Republicans win all Butler, Warren Ohio House, Senate races

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, July 20, 2023. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, July 20, 2023. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Butler and Warren counties maintained their conservative reputation by electing Republicans on Tuesday to continue to represent them in Columbus.

Three of the four Ohio House races in Butler County were won by incumbents, and the one without an incumbent, the 47th Ohio House seat, was won by the candidate who ousted the incumbent in the March primary.

4th Ohio Senate District

With early votes counted and all 276 precincts reporting, Republican Sen. George Lang, of West Chester Twp., won with 63% of the vote while Democratic challenger Thomas Cooke, of Oxford, received 37%, according to unofficial county vote totals.

The 4th Ohio Senate District includes most of Butler County, except for Milford and Wayne townships, and the city of Trenton (which are in Ohio Senate District 5).

Lang won re-election to a second four-year term, which he said will be similar to what he’s done since he was a West Chester Twp. trustee in 2003.

“My mission has not changed, and it’s making our community, and now our state, more business-friendly. I believe when businesses thrive, families prosper and communities are strengthened,” he said. “We have made tremendous progress in recent years in making Ohio the most business friendly state in America, but there’s a lot more work to do.”

40th Ohio House District

Republican Rep. Rodney Creech of West Alexandria was defeated Democrat Bobbie Arnold with 76.9% of the vote with all 291 precincts reporting in Butler County, and all of the precincts reporting in Montgomery and Preble counties, according to unofficial election results.

The 40th Ohio House District seat represents all of Preble County, the western reaches of Montgomery County, and Milford and Wayne townships and the city of Trenton in Butler County.

45th Ohio House District

Incumbent Republican Rep. Jennifer Gross, of West Chester Twp., won re-election to a third term to the Ohio Statehouse. Gross received 62% of the unofficial vote, while Democrat Landon Meador of West Chester Twp. had 38%, according to unofficial vote totals.

Gross will again represent a district that includes West Chester, Ross, and Morgan townships, along with the city of Fairfield.

“I ran on the message of serving the people of my district. In the next two years I will strive to abolish the income tax, continue to stand for life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness,” said the 21-year Air Force veteran. “I will continue to be their voice, partner with my colleagues to strengthen families and businesses to make Ohio the best state to live, work and play.”

46th Ohio House District

Incumbent GOP Rep. Thomas Hall of Madison Twp. was also re-elected to a third term in Columbus. Hall earned 66.3% of the vote, and his challenger Democrat Benjamin McCall, of Liberty Twp., received 33.69%.

After thanking God and his family “to even make a third term possible,” Hall said he’s “very eager” to get back into Columbus for the lame duck session, but to also begin laying the groundwork for the next General Assembly “to continue the fight on property tax reform.”

Ohio House District 46 covers the northeast section of Butler County including Middletown and Monroe along with Madison, Liberty and St. Clair townships.

47th Ohio House District

Republican Diane Mullins of Hanover Twp., won the race for the 47th Ohio House District. She received 61.7% of the vote, while Democrat Vanessa Cummings, of Oxford, received 38.3%.

Mullins beat out incumbent Rep. Sara Carruthers in the GOP primary in March. She told the Journal-News she’s “proud of the hard work we have done” as she thanked her supporters. “I am excited to go to Columbus and work hard for all people of my district.”

She previously told this newspaper she was steadfast in also protecting Second Amendment rights. On her Facebook page, it states “pro-life is a top priority of my core values, and belief system.”

The 47th Ohio House District represents western and northern Butler County, including the cities of Hamilton and Oxford.

55th Ohio House District

Republican Michelle Teska of Clearcreek Twp. won this House District race, according to the unofficial votes. Teska received 72.53% of the vote while challenger Democrat Laura Marie Davis, of Clearcreek Twp., received 27.47%.

“I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful to the voters of Warren County,” she said. “I want to make sure we have economic prosperity, great schools and I want to represent the conservative values that Warren County has.”

The 55th District includes all of northern Warren County, plus much of the county’s eastern and southeastern areas.

56th Ohio House District

Incumbent Rep. Adam Mathews of Lebanon won this statehouse race. He received 62.54% of the vote, while challenger Democrat Cleveland Canova, of Lebanon, received 37.46%.

Mathews will represent southwestern Warren County, including Lebanon and Mason for the next two years.

Mathews on Tuesday night said the past two years he has been focused “on cutting taxes with property taxes and income taxes, as well as keeping the Cincinnati Open here for the next 25 years.”

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