Democrat Sykes won’t run for Senate
Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes said Wednesday that she won’t run for U.S. Senate, eliminating another possible contender for the crowded contest.
“There are more helpful ways to help Democrats be successful in 2022,” she confirmed in a sit-down interview.
The Akron Democrat was rumored as a potential challenger to U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan for next year’s Democratic primary in the race to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman. With that out of the equation, there are some speculating she’ll be eyeing a newly created congressional seat after redistricting occurs.
“People have asked me to run for a lot of different things in the state,” she said. “I would like to be useful, helpful and happy, and whatever I do has to check all three of those boxes.”
The minority leader said she appreciates being recruited by a lot of folks, but she mentioned that simply not running for any public office is still a real possibility. A priority for her in helping her party in 2022, she said, is to help build infrastructure so that candidates and voters from diverse backgrounds have the most support.
Sykes is term-limited in the Ohio House and would not be able to run again for her own office.
Sykes’ announcement came the same day progressive Morgan Harper entered the race, pledging to mobilize voters who don’t feel represented by their leaders.
Harper lost the 2020 primary
“I’ve not ever spoken to (Morgan Harper) about running for any race. I don’t know her. I met her for the first time over the weekend.” Emilia Sykes
against U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty in Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District but garnered support from Justice Democrats, which backed candidates like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-cortez and former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner.
While she’s advocated for having more candidates from diverse backgrounds, Sykes said she isn’t supporting anyone as of now in the Senate race.
“I’ve not ever spoken to her about running for any race,” she said of Harper. “I don’t know her. I met her for the first time over the weekend.”
Whoever secures the Democratic nomination will face a Republican opponent bruised by an expensive, crowded primary. Five candidates have jumped in so far, and state Sen. Matt Dolan embarked on a listening tour to help determine whether he should run.
Titus Wu and Haley Bemiller are reporters for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.