Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington), who stepped down a few weeks ago as leader of minority Democrats in the Ohio House, said she's running for secretary of state next year.
Russo is term limited in the House, and had been thought to be considering a run for statewide or another campaign for Congress following her unsuccessful run in a special election in 2021, which was won by Republican coal lobbyist and now U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (OH-15). Russo said she weighed her options carefully.
"Other than governor, I think the statewide office that is most important here in Ohio is the secretary of state's office," Russo said in an interview with the Statehouse News Bureau. "And that is because its primary responsibility is ensuring that our citizens have access to the ballot."
But Russo is entering a race that already has a Democrat in it. Dr. Bryan Hambley, an oncologist from Cincinnati, has been campaigning since January as has raised more than a half a million dollars. Russo said she's run in primaries before and she wants Democrats to have "the strongest possible ticket."
"The importance of this office and this position—I'm not going to make my determination based on what other people have done. I feel very strongly, Republican or Democrat opponent, that I am the most experienced and qualified to walk in on day one and be able to do this job," Russo said. "So I'm going to run the race that I think needs to be done."
Hambley said in a statement he welcomes Russo to a "positive and honest campaign" and added: "My fellow Ohioans have told me, loud and clear, that Ohio needs new voices in state government and a less partisan Secretary of State. This is why I am running: to make our elections fair and ensure Ohioans can hold politicians accountable. To win this race, Ohio Democrats need a candidate who can lead and inspire, who meets people where they are in every corner of our state, and who can both listen and tell stories about issues–like healthcare–that touch all of us."
Russo said the secretary of state's office has not been a nonpartisan voice for voters under Republican Frank LaRose, who she's clashed with on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. She voted against four sets of legislative maps that Republican members of the commission approved in 2021 and 2022, but joined Republicans and Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) in supporting a fifth set of maps in September 2023.
But she said she's also concerned with how LaRose has maintained voter rolls. LaRose has continued the practice of removing people who haven't voted in two federal election cycles and haven't responded to notices from elections officials, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 and used by around a dozen other states. Russo said eligible voters should stay on the rolls, whether they've cast ballots recently or not, and shouldn't find out on election day that they've been "purged".
"This office is too important to not have someone like me, who sat across from supermajority Republicans on the Redistricting Commission so I know what their tricks and schemes are going to be, and to be able to go in on day one and be able to push back against that," Russo said. "I believe strongly that this office should be nonpartisan."
Republican treasurer Robert Sprague announced in February he was running for secretary of state, dropping a run for governor. LaRose is running for auditor. Russo said those are examples of the GOP candidates in the statewide executive offices, who are term limited in other offices, "playing musical chairs".
"All of them wanted to run for governor at some point, and they got pushed out by the guy who is now their nominee. Nobody really wants to be in the positions that they're running for," Russo said.
Two statewide offices have no Democratic candidates: auditor and treasurer. Dr. Amy Acton is running for governor, and former state rep. Elliot Forhan is campaigning for attorney general.
