Ohio House Democrats elect Cincinnati Rep. Dani Isaacsohn as next leader

Ohio House Democrats have elected Dani Isaacsohn, a Cincinnati lawyer, as their next minority leader. A full chamber vote is scheduled for Wednesday to make him official.

Isaacsohn, a 36-year-old representing the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods, is set to replace Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, as she steps down to allow new leadership to prepare for the midterms. She is term-limited after this General Assembly and is expected to announce her next move in the coming months.

The other leadership positions for the House Dems have changed, as well. If the full floor vote follows the caucus vote — state Rep. Phil Robinson, D-Solon, will be assistant leader, state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna, will be whip, and state Rep. Desiree Tims, D-Dayton, will be assistant whip.

The millennial lawmaker Isaacsohn has risen to the top of the party since joining the legislature in 2023. He has been the whip since 2024 and is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. He also sits on the Finance and Energy committees. He focuses on affordable housing, education, government transparency and criminal justice reform.

He is a small business owner and created an organization called Cohear, focusing on community engagement. He attended Georgetown and received his law degree from Yale.

Isaacsohn will be one of the first Jewish leaders in state history. He helped create the Ohio Jewish Caucus, which includes five other legislators, including Brown Piccolantonio.

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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.