Ohio House Republicans chose state Senate President Matt Huffman to lead them for at least the next two years, ending a contentious fight for the gavel that ousted current Speaker Jason Stephens.
Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, dropped out of the speaker’s race on Monday, leaving Huffman, R-Lima, with an eleventh-hour challenge from Fort Loramie Rep. Tim Barhorst.
Barhorst has received support from groups such as the anti-vaccination Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, Ohio Gun Owners and End Abortion Ohio, which advocate for the prosecution of women who have abortions. Barhorst tried to rally lawmakers who were concerned about Huffman, 64, who led the House for eight years, or who were frustrated with the Senate’s handling of House bills.
But ultimately, Huffman won the support of Republicans in the House of Representatives during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday. He was the only name nominated that day.
Huffman presented his experience leading a legislative body and raising money for candidates. U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan, Mike Carey, Troy Balderson and Warren Davidson supported his speakership.
“It is believed that I would be speaker for eight years,” he told reporters on Wednesday, adding that his father worked as a lawyer until he was 89. “I don’t know if that’s likely, but it’s certainly possible.
When is the official speaker’s voice?
Huffman won’t be officially named speaker until January, when the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives votes on its next leader. Historically, the majority party has chosen its preferred candidate and the minority party has signed.
But that wasn’t the case for two recent House speakers. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, won the gavel in 2019 with votes of 26 Republicans and 26 Democrats. He was later convicted of participating in a pay-to-play scandal to win the speakership and push through a nuclear bailout.
In 2023, Stephens won the job with the support of 22 Republicans and 32 Democrats. The majority of Republicans instead supported Toledo County Rep. Derek Merrin. His ouster led to a divisive two-year session marked by infighting and stalemate. The state and several Republican parties in the county condemned the GOP lawmakers who supported Stephens.
May 10, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) listens to arguments in the session in which the Ohio House voted to create a special election in August for a resolution that would raise the voter threshold to 60 percent for constitutional amendments. Mandatory credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
But House Republicans, who will hold a 65-34 lead in the House next year, expect a return to Republicans choosing their own Republican leaders. Barhorst said he wouldn’t ask Democrats to help him win. “If I don’t win, I will start the unity speech within my caucus.”
Huffman said it was “very, very unlikely” that Republicans would side with Democrats to re-elect a speaker. “I don’t think it will come to that.”
If Huffman is elected speaker, he will be the first person to lead both chambers in recent history. Early Ohio leaders Abraham Shepherd and Thomas Kirker served in both roles in the early 1800s. (Kirker was also the second governor of Ohio.)
Who is Matt Huffman?
Huffman served in the Ohio House from 2007 to 2014. He won a seat in the Senate in 2016 and has been president of the Senate since 2021, replacing Senator Larry Obhof. Before serving in the Legislature, Huffman served on the Lima City Council, including seven years as president.
More: Who is Matt Huffman? The Lima man running the show at the Ohio Statehouse
On the policy side, Huffman supports private school vouchers, tax cuts, Second Amendment protections and abortion restrictions. He was instrumental in passing redistricting reforms in 2014 and approving the current maps, which a divided Ohio Supreme Court rejected seven times.
Huffman is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Cincinnati School of Law. He lives in Lima with his wife Sheryl; they have four children.
Senate Republicans and legislative Democrats choose leaders
Earlier in the day, Senate Republicans selected Napoleon’s Rob McColley as the next Senate president. McColley is on Huffman’s leadership team and was expected to take over the top role.
Democrats re-elected their current leaders, House Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington.
Jessie Balmert covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio House GOP taps Senate President Matt Huffman as next speaker
