Householder Elected Speaker

The Ohio House of Representatives convened on Monday – as did the Senate – to administer oaths of office and elect leadership. The House speakership had been bitterly contested for more than a year with Republican Larry Householder working to wrest the gavel from incumbent Republican Speaker Ryan Smith.

In the end, Householder won back the Speaker’s gavel (52-46), even while Smith enjoyed considerably more supporters among the Republican caucus. Here is an excerpt from the House Journal that breaks down the voting. Readers may remember that Householder was the Speaker from 2001 to 2004.

Householder bested Smith by persuading 26 Democrats to support him. Labor groups were especially vocal in urging Democrats to support Householder. Utilizing minority party votes to form a majority coalition to elect a Speaker is unprecedented in modern times. 1/10/2019