Local News
By William Coffman, Opinion & Editorials Editor
With JD Vance being inaugurated as the 50th Vice President of the United States, Ohio lost one of its Senators. Three days before Inauguration Day, on Jan. 17, Governor Mike DeWine appointed Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted to fill the vacant seat.
Ohio’s new senator was sworn in on Jan. 21 and was assigned to the following Committees: the Committee on Environment and Public Works: the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Husted’s political positions have included an eight-year stint in the Ohio House of Representatives, four years of which was as Speaker of the House. He followed that with two years in the Ohio Senate before being elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2010, a role he was reelected to in 2014. For the last six years, he has been Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, and now will go to Washington D.C. to represent the state he has called home for most of his life.
The new Senator, Jon Husted, is seen giving a speech to a group of deploying Ohio Soldiers.
Born in Michigan in 1967, Husted was put up for adoption, and after being adopted by Jim and Judy Husted, was raised in Montpelier, Ohio. After high school, Husted attended the University of Dayton, earning both a bachelor’s in education and master’s in communications, while playing for the Flyers football team. The team won the NCAA Division III National Championship his senior year. Now-Senator Husted is married to his wife Tina, and they have three children. Senator Husted is Roman Catholic.
Husted has been described as a fiscal conservative. During his time as Secretary of State, Husted made many cuts to the department. He made the decision to request that 100% of taxpayer funding be cut for the remainder of his term.
Husted’s political career has not been immune to controversy. While in his role as secretary of state, Husted was named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought against him by the A. Philip Randolph Institute, which challenged the practices used by the state to remove voters from lists of active voting. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where judges ruled 5-4 in favor Husted.
Husted was also notable for his work with businesses while in office. Husted reduced the fee to start a new business in Ohio, bringing it down by 21%. Husted also launched the Ohio Business Central program, a move that was praised by multiple Chambers of Commerce, as it allowed for businesses to file paperwork online with the state. Husted partnered with Google’s Get Your Business Online initiative, providing startup resources for free to new businesses, a move his office said “could save Ohio businesses’ about $2 million annually.”
Husted now moves to the federal government after decades in local and state government. With the Republican Party holding the majority in both houses at Congress, President Donald Trump will look to advance much of his agenda, and Senator Husted will likely have many impactful voting days ahead.
