COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has decided not to run for re-election to the Speakership, announcing he will attend Wednesday's unofficial vote among House Republicans, but will not be a nominee.
“We’ll see what happens in the next 48 hours. I am sure there will be a lot of people who are interested in running for Speaker,” Stephens said. "As far as I’m concerned, this really resets the entire race.”
The race for Speakership for next General Assembly has been hotly contested. The person at the forefront eyeing the seat -- and someone still in the race -- is Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima). Huffman won an unopposed House seat on Nov. 5.
The news of Stephens, 53, dropping out came during his first press conference since breaking for the summer back in June. NBC4’s Statehouse Reporter Natalie Fahmy sat down with the Speaker for an exclusive one-one-on in September, where she asked him about the race. In that one-on-one in September, Stephens said he "fully expected" to be speaker come January.
Comments like that made the decision a surprising one, although the announcement was not unwelcome among House Republicans.
“I think it was a necessary step to bring unity to our caucus,” Representative Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) said. “Allow us to go into caucus, discuss leadership and come out with a single member that we can all get behind."
“Obviously I’m happy,” Representative Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) said. “I’ve thought for the last two years that we need somebody who’s supported by the majority of the caucus and at no point has that been Speaker Stephens.”
“As we look back over the past two years and what we've accomplished in the House, I have done what I said I would do. Ohio is definitely in a better place because of the leadership of the people's House,” Stephens said.
Stephens’ speakership has been contentious and riddled with Republican infighting. The discontent during his speakership began when he did, with 22 Republicans teaming up with Democrats to elect him as Speaker. The act came as a surprise to a majority of the House Republican caucus.
The fallout has led to stalled legislation, delayed committees and even a lawsuit brought forward by House Republicans against Stephens. Still, Stephens has defended his record throughout this past General Assembly as a leader.
“We’ve worked really hard. We've passed a really good conservative agenda. We've empowered members to be able to do what they want to do here in the House, and I think a lot of members see that,” Stephens said in September. “(The infighting) has made for some good fodder, maybe.”
On Monday, Stephens detailed several bills that the House has coalesced behind to pass, like three state budgets, legislation known as the SAFE Act, which has to do with gender-affirming care, and the CAMPUS Act for students on Ohio college campuses.
“These are just a few of the highlights that we have been able to accomplish by working together in this General Assembly,” Stephens said.
Stephens said the work does not end there, and he wants to be “solely focused,” on passing other priority bills the remainder of this General Assembly. He did not elaborate on the strategy behind dropping out or the decision's possible effects on legislation next year.
“I want to get as much done as we possibly can during lame duck. I want us to be focused on that,” Stephens said. “And I think it's important for the leader of the legislative body to be focused on that particular legislative body, more so than another legislative body.”
Though Williams and Ferguson agree Stephens recusing himself from the race was the right move, Williams is fully supporting Huffman for the job, while Ferguson said it is still anyone’s race to win.
“There wasn’t a clear path to victory when Stephens was in the race, there isn’t one now,” Ferguson said. “We’re in that phase right now where everybody needs to put their best foot forward and let us know why they would be the best candidate to unify us.”
Behind the scenes, some lawmakers, advocacy groups and critics of Huffman, have been hoping for Stephens to drop out and rally his supporters to back a third candidate. But Stephens did not say who he will be throwing his weight behind to support for speakership.
“I’m not going to talk about those,” Stephens said. “Those are internal meetings that did or did not happen.”
Stephens will still be a House representative these next two years. He said he sees a lot of opportunity for his term, but was not specific about any plans.
“The people who support me and continue to support me, they do so because they choose to. I don't force people. I don't threaten and I don't engage in any of those kinds of things,” Stephens said.
“I want to thank Speaker Stephens for his service during this General Assembly. While we didn’t always see eye to eye, he was a trustworthy, respectful colleague," Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him and the Majority Caucus in the next General Assembly finding bipartisan solutions to improve people’s lives.”
