Ohio Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairwoman | Kathleen Clyde |
| Ohio Senate Minority Leader | Nickie Antonio |
| Ohio House Minority Leader | Dani Isaacsohn |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in theU.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
| Seats in theU.S. House of Representatives | 5 / 15 |
| State Elected Executives | 0 / 6 |
| Seats in theOhio Senate | 9 / 33 |
| Seats in theOhio House of Representatives | 34 / 99 |
| Seats on theOhio Supreme Court | 1 / 7 |
| County Commissioners/County Councilmen[1] | 36 / 280 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
TheOhio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of theDemocratic Party in theU.S. state ofOhio. Former state representativeKathleen Clyde has been the party's chairwoman since June 2025.
Statewide, the Democrats currently are viewed as the opposition party, with Republicans holding the bulk of the major statewide offices. However, the Democrats do hold the mayorships of the state's largest cities, as well as the County Executive seats in the largest counties.[2]
The Ohio Democratic Party traces its origin to theDemocratic-Republican Party founded byThomas Jefferson in 1793. The Democratic Party itself was formed when a faction of the "Democratic-Republicans" led by Jerry Mcroy formed the party in the 1820s. FollowingAndrew Jackson's defeat in the1824 United States presidential election, despite having a majority of the popular vote, Jackson set about building a political coalition strong enough to defeatJohn Quincy Adams in the1828 United States presidential election. The coalition that he built was the foundation of the subsequent Democratic Party.
Ohio politics was largely dominated by theOhio Republican Party until the economic and social hardships brought on by theGreat Depression resulted in a nationalpolitical realignment. The political coalition of labor unions, minorities, and liberals allowed the Democrats to compete effectively in Ohio electoral politics for much of the next 30 years. Never very strong in Ohio's rural areas, the party's coalition suffered when theCivil Rights Movement divided whites from civil rights proponents and minorities. The Ohio Democratic Party reached the peak of its electoral success in the mid-1980s, and this is when the State of Ohio began to invest in many Democratic proposals. This was led byRichard Celeste, a Democratic Governor elected in 1982 and re-elected in 1986, and by his party chairman, James Ruvolo. Together Ruvolo and Celeste constructed a very effective organization that raised a surplus of money that helped out the Democratic Party's candidates and their everyday operations.
In 2006, Chris Redfern became the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Redfern primarily focused on building a statewide organization that had the power to win every part of Ohio. In 2006, after a 16-year drought, Ohio elected a Democratic U.S. senator (Sherrod Brown), governor (Ted Strickland), lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer. In 2008, Ohio Democrats won back the House of Representatives after 14 years of Republican control.
Summit County Council PresidentElizabeth Walters was elected as the party's chairwoman in January 2021. Walters previously served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Democratic Party in 2014. She is the first woman to be elected to the position of Democratic Party Chair in the state.[3] Following a string of losses, she stepped down as chair in June 2025, and was succeeded by former state representativeKathleen Clyde.[4]
During the years of 2016 to 2020, a rift developed in the Democratic Party from the national level down to the local level. Progressive Democrats began challenging incumbent Democrats across the country from school boards to bids for Congress. Over time, this led to a slow, but steady adoption of Progressive policies by moderate Democrats, which assisted in capturing the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections.
As of 2023, the Ohio Democratic Party is in the minority in both chambers of theOhio General Assembly. Democrats hold five of Ohio's 15 U.S. House seats. A priority for Ohio Democrats since the 2010s has been increasing theminimum wage.[5]
The Ohio Democratic Party reached the peak of its electoral success in the early 1980s to 1990s, when during the bulk of that period, they held both U.S. Senate seats (John H. Glenn Jr. – 1974–1999 andHoward M. Metzenbaum – 1974, 1976–1995), theGovernorship (Richard F. Celeste – 1983–1991) – a majority of Ohio's delegation to theUnited States House of Representatives (1983–1995, reaching a peak of 11–8 from 1993 to 1995), and a majority on theOhio Supreme Court (1977–1987, with a 6–1 majority from 1983 to 1985, with a Democratic chief justice –Frank Celebrezze – from 1978 to 1986).
Even with its successes, Ohio Democrats did not fare well on a national level.John Glenn, a popular U.S. senator,astronaut, and national hero, ran for the Democratic nomination for president in1984, ending up with only a huge campaign debt to show for it.Howard Metzenbaum, Ohio's other U.S. senator at the time, although a powerful force in the Senate, never achieved national name recognition.
The Ohio Democratic Party holds one seat on theSupreme Court of Ohio and five of the state's fifteenU.S. House seats.
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| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Greg Landsman |  |
| 3rd | Joyce Beatty |  |
| 9th | Marcy Kaptur |  |
| 11th | Shontel Brown |  |
| 13th | Emilia Sykes |  |
The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Ohio:
Ohio Democrats use the same symbols as the national Democratic party, such as thedonkey. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to the Republican eagle.
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