GOP hopes to strengthen majority in Ohio House, Senate

COLUMBUS >> Republicans hope to strengthen their control of the Ohio Legislature in Tuesday’s election, as the Democrats vying for seats include the lead plaintiff from the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. Also, the state has its first Somali American lawmaker.

All 99 seats in the House of Representatives and 17 of the 33 Senate seats are up for reelection.

Republicans currently have a veto-proof majority in both chambers. They need 60 seats in the House and 20 in the Senate to override a governor’s veto, assuming a vote along party lines.

They used that power to override their own party’s governor, Mike DeWine, during the COVID-19 pandemic on a measure weakening the governor’s ability to respond to public health emergencies.

The legislative district maps for this election were used despite an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

States go through a political mapmaking process every decade to reflect population change, and Ohio’s latest redistricting fight stretched into election season. A divided federal court panel ordered that the state’s elections go ahead using the third set of Statehouse maps approved by the GOP-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission. In an active second legislative session year, redistricting played out alongside lawmakers legalizing sports betting, allowing school district employees to carry guns, and debating measures about vaccination requirements, abortion, gun rights and school vouchers, among other bills.

The 2023-24 session is expected to include debate about a state budget and possible additional restrictions on abortion.

Democrat Munira Abdullahi became the state’s first Somali lawmaker in the Legislature on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old ran unopposed for a district that covers part of northeastern Columbus. The city has the second-largest Somali population in the United States, behind the Minneapolis area.

Democrat Ismail Mohamed, a lawyer running for District 3, could be the first Somali and Muslim man in the Legislature, should he win against his Republican opponent, J. Josiah Lanning.

Jim Obergefell, a Democrat whose landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, is running for House District 89 on a platform of equality in his first move from LGBTQ activism to the political arena.

Obergefell faces Republican incumbent Rep. D.J. Swearingen in a district that leans 57% Republican, according to Dave’s Redistricting App, a political mapmaking website.

MUNIRA ABDULLAHI VIA AP, FILE Munira Abdullahi, right, the Democratic candidate running unopposed for the Ohio House of Representatives chats with potential voters in her home city of Columbus. The 26-year-old is all but guaranteed to become the first Somali woman and Muslim woman to serve in the Ohio Legislature. Columbus is home to the second-largest Somali population in the United States.

SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Democratic candidate for Ohio House of Representatives Ismail Mohamed poses for a photo in a Somali restaurant, Sept. 30 in Columbus. The 30-year-old could be the state’s first Somali and Muslim man elected to the Ohio Legislature if he wins in the 2022 midterms. Columbus is home to the second-largest Somali population in the United States.

NICK CAMMETT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Ohio House District 89Candidate Jim Obergefell speaks during a meeting of the Democratic Women of Erie County at Strickfaden Park July 18in Sandusky. Obergefell, a Democrat whose landmark 2015U.S. Supreme Court case legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, is running for House District 89on a platform of equality in his first move from LGBTQ activism to the political arena.