Conservative Majority Shrinks on Ohio Supreme Court
Despite the efforts of OIA and many others in the insurance and business community, the conservative majority shrunk by one seat on the Ohio Supreme Court with Justice Judi French losing to Judge Jennifer Brunner 44.76% to 55.24%. Fortunately, Justice Sharon Kennedy was able to hold on to her seat defeating Judge John O’Donnell by 55.06% to 44.94%.
Unfortunately, despite voter education efforts on the importance of judicial races, voter drop-off remained high in the races for the Court with nearly one million Ohioans that voted in the presidential race skipping these races altogether.
Going forward, the Court will have a 4-3 split in judicial philosophy when Kennedy and Brunner take their seats for the next term that begins early next year.
OIA Members Stephens and Lampton Win Seats in Ohio House
Jason Stephens Brain Lampton
Independent insurance agents will be well-represented in the 134th Ohio General Assembly with the election of two OIA members: State Rep. Jason Stephens and Brian Lampton.
Rep. Stephens is an agent with Stephens & Son Insurance Agency, Inc. and is a co-owner of Stephens & Son Insurance of Chesapeake, Inc. He resides in Kitts Hill. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the 93rd House District last October, making yesterday’s election his first general election for the Ohio House. He represents Jackson and Gallia counties, as well as portions of Lawrence and Vinton counties.
Brian Lampton has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and is the owner and operator of Lampton, Engle and Associates in Beavercreek. Yesterday was his first general election to represent the 73rd House District which includes the western portion of Greene County.
OIA is proud that Rep. Stephens and Brian Lampton are members of our association, and we look forward to the opportunity to work with them in the future.
Thanks to your generous support of the Ohio Insurance Agents Political Action Committee (OIA PAC), OIA provided financial support to the campaign committees of both Rep. Stephens and Brian Lampton.
Ohio General Assembly and U.S. Congress
The Ohio General Assembly will remain firmly controlled by Republicans. In the Ohio House, House Republicans appear to have increased their supermajority by picking up three seats leading to a 64-35 majority heading into the 134th General Assembly in January. In the Ohio Senate, Republicans look to have a 25-8 supermajority next year, although that breakdown could change as additional votes are counted as Sen. Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard) holds only a 41-vote lead over Crystal Lett in the 16th District.
At the federal level, in addition to the presidential race still being up in the air, the results of two Georgia Senate races remain outstanding which means control of the U.S. Senate is still up for grabs with the vote count currently sitting at 48 Republicans-48 Democrats. The outcome will not be known until Jan. 5, 2021, when these two Senate races in Georgia will be decided in a runoff. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats will maintain control, but saw their majority cut in half and will now have to govern with approximately ten seats separating the two parties.
For a more comprehensive overview of the election results, you can watch OIA’s webinar Election Results and Implications on the Independent Agency System that was recorded yesterday.
For questions, reach out to Carolyn Mangas at carolyn@ohioinsuranceagents.com.
