“Certainly running for governor is something I am strongly considering and will make a final decision in the next few months,” said Husted, who is attending the National Secretaries of States Association meeting in Washington, D.C. “It really depends if there’s enough support for me to do that, which is what I’m trying to determine right now.”
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Husted is serving his second and final term as Ohio’s secretary of state. He previously served in the Statehouse from 2001 to 2009, including as Ohio’s Speaker of the House from 2005 to 2009, and in the Ohio Senate from 2009 to 2011.
He won election as Ohio Secretary of State in November 2010.
“I love Ohio and I want to continue to fight for Ohio, and for the people of our state,” Husted said. “But at this point how I’m going to do that has not been decided.”
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Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is the only confirmed candidate for governor, which was an inadvertent admission when he told someone his intentions within earshot of a WHIO reporter, who later confirmed the declaration.
Husted leads a short list of potential Republican candidates, including Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth.
There is no confirmed candidate on the Democratic Party side, but there is a who’s who of Ohio Democrats on the list of potential gubernatorial candidates, which includes, among others, former Ohio Senator Nina Turner, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Brunner, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, Howland.
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