Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens announced Monday he will not try to keep his leadership job. His announcement comes days ahead of a key internal vote by Ohio House Republicans on who should lead the chamber.

Stephens, a Lawrence County Republican, described his decision as a way to allow him to focus on moving legislation in the ongoing lame duck session, which is the time lawmakers churn out legislation after the election and before the end of the calendar year.

But his decision certainly changes the dynamic ahead of a Wednesday evening meeting in which House Republicans will vote on who will lead them in January.

Stephens’ decision not to fight for the job makes it easier for Matt Huffman, the current president of the Ohio Senate, to become the next speaker. Huffman was elected to the Ohio House earlier this month and will take office in January. There are multiple competing candidates, however, including Steubenville-area state Rep. Ron Ferguson and Rep. Tim Barhorst, a Shelby County Republican who emerged Monday among activists on social media as a potential alternative.

Stephens, who was reelected to his House seat in the Nov. 5 election without opposition, said he will attend Wednesday’s GOP caucus meeting. But he declined to say whom he will support.

“As far as I’m concerned this really resets the speaker’s race. It’s really a new speaker’s race,” Stephens said.

Why this matters

Internal leadership squabbles among state legislative Republicans in Columbus is a classic example of inside baseball in politics.

But the Ohio House speaker’s job is one of the three most powerful positions in state government, next to the leader of the Ohio Senate and the governor.

The House speaker helps decide how the Ohio government spends tens of billions of dollars in communities across the state on things like education, healthcare and prisons. Historically, they’ve used the clout of their office to control what legislation gets a vote and what goes in it.

Stephens has held the job since January of 2023, when he struck a surprise deal with Democrats, who make up about one-third of the Ohio House. That helped him beat out state Rep. Derek Merrin, another candidate who’d previously won the internal GOP caucus vote, which is informal but traditionally the final say.

The move led to an immediate, intense backlash among the state’s Republican activists. It directly contributed to four pro-Stephens House Republicans losing their bids for reelection in the March primary election. It also contributed to dysfunction in the legislature, slowing the passage of some bills. But Stephens didn’t exactly govern as a coalition candidate – GOP lawmakers largely have been on the same page on many high-profile issues, including a major expansion of school vouchers, which use tax dollars to send students to private schools, and passing transgender restrictions.