COLUMBUS — A core of Ohio House Republicans worked with Democrats on Tuesday to elect southern Ohio Rep. Jason Stephens as the powerful Speaker of the House, denying the job to state Rep. Derek Merrin (R., Monclova Township).
Mr. Merrin won the secret ballot vote of the House GOP caucus in November on the second pass, but behind-closed-doors maneuvering through Tuesday shifted support toward Mr. Stephens. Mr. Stephens (R., Kitts Hill) won 54-43.
“We have a 67-seat Republican majority, and the Democrats chose the speaker of the House,” Mr. Merrin said after the vote. “What happened here today is self-explanatory by the vote totals. The Democrats have chosen who the speaker of the House will be.”
Mr. Merrin had been championed by staunchly conservative organizations, but indications were that, among other things, the fourth-term lawmaker's support for making Ohio a right-to-work state led Republicans concerned about the labor vote in their districts to peel off.
In the end, Mr. Stephens received more Democratic votes than Republican.
“This particular vote speaks for itself,” the new speaker told reporters. “I think it's an issue of what brings us together. When we have common ground as a group of Ohioans, we can do a lot of good things in the people's House.”
Mr. Stephens’ supporters cited his ability to unite.
“A vote for speaker should not be an emotional one,” said Rep. Brett Hillyer (R., Uhrichsville), who nominated Mr. Stephens. “Rep. Stephens brings stability and good government to this body.”
Mr. Merrin continued to work the House floor and the phone up until the last minute, but he rose to join a standing ovation for Mr. Stephens after the vote. Mr. Stephens shook Mr. Merrin’s hand before approaching the podium.
“His rise from local politics into the state level and then a leadership position and committee chairs in this House has shown remarkable leadership,” said Rep. Jamie Callender (R., Concord), who nominated Mr. Merrin. “Derek is very, very honest to an extent rarely seen in this chamber, and sometimes it can be hard to take. He does not tell people what they want to hear.”
The next speaker needed the support of at least 50 of the full chamber's 99 members with Republicans holding 67 of those seats. The divided Republican caucus meant that the winner needed the help of Democrats.
Minority Democrats played a role two years ago in electing Republican Rep. Larry Householder as speaker. He was indicted months later in a federal bribery case, was removed as speaker and later from the chamber altogether by his colleagues, and faces a racketeering trial later this month.
Mr. Merrin, who is term-limited, could only serve one two-year term as speaker.
Mr. Stephens, 51, could potentially serve six years before running up against term limits. The insurance agent is a former Lawrence County commissioner and auditor.
Mr. Merrin, the Lucas County representative and former Waterville mayor, would have been among the youngest to serve as Ohio speaker at 36. He would also have been the first speaker to represent the city of Toledo given that his 42nd District, previously suburban and rural territory, picked up a swath of South Toledo in last year's redistricting.
He won re-election despite the district leaning slightly Democratic on paper.
While trying to beat back the insurgency, Mr. Merrin was also dealing with last week's death of his father, Russell J. Merrin of Waterville.
In November, no one came up with enough support on the first vote for speaker in the Republican caucus between Mr. Merrin, Mr. Stephens, and Rep. Phil Plummer (R., Dayton). On the second pass, Mr. Plummer stepped aside and threw his support to Mr. Merrin.
Rep. Allison Russo (D., Upper Arlington), Democratic leader, said there was “no grand deal” with Mr. Stephens, and she said the decision was made to vote as a caucus only about an hour before the floor vote.
“We knew that neither candidate had enough votes to get to a majority, and at the end of the day we decided to support the speaker candidate that we thought would work with us on things that we could agree on,” she said. “There's going to be a lot of things that we don't agree on, to do what is best for Ohioans. That was at the end of the day what the conversation centered upon.”
She said the caucus talked with both candidates.
Taking their oaths as freshmen lawmakers from northwest Ohio on Tuesday were Reps. Michele Grim (D., Toledo), formerly of city council; Josh Williams (R., Oregon), the sole Black member of the House Republican caucus; and Roy Klopfenstein (R., Haviland), former Paulding County commissioner.
Mr. Williams kept in line behind Mr. Merrin as he did behind closed doors in caucus.
Republicans from northwest Ohio who supported Mr. Stephens over Mr. Merrin were Reps. Haraz Ghanbari (R., Perrysburg), D.J. Swearingen (R., Huron), and Jon Cross (R., Kenton).
“He's a conservative,” Mr. Williams said of Mr. Merrin after the vote. “I think he has the right skills as a leader. That's what the caucus unanimously voted [in November]. I'm a man of my word. I wasn't going to change it at the last minute.”
Rep. Elgin Rogers, Jr., (D., Toledo) took his second oath in less than two months, having been sworn in early after winning the race to replace now-state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo), who also joined the upper chamber early to replace departing Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo).
Tuesday marked the official start of the 135th General Assembly, although it is likely to be weeks before committees are fully organized to begin hearing testimony.
One measure, however, is already awaiting lawmakers' return. A proposed voter-initiated statute to legalize, regulate, and tax recreational marijuana has already been placed in lawmakers' laps, although it will still have to be formally introduced as a bill.
The Republican-controlled chambers are not expected to pass it. After four months of inactivity, the proposal's backers could gather more signatures to directly put the question to voters in November.
With stronger supermajorities — 67-32 in the House and 26-7 in the Senate — going into the new session, the chamber could deal with issues affecting abortion, the ability of voters to amend the Ohio Constitution, school vouchers, a massive overhaul of how Ohio governs education, and taxes.
State Senate President Matt Huffman (R., Lima) was easily re-elected in the upper chamber.
First Published January 3, 2023, 3:54 p.m.
