Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) will take over as minority leader in the Ohio House, all but three GOP lawmakers voted on the floor.
The 36-year-old鈥檚 official election Tuesday afternoon came after the chamber鈥檚 Democratic caucus met on Monday night to vote for new leaders鈥攊ncluding Reps. Phil Robinson (D-Solon) as assistant minority leader, Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna) as minority whip, and Desiree Tims (D-Dayton) as assistant minority whip. All three are new to the roles.
Isaacsohn said it is an 鈥渋ncredibly humbling鈥� position to hold but the state, he believes, is at an 鈥渋nflection point.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e about to vote on the biggest bill we do every two years, the budget bill, and things are not going well in the state,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome states are doing it better than Ohio, and some of those are red states and some of those are blue states, and so we have to just choose the best ideas and really focus on the issues.鈥�
Isaacsohn succeeds Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) at the head of the caucus. Russo鈥檚 colleagues first elected her to that role in 2022. She鈥檚 going to stay in her House seat through the end of this General Assembly in 2026, when she hits her term limit, she said. Russo has long been considered among potential candidates for Democratic federal or statewide public office and has said her time serving may not be over.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that my time in public service is done,鈥� Russo said in May. 鈥淏ut I have not made a decision about what that means for 2026.鈥�
Russo led the caucus through a brutal battle over legislative redistricting. State lawmakers are under legal obligation to draw new districts for Congress this year, likely one of the first big efforts Isaacsohn will face this fall.
The Ohio House minority caucus changes follow a similar shift at the Ohio Democratic Party. Earlier in June, executive committee members elected Kathleen Clyde, a former state lawmaker, to lead the Ohio Democrats. Clyde succeeded Liz Walters.