep. Mike Dovilla, R-Berea.
- Democrat Rose Lounsbury defeated state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering.
- Democrat Shelby Kimball defeated state Rep. Brian Lorenz, R-Powell.
- Democrat Krista Allison defeated state Rep. Jim Thomas, R-Plain Township.
Democrats picked up a handful of seats in open districts currently held by Republicans.
- Democrat Noah Spinner won Ohio’s 31st District, currently held by state Rep. Bill Roemer, R-Richfield.
- Democrat Samantha Salamon won Ohio’s 35th District, currently held by state Rep. Steve Demetriou, R-Bainbridge Twp. Demetriou lost his bid for the Ohio Senate.
- Democrat Daquan Neal won Ohio’s 39th District, currently held by state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton.
- Democrat Mike Baker won Ohio’s 52nd District, currently held by state Rep. Gayle Manning, R-Avon. Manning won his Ohio Senate seat.
A few races with Republican incumbents were too close to call Wednesday afternoon.
State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, has a slight lead in a tight race with Democrat Richard Rettig and state Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, has a small lead against Democrat Jonathan Bradner as of Wednesday afternoon.
Democrat Tom Herner had a slight lead over state Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., as of Wednesday afternoon.
Republican Edward Schimmel and Democrat David Fournier was in a near tie for Ohio’s 44th District, currently held by Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., on Wednesday.
“We didn’t just break the supermajority — we broke it,” Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, a Cincinnati Democrat, said Tuesday night.
“That means we have the opportunity to actually govern in Ohio. It’s not enough that Dr. Acton is our next governor. We flipped these seats so that Dr. Acton can govern when she gets there.”
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he has seen similar cases political cycles in 2006 under President George W. Bush and in 2012 under President Barack Obama.
“Despite this national trend, Republicans have maintained a strong majority in the Ohio House, positioning us to advance priorities that we believe will best serve Ohioans over the next two years. » Huffman said in a statement to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Ohio Senate Races
Vast majority remains in Ohio Senate 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.
Ohio Democrats picked up two seats as Democrat Stacie Baker defeated incumbent Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, and Democrat Mike Roberto defeated Republican Rep. Steve Demetriou for Ohio’s 27th District, which is currently held by Republican Sen. Kristina Roegner.
“Ohioans have spoken, and it’s clear they are ready for change,” Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, said in a statement.
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