A former Ohio lawmaker who represented the Dayton area and was the first Indian American and Hindu state senator in Ohio history is planning to run for secretary of state next year, promising to protect the right to vote.
Republican Niraj Antani of Miamisburg represented the Ohio Senate’s 6th district from 2021 to 2024 and previously represented the Ohio House’s 42nd district for six years. Antani opted to run for Ohio’s 2nd congressional district last year but lost in the Republican primary.
He cited his family’s experience living in India under British rule, where they didn’t have the opportunity to cast a ballot.
“Living under British rule in India less than 80 years ago, my family didn’t have their freedom,” Antani said in a post on Facebook. “They didn’t have the right to vote.
“As someone born in America, I uniquely understand we must cherish that we were born free people, born with the right to vote,” Antani added. “This is a sacred institution; our vote must be protected, safeguarded, secured. As Ohio’s next Secretary of State, I will do just that.”
Current Secretary of State Frank LaRose is term-limited and cannot run again. LaRose is a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2026, along with Attorney General Dave Yost and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Antani opposes automatic voter registration, ballot drop boxes, and more than one early voting location in a county. These elements are included in the proposed “Ohio Voters Bill of Rights” that voters could soon decide on.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office certified the proposed amendment in November. In January 2024, the office rejected the petition summary “for having a misleading title” but re-examined it without considering its title and deemed it “fair and truthful” following an Ohio Supreme Court ruling.
The Ohio Ballot Board determined that the proposal contained only one amendment. With the ruling, petitioners can start collecting voter signatures needed for the initiative to appear on an upcoming regular or general election ballot.
In November, the Ohio Capitol Journal reported that Antani proposed a measure mandating Ohioans show proof of citizenship to register to vote or update their current voter registration.
“In my over decade of service as a State Senator & State Representative in the Ohio General Assembly, I stood with a steel-spine against the political establishment of both parties and special interests who all seek to preserve the status quo,” Antani said in his post. “We cannot afford elected leaders who shift their positions as the political winds change, who march to the beat of the drum of the establishment.
“We need leaders with conviction, who will preserve our values and shared ideals,” Antani added. “While India gained independence, my family came to America and became American citizens to pursue the American Dream. I’ve fought to give that same opportunity to achieve the American Dream to every Ohioan. That dream begins with fair and free elections. As Ohio’s next Secretary of State, I will always defend that dream and our elections.”
In May, the Dayton Daily News reported that state Senate President Matt Huffman called Antani’s repeated failure to show up to vote “disappointing.”
According to reports, a Cincinnati cancer doctor, Bryan Hambley, plans to run for the secretary of state post as a Democrat. Hambley said he is running because “he has seen how his patients and our communities suffer from a broken and gerrymandered democracy.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, is also considering running for the post.
“I’m proud to have authored successful legislation to strengthen Ohio’s elections by finally requiring a photo ID to vote, ensuring stringent post-election audits and listing the partisan affiliation for certain judicial offices on the ballot,” the outlet quoted Gavarone as saying in a statement.
