List of presidents of the Ohio Senate
The president of the Ohio State Senate is the leader of the Ohio State Senate. Under Ohio's first constitution, in effect from 1803 to 1851, the presiding officer of the senate was called the speaker. Starting in 1851, when the second constitution took effect, a new office of lieutenant governor was created. The new position of lieutenant governor carried with it the office of president of the senate, and was nominally the presiding officer of the senate. During this time, the actual legislative leader of the senate majority was the president pro tempore of the Ohio Senate. In the 1970s, another change was made, which made the office of lieutenant governor elected jointly with the governor. At this time, the duty of presiding over the senate was removed from the lieutenant governor's portfolio and the majority party of the senate began electing its own president starting in 1979. The president is second in line to the office of the governor.
Speakers of the Ohio Senate, 1803–1851
| Term | Name | Party | Home county |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1803-03-01 – 1803-12-04 | Nathaniel Massie | Democratic-Republican | Ross |
| 1803-12-05 – 1805-02-21[1] | Daniel Symmes | Democratic-Republican | Hamilton |
| 1805-02-21 – 1806-11-30 | James Pritchard | Democratic-Republican | Jefferson |
| 1806-12-01 – 1809-12-03 | Thomas Kirker | Democratic-Republican | Adams |
| 1809-12-04 – 1810-12-02 | Duncan McArthur | Democratic-Republican | Ross |
| 1810-12-03 – 1813-12-05 | Thomas Kirker (2nd) | Democratic-Republican | Adams |
| 1813-12-06 – 1814-12-04 | Othniel Looker | Democratic-Republican | Hamilton |
| 1814-12-05 – 1815-12-03 | Thomas Kirker (3rd) | Democratic-Republican | Adams |
| 1815-12-04 – 1816-12-01 | Peter Hitchcock | Democratic-Republican | Geauga |
| 1816-12-02 – 1818-12-06 | Abraham Shepherd | Democratic-Republican | Adams |
| 1818-12-07 – 1819-12-05 | Robert Lucas | Democratic-Republican | Pike |
| 1819-12-06 – 1826-12-03 | Allen Trimble | National Republican | Highland |
| 1826-12-04 – 1827-12-02 | Abraham Shepherd (2nd) | Democratic | Brown |
| 1827-12-03 – 1829-12-06 | Samuel Wheeler | National Republican | Geauga |
| 1829-12-07 – 1830-12-05 | Robert Lucas (2nd) | Democratic | Pike |
| 1830-12-06 – 1831-12-04 | Samuel R. Miller | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1831-12-05 – 1832-12-02 | William Doherty | Whig | Franklin |
| 1832-12-03 – 1833-12-01 | Samuel R. Miller (2nd) | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1833-12-02 – 1834-11-30 | David T. Disney | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1834-12-01 – 1835-03-06[2] | Peter Hitchcock (2nd) | Whig | Geauga |
| 1835-03-06 - 1835-06-07 | Charles Anthony | Whig | Clark |
| 1835-06-08 - 1835-12-06 | David T. Disney (2nd) | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1835-12-07 – 1837-12-03 | Elijah Vance | Democratic | Butler |
| 1837-12-04 – 1838-12-02 | George J. Smith | Whig | Warren |
| 1838-12-03 – 1839-12-01 | William Hawkins | Democratic | Morgan |
| 1839-12-02 – 1841-12-05 | William McLaughlin | Democratic | Richland |
| 1841-12-06 – 1843-12-03 | James J. Faran | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1843-12-04 – 1844-12-01 | Thomas W. Bartley | Democratic | Richland |
| 1844-12-02 – 1845-11-30 | David Chambers | Whig | Muskingum |
| 1845-12-01 – 1846-12-06 | Seabury Ford | Whig | Geauga |
| 1846-12-07 – 1847-12-05 | Edson B. Olds | Democratic | Pickaway |
| 1847-12-06 – 1848-12-03 | Charles B. Goddard | Whig | Muskingum |
| 1848-12-04 – 1849-12-02 | Brewster Randall | Free Soil | Ashtabula |
| 1849-12-03 – 1850-12-01 | Harrison G. O. Blake | Whig | Medina |
| 1850-12-02 – 1852-01-04 | Charles Cleveland Convers | Whig | Muskingum |
Presidents pro tempore of the Ohio Senate, 1852–1978
(At this time, the nominal presiding officer of the senate was the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.)
| Term | Name | Party | Home county |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1852-01-05 – 1854-01-01 | Joel W. Wilson George Rex |
Democratic | Sandusky Wayne |
| 1854-01-02 – 1856-01-06 | Robert J. Atkinson | Democratic | Carroll |
| 1856-01-07 – 1858-01-03 | Robert Walker Tayler | Republican | Trumbull |
| 1858-01-04 – 1860-01-01 | Edward M. Phelps | Democratic | Defiance |
| 1860-01-02 – 1862-01-05 | Richard A. Harrison | Republican | Madison |
| 1862-01-06 – 1864-01-03 | James Monroe | Republican | Lorain |
| 1864-01-04 – 1865-12-31 | Samuel Humphreville | Republican | Medina |
| 1866-01-01 – 1868-01-05 | H. S. Martin | Republican | Stark |
| 1868-01-06 – 1870-01-02 | Thomas J. Godfrey | Democratic | Mercer |
| 1870-01-03 – 1871-12-31 | Samuel Furman Hunt | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1872-01-01 – 1874-01-04 | Allen T. Brinsmade | Republican | Cuyahoga |
| 1874-01-05 – 1876-01-02 | Emery D. Potter | Democratic | Lucas |
| 1876-01-03 – 1878-01-06 | H. W. Curtiss | Republican | Cuyahoga |
| 1878-01-07 – 1880-01-03 | James W. Owens | Democratic | Licking |
| 1880-01-04 – 1882-01-01 | Rees G. Richards | Republican | Jefferson |
| 1882-01-02 – 1884-01-06 | Roland A. Horr | Republican | Lorain |
| 1884-01-07 – 1886-01-03 | Elmer White | Democratic | Defiance |
| 1886-01-04 – 1888-01-01 | John O'Neill Silas A. Conrad |
Democratic Republican |
Muskingum Stark |
| 1888-01-02 – 1890-01-05 | Theodore F. Davis | Republican | Washington |
| 1890-01-06 – 1892-01-03 | Perry M. Adams | Democratic | Seneca |
| 1892-01-04 – 1894-01-02 | Elbert L. Lampson | Republican | Ashtabula |
| 1894-01-03 – 1896-01-05 | Thomas H. McConica | Republican | Hancock |
| 1896-01-06 – 1898-01-02 | John C. Hutsinpiller | Republican | Gallia |
| 1898-01-03 – 1899-12-31 | Thaddeus E. Cromley | Democratic | Pickaway |
| 1900-01-01 – 1902-01-05 | Oscar Sheppard | Republican | Preble |
| 1902-01-06 – 1904-01-03 | Frank B. Archer | Republican | Belmont |
| 1904-01-04 – 1905-12-31 | George Henry Chamberlain | Republican | Lorain |
| 1906-01-01 – 1909-01-03 | James M. Williams | Democratic | Cuyahoga |
| 1909-01-04 – 1911-01-01 | Nation O. Mather | Republican | Summit |
| 1911-01-02 – 1915-01-03 | William Green | Democratic | Coshocton |
| 1915-01-04 – 1916-12-31 | Charles John Howard | Republican | Belmont |
| 1917-01-01 – 1919-01-05 | J. H. Miller | Democratic | Licking |
| 1919-01-06 – 1922-12-31 | Frank E. Whittemore | Republican | Summit |
| 1923-01-01 – 1925-01-04 | George E. Kryder | Republican | Henry |
| 1925-01-05 – 1927-01-02 | Joseph R. Gardner | Republican | Hamilton |
| 1927-01-03 – 1929-01-06 | Chester C. Bolton | Republican | Cuyahoga |
| 1929-01-07 – 1931-01-04 | Allan G. Aigler | Republican | Sandusky |
| 1931-01-05 – 1933-01-01 | Earl R. Lewis | Republican | Belmont |
| 1933-01-02 – 1935-01-06 | D. H. DeArmond | Democratic | Hamilton |
| 1935-01-07 – 1937-01-03 | Paul P. Yoder | Democratic | Montgomery |
| 1937-01-04 – 1939-01-01 | Keith Lawrence | Democratic | Cuyahoga |
| 1939-01-02 – 1949-01-02 | Frank E. Whittemore (2nd) | Republican | Summit |
| 1949-01-03 – 1950-12-31 | Margaret A. Mahoney | Democratic | Cuyahoga |
| 1951-01-01 – 1953-01-04 | Roscoe R. Walcutt | Republican | Franklin |
| 1953-01-05 – 1959-01-04 | C. Stanley Mechem | Republican | Athens |
| 1959-01-05 – 1961-01-01 | Frank W. King | Democratic | Lucas |
| 1961-01-02 – 1965-01-03 | C. Stanley Mechem (2nd) | Republican | Athens |
| 1965-01-04 – 1975-01-05 | Theodore M. Gray | Republican | Miami |
| 1975-01-06 – 1979-01-01 | Oliver R. Ocasek | Democratic | Summit |
Presidents of the Ohio Senate, 1979–present
| Term | Name | Party | Home county | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 – 1981 | Oliver R. Ocasek | Democratic | Summit | 27th |
| 1981 – 1983 | Paul E. Gillmor | Republican | Ottawa | 2nd |
| 1983 – 1985 | Harry Meshel | Democratic | Mahoning | 33rd |
| 1985 – 1989 | Paul E. Gillmor (2nd) | Republican | Ottawa | 2nd |
| 1989 – 1997 | Stanley J. Aronoff | Republican | Hamilton | 8th |
| 1997 – 2003 | Richard Finan | Republican | Hamilton | 7th |
| 2003 – 2005 | Doug White | Republican | Adams | 14th |
| 2005 – 2011 | Bill Harris | Republican | Ashland | 19th |
| 2011 – 2013 | Tom Niehaus | Republican | Clermont | 14th |
| 2013 – 2017 | Keith Faber | Republican | Mercer | 12th |
| 2017 – 2020 | Larry Obhof | Republican | Medina | 22nd |
| 2021 – Present | Matt Huffman | Republican | Allen | 12th |
References
- ^ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... State of Ohio. p. 42. - Symmes resigned February 21, 1805, and was replaced by Pritchard
- ^ Hitchcock resigned March 6th, 1835 and was replaced by Charles Anthony of Clark County, sources:
Ohio General Assembly (1917). Manual of legislative practice in the General Assembly. State of Ohio. p. 230. and
Bell, William Jr. (1876). Annual report of the Secretary of State to the Governor and General Assembly for the year 1875... Ohio Secretary of State. p. 66.
- Bell, William Jr. (1876). Annual report of the Secretary of State to the Governor and General Assembly for the year 1875... Ohio Secretary of State. - pre-1874 party affiliations