Sam Cao
Ohio House, District 56, OH
Sam is a high school student and a youth activist that is fighting to flip Ohio House, District 56 into one of love, compassion, and unity....
Meet the Candidates
- Since 2017, Run for Something has endorsed over 2,300 candidates across all 50 states and D.C.
- Since 2017, we have elected over 750 candidates across 48 states
Ohio Candidates
Run for Something is working with hundreds of young diverse progressives running for local office for the first time. Find one in your community and support their campaign.
2023 Candidates
2022 Candidates
Louise ValentineOhio House, District 61, OHLouise is a community non-profit leader and a proud mom of twin boys running to be a State Representative for the eastern part of Delaware...
Erin DickinsonSummit County Council, At-Large, OHErin was appointed to the Summit County Council in June 2022, and she is proud to be a part of the first female majority in Summit County...
Addison CarusoOhio House, District 36, OHAddison is running for Ohio House of Representatives because he is disappointed and frustrated with the direction the state of Ohio is...
Pavan V. ParikhHamilton County Clerk of Courts, OHPavan is the current Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. His focus is on increasing access to justice, improving customer service, modernizing...
Anthony EliopoulosOhio Senate, District 13, OHAnthony was born and raised in Lorain and attended Amherst Steele High School, graduating in 2014. While growing up, he managed to convince...
Melissa KobasherLorain County Common Pleas Court Judge, OHMelissa has worked in Lorain County for over a decade as a licensed attorney, practicing both family and criminal law, and currently serve as...
Lauren McNallyOhio House, District 58, OHLauren is the City of Youngstown's 5th Ward Councilwoman. She currently lives on the West Side of Youngstown with her husband and four kids....
DaVon MarshallOhio House, District 3, OHDaVon is a native of Ohio, a committed organizer, and a dedicated advocate for underserved and marginalized communities. He attended grade...
Tiffany BukoffskyDelaware County Commissioner, OHTiffany is a teacher, nurse advocate, and a proud mom running for Delaware County Commissioner in Ohio. Dedicating her life to serving...
Daniel OrtizOhio House, District 43, OHDaniel Ortiz is a healthcare worker and Toledo lifer running to represent his home city in the Ohio State House. As a nationally certified...
Dani IsaacsohnOhio House, OHDani is a lifelong Cincinnatian. He was a community organizer for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and has registered new voters...
Michele GrimOhio House, District 43, OHDr. Michele Grim is a public health advocate, aiming to strengthen effective responses to public health emergencies and access to medical...
Taylor EasthamOhio House, District 79, OHTaylor was born and raised in Ohio's 79th district. As the daughter of a union steel worker and utility worker, she is fighting to restore...
Claire OsborneOhio House, District 83, OHClaire is permanently passionate about ensuring Ohio is a great place to live, work and thrive. This can be achieved if we dare to Recover,...
Zach GwinFranklin County Court of Common Pleas, OHThroughout his career, Zach has shown his dedication to public service. Zach has both a passion for, and a record of, advocating for our...
Vince Peterson IIOhio House, District 64, OHVince is a graduate of Howland High School and received a full football scholarship to Villanova University. Upon his graduation from...
Lawrence MulliganOhio House, District 46, OHLarry is a local teacher and resides with his wife in his hometown of Middletown, OH. Larry graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School and...
Munira AbdullahiOhio House, District 9, OHMunira grew up in the heart of Columbus, graduating from Columbus Alternative High School (CAHS). She received her political science and...
Andria NobleFranklin County Court of Common Pleas, General Division, OHAndria has been a dedicated public servant throughout her career. She was an Assistant City Prosecutor at the Columbus City Attorney’s Office...
Sam LawrenceOhio House, District 47, OHSam is a 19-year-old Miami University student focused on putting common sense over corruption in the Ohio Statehouse. He brings a different...
Alissa MayhausOhio House, District 30, OHAlissa is a proud Cincinnatian and a University of Cincinnati alumna. An experienced project manager with a background in retail and product...
Jennifer O'DonnellCuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, OHJennifer is a public defender in Cleveland, Ohio who has dedicated her career to representing thousands of members of her community who...
Bria BennettOhio House, District 64, OHBria is a community organizer who is focused on amplifying the voices of her district. She is running to represent District 64’s fight to...
2021 Candidates
Aryeh AlexFranklin Township Trustee, OHAryeh has fought his entire career for working people to have good careers and live in a safe, clean place. Aryeh was elected to serves as a...
Justin BibbMayor of Cleveland, OHJustin is a community advocate and nonprofit leader running for Mayor of Cleveland to create a safer, healthier, and more resilient city....
Megan Czako ReamsnyderWesterville City Council, OHMegan is a community leader and public servant, serving on the board of several local organizations. A life-long Westerville resident, Megan...
Mac DriscollToledo City Council, At-Large, OHMac Driscoll is an urban planner who works for the Downtown Toledo Development Corporation. As an economic development professional, Mac has...
Marty GehresDayton Municipal Clerk of Court, OHMarty is a lifelong resident of the City of Dayton. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Dayton School of Law. Then went to work for...
Mary WinebergCincinnati Public School Board, OHMary is a proud CPS graduate, CPS teacher, and CPS parent. She was raised by her mother to work hard and to make the most of her...
Rhonda CrawfordTwinsburg City School Board of Education, OHRhonda is an alumna of the University of Akron and she is in upper management at Key Bank. Her husband, Cameron, is a manager at UPS. Like...
Allosious Snodgrass (Al)Cleveland Heights City Council, OHAllosious (AL) is a 25-year old public service oriented millennial committed to progress that residents in Cleveland Heights (CH) can see....
Laura Rodriguez-CarboneLakewood City Council, At-Large, OHLaura is a public servant and community champion who has dedicated the past 20 years to the betterment of Lakewood and Northeast Ohio. She is...
Megan DoughertySpringfield Township Trustee, OHMegan Dougherty is running for Springfield Township Trustee. She's running because she has a deep connection to the community and believe...
Aisia JonesCleveland City Council, Ward 8, OHAisia is a respected community organizer and activist whose experiences have led her to take her activism to City Hall and the ballot box....
Nick RubandoBowling Green City Council, Ward 1, OHNick grew up in Holland, Ohio, a small working class town outside of Toledo. His father, a businessman, coach, and entrepreneur, taught Nick...
Zachary JosephRiverside City Council, OHZachary (Zach) is a twenty-six year old who wears a lot of hats. He works full time as a Human Capital Management Consultant for a major HR...
Ajmeri HoqueDublin City Council, Ward 1, OHAjmeri is running for Dublin City Council in Ohio. Ajmeri lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter. As an attorney with her own...
Rebecca MaurerCleveland City Council, Ward 12, OHRebecca is a lawyer, community advocate, and civic leader in Cleveland. Her work ranges from organizing block parties to sparking city-wide...
Shenise Turner-SlossDayton City Council, OHShenise is the running for Dayton City Commission. She is a long-standing native of Dayton who works as a Logistics Management Specialist...
J. Matt NickelsCincinnati City Council, OHJ. Matt Nickels, a father of two (Thatcher and Zelda), and a husband for nearly ten years to Lindsay, PhD. After a tour with the US Cavalry...
Mario Clopton-ZymlerCleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education, OHMario is a charismatic and dedicated leader, music educator, and academic who combines his shared experience in education and social justice...
Rena ShakFranklin County Municipal Court Judge, OHRena is a criminal defense attorney at the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office, and is currently a 2021 candidate for the office of...
Andrea WiltroutNew Albany City Council, At Large, OHAndrea Wiltrout is a mother of three, a corporate attorney, a community leader and a strategic planner. When Andrea chose New Albany as the...
Kate WarrenCleveland City Council, Ward 13, OHKate is a community leader and advocate who has spent her career fighting for people in poverty. She is running for Cleveland City Council...
Evan HoltCincinnati City Council, OHEvan is a Cincinnati native, graduate of the School for Creative and Performing Arts, and local filmmaker. He was raised by his single...
Lindsay GillisDublin School Board, OHLindsay is a candidate for the Dublin City Schools Board of Education. As a bi-racial woman, who was raised by a single mother in the suburbs...
Kara CrowleyHilliard Board of Education, OHKara grew up in a small town in Ohio and attended a High School where she served as Class President and was voted Most Likely to be...
Corey BarnesAvon City Council, Ward 1, OHCorey is a husband, father, and homeowner with project management expertise in the Healthcare IT field. He's running for Avon Ward 1 City...
Ayat AminCleveland City Council, Ward 3, OHAyat loves to talk trash. As an environmentalist, she has done everything an individual can do to help the planet. She eats mostly vegan,...
Ukeme Awakessien JeterUpper Arlington City Council, At-Large, OHUkeme is running for Upper Arlington City Council to harness the power of broad civic engagement to build the future of the City. Whether...
Chanell ElstonSouth Euclid City Council, At Large, OHChanell graduated from Cleveland State University in 2011 with a Bachelors in criminology and a Masters in Social Work in 2015. As an...
Megan N. KilgoreColumbus City Auditor, OHMegan is the Auditor of the City of Columbus. She was elected on November 7, 2017, winning more votes than her opponent in every precinct....
Stacey SmithCincinnati City Council, OHStacey is a Licensed Professional Counselor running for Cincinnati City Council. She is a passionate advocate for expanding mental healthcare...
Precious SingoNew Albany Plain Local School Board of Education, OHPrecious is running for New Albany Board of Education because she believes in her gut that we can do better. She believes that there is an...
Riley AltonOlmsted Township Trustee, OHRiley is running for the Olmsted Township Board of Trustees as a homegrown public servant ready to listen and lead with a fresh perspective....
Keara R. DeverKettering Municipal Court Clerk, OHKeara was born and raised outside of Buffalo NY. Her father worked construction and her mom worked as a secretary. Keara attended college at...
AJ HarrisCuyahoga Falls Board of Education, OHAJ is a jobs advocate working to help students and adults with disabilities find and maintain employment throughout Summit County, Ohio. He...
Amy SmithWhitehall City Council, Ward 3, OHAmy is running for Whitehall City Council - Ward 3. As a proud child of deaf parents Amy has seen first hand how often the people whose...
Sean BeckAda City Council, At Large, OHSean has lived his entire life in Northwest Ohio. Born into a working-class family, he has seen first-hand the slow dilapidation of the...
2020 Candidates
Phil RobinsonOhio House of Representatives, District 6, OHPhil Robinson (D-Solon) currently serves as the State Representative for Ohio’s 6th House District. Additionally, Rep. Robinson serves as a...
Dara AdkisonOhio House of Representatives, District 57, OHDara is running for State Representative because the people of Ohio House District 57 deserve good public schools, lands that are free of...
Robb KoonsMarion County (OH) Common Pleas Court Clerk, OHRobb Koons is running for Clerk of the Marion County Common Pleas Court. He holds a BS in business administration with a concentration in HR...
Rachael MoroccoOhio House of Representatives, District 67, OHRachael Morocco is running for state representative of Ohio House District 67. She is a physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and...
Chris StanleyOhio House of Representatives, District 59, OHChris is a husband, father, educator, and author. He graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Social...
A.J. HarrisOhio State House of Representatives, District 36, OHA.J. is running for State Representative to change the pace in Columbus. Growing up in public housing, the son of a teacher and a...
Reem SubeiOhio State Senate, District 2, OHReem is running for Ohio State Senate because she wants to bring justice to Ohioans. As a civil rights attorney, she has seen how Republican...
Zach SteppState House of Representatives, District 55, OHZach Stepp is running for the Ohio State House to bring results-driven representation for Lorain County to Columbus and to break the...
Alaina SwopeOhio House of Representatives, District 97, OHAlaina is a working-class progressive running to represent the people of Muskingum and Guernsey counties in Ohio’s Statehouse. She was born...
Crystal LettOhio Senate, District 16, OHAfter graduating from Hilliard Davidson High School and The Ohio State University, Crystal decided to serve her community by working with...
Mark FogelOhio Senate, District 6, OHMark was raised in the Dayton area and quickly fell in love with aviation. Wanting to fly airplanes and serve his country, he attended the US...
Pavan ParikhHamilton County Probate Court Judge, OHBorn and raised to immigrant parents in Cincinnati, Pavan is running to be the next Hamilton County Probate Court Judge because he believes...
Christian N. JohnsonOhio Senate, District 20, OHChristian is a business owner, an educator, and above all, a strong woman who is running to bring solution-based remedies to a broken,...
Daniel Edward WinstonOhio House, District 5, OHDaniel Winston is a lifelong resident of Wellsville, Ohio and a 2006 graduate of Wellsville High School. Daniel works for Cigna and is also a...
Kari BloomHamilton County (OH) Juvenile Court, OHFrom the very first time she went into a juvenile detention facility, Kari knew that she found her place in the world, and that someday she...
Cate BergerOhio House, District 41, OHCate is a committed Daytonian working across the community to make an impact on the every day life of all people who call here home. Cate has...
Laurel JohnsonOhio House, District 3, OHLaurel is a Wood County native that grew up in a working-class family. Today, she calls Perrysburg home. She worked hard after the loss of...
2019 Candidates
Kimberley MasonColumbus City School Board of Education, OHAs a parent, resident and advocate, Kimberley is focused on being the change the school board needs. Kimberley believes that our school board...
Melanie FarkasTrustee, Liberty Township, Powell, OHMelanie Farkas is a marketing manager who is passionate about protecting her community while planning for the future. A former journalist,...
Carrie HartmanMaumee City Council, OHCarrie Hartman is a dedicated civil servant running for Maumee City Council. She has worked in the public sector for the last four years and...
Sam MeldenToledo City Council, District 5, OHSam Melden, 35, grew up in the Toledo area and currently lives in West Toledo with his wife Lindsey and their three young daughters. Sam has...
Brad PresuttoLakewood City Council Ward 2, OHBrad is a 15-year Lakewood resident. He’s running for city council to represent neighbors in Ward 2, and work toward a city that’s welcoming,...
Sheena BarnesToledo Public School Board, OHSheena is a committed advocate, mother, and community member. Sheena is a Community Health Worker for Lucas County, working with youth to...
Liliana BaimanColumbus City Council, OHLiliana Rivera Baiman is running for Columbus City Council to provide a voice for working families. She is an immigrant from Mexico, labor...
Laura Rodriguez-CarboneLakewood City Council, Ward 1, OHLaura Rodriguez-Carbone is running for Lakewood City Council, Ward 1, in Lakewood, Ohio. As a community advocate for over 17 years, Laura...
Seth DobbelaerNewark City Council At-Large, OHSeth Dobbelaer is running for Newark City Council At-Large. A Newark native, Seth is committed to serving the community that he has always...
Javier EspitiaLorain City Council, Ward 6, OHAs a a first-generation American born to Mexican immigrant parents, Javier Espitia knows the promise of the American Dream firsthand. He is...
2018 Candidates
Ryan Rebecca TaylorHouse District 40, Ohio, OHRyan is a 3rd generation resident of Ohio's 40th district. A graduate of Northmont High School and Wright State University. She is a...
Tim PiattOhio House of Representatives, 36th District, OHTim was born in Charleston, SC, but has lived in Ohio most of his life. He graduated from Kent State University and earned his law degree and...
Kelly Kraus MenckeState House District 55, Ohio, OHKelly Kraus Mencke is a wife, mother, working woman, and candidate for Ohio House District 55. Kelly understands the struggle Ohio families...
Aziz AhmadHouse District 7, Ohio, OHAziz is a school teacher running for State Representative for House District 7 in Ohio. He was born, raised and educated in his district....
Phil RobinsonHouse District 6, Ohio, OHA Northeast Ohio native, Phil Robinson is a devoted husband and father of two, raising his family in Solon, OH. He learned the values of...
Elliot KolkovichOhio State House, 38th District, OHElliot is an Assistant Summit County Prosecutor. He's married and has a child in public schools. He is a first-time candidate who wants to...
Louise ValentineOhio State Senate 19th District, OHLouise Valentine is a mother of two running for the Ohio Senate District 19. Louise grew up in a middle-class Ohio family, as her father was...
Rachel CrooksOhio House of Representatives, District 88, OHRaised in Green Springs, Ohio and currently a resident of Tiffin, Ohio, Rachel is a long-time resident of Sandusky and Seneca counties. She...
Lis Kenneth RegulaPortage County Auditor, OHLis Kenneth Regula is a devoted father, a lifelong Ohioan, and a hardworking public servant. For the last 11 years, he has dedicated his time...
Joe HelleOhio General Assembly - 89th House District, OHJoe is running for the 89th House District in Ohio. Joe is the proud father of two beautiful girls, Autumn and Natalie, and is the fiance of...
Nikki FosterOhio State Legislature, District 54, OHNikki works for GE Aviation and is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and is in her 14th year of military service where she has 3,000...
Devin J. BlackCounty Commissioner for Sandusky County, OH, OHDevin J. Black is a proud, lifelong resident of Sandusky County. He earned a Bachelors Degree from Bowling Green State University, and is...
Christine FisherState Representative Ohio 27th District, OHChristine was raised in a household dedicated to education with both parents being professors. She went on to get a Degree in Computer...
Pavan ParikhJudge of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, General Division, OHPavan V. Parikh was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he currently lives with his wife, Dr. Shwetha Manoharan. A Judge Advocate in...
Lauren FriedmanOhio State Senate, District 29, OHLauren is a US Naval Academy graduate who served two deployments as part of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. When she completed her...
Cassie GabeltOhio State Legislature District 50, OHCassie Gabelt is a proud Navy veteran, a mother, a two-time college graduate, and a lifelong resident of Ohio. She believes that government...
Zachary DickersonOhio House of Representatives, 42nd District, OHZach Dickerson is 38 and lives in Miamisburg, OH. Originally born in Kansas, Zach made his way to Ohio after law school. He is an advocate...
Michael HamperAshtabula County Board of Commissioners, OHCommunity. Hope. Leadership. These are Mike's bedrock values that inform everything he does in life. Mike and his wife, Carmen, live in...
Cassimir SvigeljOhio House of Representatives, 16th District, OHCassimir Svigelj is running for Ohio’s Statehouse in District 16 because the Republican supermajority in Columbus, currently lacks the vision...
Taylor SappingtonOhio House of Representatives, 94th District, OHGrowing up through struggle and adversity, Taylor learned what it means to work hard. He believes firmly in community, integrity, and...
2017 Candidates
Chelsea RothschildTrustee of Springfield Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, OHChelsea Rothschild has lived in and served the Springfield Township community her entire life, and now she is ready to serve as Trustee. Too...
Aryeh AlexFranklin Township Trustee, OHAryeh Alex has fought his entire career for working people to have great paying jobs and live in a safe, clean place—now he wants to serve...