Ohio Democrats break Republican supermajority in the Ohio House

Ohio Democrats broke the Republican supermajority in the Ohio House, limiting the lawmakers’ ability to override vetos from incoming Democratic governor Amy Acton. 

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 as of Wednesday afternoon. 

“It is pretty earth-shattering for the general operations of the assembly,” said University of Cincinnati Political Science Professor David Niven. 

“(Ohio Republicans are) quite used to getting their way, and even though Republicans will maintain a majority, they’ve lost their ‘we can do anything we want’ majority.”

A supermajority is 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 one party that is simply unaccountable to any other check or balance, it means that they can do whatever they want, and that’s particularly been the case for the Republican legislature,” said University of Akron political scientist David Cohen.

“This was just an enormous event for Democrats to be able to break that stranglehold that they have on the legislature.” 

Republicans will have to work with Democrats to pass legislation, the political analysts said. 

“It provides an opportunity for the legislature and the governor to work together, but it will take goodwill and hard work, and it won’t be easy,” said Common Cause Ohio Executive Director Catherine Turcer. 

Republicans at the Statehouse are not used to having to work with Democrats, Cohen said.

“It’s not something that they really want to do, but it’s something that they’re going to be forced to do if they want to have to be able to to get legislation passed and laws on the books,” he said. 

Niven anticipates Acton and the Republican lawmakers will disagree on school funding and vouchers.

“I don’t think there’s a middle ground on that one,” he said. “That’s a philosophical difference, and I don’t know that there’s any way that they’re going to come together.”

The rest of the General Assembly before Acton takes office in January is going “to be fairly unpleasant,” Turcer said. 

“Legislative leaders are likely going to push proposals that could limit the authority of the governor,” she said. 

“There are things like executive agencies under the purview of the governor who end up making a lot of administrative rules, and the legislature could claw back some of that agency rulemaking and put the control in their own hands.” 

Ohio House races 

Republicans currently hold a 65-34 majority in the Ohio House, but some Republican incumbents lost to their Democrat challengers 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 that are currently held by Republicans. 

• Democrat Noah Spinner won Ohio’s 31st district, which is currently held by state Rep. Bill Roemer, R-Richfield.  
• Democrat Samantha Salamon won Ohio’s 35th district, which is currently held by state Rep. Steve Demetriou, R-Bainbridge Twp. Demetriou lost his bid for election for the Ohio Senate. 
• Democrat Daquan Neal won Ohio’s 39th district, which is currently held by state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton. 
• Democrat Mike Baker won Ohio’s 52nd district, which is currently held by state Rep. Gayle Manning, R-Avon. Manning won her seat in the Ohio Senate. 

A few races with Republican incumbents were too close to call as of 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 were nearly tied for Ohio’s 44th district, which is currently held by Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., as of Wednesday. 

“We didn’t just break the supermajority — we shattered it,” Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said Tuesday night. 

“This means that we have the opportunity to actually govern in Ohio. It’s not enough that Dr. Acton is our next governor. We have flipped these seats so that Dr. Acton can govern when she’s in.”

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he’s seen similar political cycles in 2006 under President George W. Bush and in 2012 under President Barack Obama. 

“Despite that national trend, Republicans have maintained a strong majority in the Ohio House, positioning us to advance the priorities we believe will best serve the people of Ohio over the next two years,” Huffman said in a statement to the Ohio Capital Journal.

Ohio Senate races 

The supermajority remains in the Ohio Senate as 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected Tuesday, according to unofficial election results. 

Ohio Democrats did pick up two seats as Democrat Stacie Baker beat incumbent state Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, and Democrat Mike Roberto beat Republican state Rep. Steve Demetriou for Ohio’s 27th district, which is currently held by Republican state Sen. Kristina Roegner. 

“The people of Ohio have spoken, and it’s clear that they are ready for change,” Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, said in a statement. 

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.