Head of fractured Ohio House loses some GOP allies, but may yet keep leadership role amid infighting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Foes of Republican Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens picked off four of his allies, including one of his leadership team, in primary elections, though were still one shy of the number needed to obliterate his majority in the next legislative session. But a bitter battle for control of the chamber still looms.

Stephens’ term-limited counterpart in the Legislature’s upper chamber, Senate President Matt Huffman, who was unopposed in Tuesday’s primary for a House district in western Ohio and is on an unobstructed path to win the seat this fall, has openly touted his desire to be speaker.

The intraparty skirmishing has played out in ads, endorsements and campaign donations throughout the primary campaign season, though it started with Stephens’ win of a contentious speaker race in January 2023.

Huffman, a Republican from Lima, has donated to incumbents who voted for Stephens’ opponent in the race for speaker, state Rep. Derek Merrin, according to campaign finance records. Those incumbents continue to decry Stephens’ speakership. Some of Huffman’s fellow conservative senators also publicly endorsed several challengers to Stephens’ supporters.

Utilizing the millions he controls in the Ohio House Republican Alliance’s campaign funds, Stephens waged ad campaigns attacking Republicans who ran against his supporters as well those who have been dubbed “the Merrin camp.” Merrin and supporters Reps. Phil Plummer and Ron Ferguson are trying to wrest that control away via an ongoing lawsuit.

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