What Ohio Democrats' gains in the Statehouse could mean

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Next year, Democrats at the Ohio Statehouse will hold a few more seats, but will it make a big change?  

Democrats picked up two seats in each chamber, which means Republicans will hold 65 of 99 seats in the Ohio House, and 24 of 33 Ohio Senate seats next year.  

“While there are gains for Democrats in Ohio legislature, make no mistake that this is a dominated body of government for conservatives and Republicans, and they're going to continue to govern that way,” Republican strategist Mike Gonidakis said.  

“Amid a pretty bleak day for Democrats overall, I think having some gains in the statehouse is important,” Democratic strategist David Pepper said. “It hasn't happened all that much since 2011.”  

Here’s a breakdown of why the numbers matter:

• To pass a bill, a simple majority is needed. Republicans in both chambers can still do that without help from Democrats.
• To override a veto and to pass resolutions proposing constitutional amendments, a three-fifths majority is needed. Republicans in both chambers can still both those things without help from Democrats.
• To add an emergency clause to a bill, a two-thirds majority is needed. Emergency clauses allow legislation to go into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature, instead of the typical 90-day wait period. Now, Ohio House Republicans are one member short of being able to do that without the help of Democrats.

“Potential new ideas, potential new leadership in a lot of different ways,” Pepper said.  

“You're going to see the House and Senate maintain status quo as it relates to if they disagree with the governor on a veto, they'll have the power to override that veto,” Gonidakis said.  

These seat gains could also play a big role in who the Republican Speaker of the House is next year.  

“The magic number is 50. Any of the 99 men and women in the Ohio House have to get to 50 votes,” Gonidakis said. “We can talk about backroom negotiations and closed-door meetings, but at the end of the day, our rule of government requires 99 men and women to walk into the Ohio House and Representatives on that early day in January 2025 and take a vote.”

Speakership could mean the difference between a more conservative or moderate general assembly. For example, Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has blocked Senate Bill 83 from passing, but it is something Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) wants to see go through. Both men are vying for the speakership position next year. The Democrats played a key role in Stephens' win at the start of this General Assembly.

“The slightly increased number in the House caucus will give Democrats leverage in that debate. And just like [Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington)] did last time, the hope is that some good some good policy wins come with that,” Pepper said.  

“When you're in the minority, if you stick together and vote as a bloc, you have a lot of influence,” Gonidakis said. “The minority is to oppose, of course. But also, it's to work together so those 34 votes can make a big difference in who the next speaker is if they stick together.”  

As far as the future of the Democratic party goes in the Ohio Statehouse, Pepper said these wins could point to an exciting future. And he said he believes if not for gerrymandering, where districts are “literally designed,” for some candidates to lose, members of his party could have picked up even more this year.  

“Even with these gains, it's not at all close to representing where Ohioans actually are,” Pepper said. “I think the fact that some of them won, even in a year that no doubt was a difficult year, I think it's clear that maybe others in a slightly better year -- which ‘26 honestly could be -- maybe some of the candidates that were out there that I met who lost by only a few votes could win.”  

But Gonidakis said he thinks the state is simply just trending more red.  

“Stark County used to be all blue, and now it's completely red. Why? The county is still the county, the seats or the seats,” Gonidakis said. “It's because the Republicans are running better candidates. If Democrats figure out how to run common sense candidates, they care about kitchen table issues and not these crazy social conservative issues about men playing women's sports and such, they're going to be able to be competitive again. But until such time, Republicans will dominate.”  

The Statehouse will be back to session next week. The new General Assembly starts at the beginning of the week.