Allison Russo, the top Democrat in the Ohio House, is stepping down from her leadership role as she faces a decision about whether to run for higher office in 2026.
Russo informed other Ohio House Democrats on Thursday morning that she will resign her position as House minority leader at the end of this month, according to her political team. She will remain in her elected office, although she can’t run for reelection when her term expires at the end of next year because of term limits.
Russo has said she’s considering running for statewide office next year. Like many other Democrats thinking about doing the same, she’s been waiting to see whether former Sen. Sherrod Brown decides to lead the party’s ticket next year by running for governor or the U.S. Senate. Russo is viewed as a rising star within Democratic circles, but, like other members of her party, she is limited by the state’s political climate, which increasingly favors Republicans.
In a statement, Russo said she plans to spend the summer with her family before making a decision about her next political steps.
Who is Allison Russo?
Russo, a health policy consultant from Upper Arlington, is among the leading Democrats in Columbus, where the party hopes population growth and blue-trending suburbs will translate to improved political prospects in the future.
She first was elected in 2018 in her first run for office. She flipped a Republican-held seat and was among several women candidates elected that year amid a national climate that pundits coined as the “year of the woman.” She ran in a special election in 2021 in a safe Republican district for the U.S. House and lost to now-Rep. Mike Carey by 16 percentage points. But her campaign nonetheless impressed Democrats, who picked her to lead the Democratic caucus in January 2022 and helped her build connections that will help her down the road.
Russo’s biggest impact was immediately helping broker a deal to elect Jason Stephens, a Southern Ohio Republican, as Ohio House speaker, sidelining a somewhat more conservative Republican rival. Democrats did so because of Stephens’ skepticism of taxpayer-funded private school vouchers and his support for labor unions.
Republicans ousted Stephens following last November’s election, installing House Speaker Matt Huffman and paving the way for more unified Republican control of the state legislature. But Democrats’ influence otherwise is limited in the state legislature, since Republicans hold veto-proof supermajorities in both the House and Senate.
Moving forward, Democrats’ biggest short-term political goal is picking up a few seats in the Ohio House and breaking the Republican supermajority. Whoever leads the caucus will play a role in recruiting candidates, raising money and plotting strategy to help win the state’s half-dozen or so tightly competitive legislative districts.
Democrats’ 2026 candidate slate remains uncertain
The disparity between Republicans’ and Democrats’ 2026 candidate field reflects each party’s confidence in what party voters are likely to favor.
Republicans have fielded candidates for every statewide office, including at least four judges signaling their interest in challenging Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, the lone Democrat to hold statewide office. Suburban Columbus billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy is in a strong position to lead his party’s ticket after largely consolidating support from top Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
In contrast, the Democratic candidate field remains unsettled. Dr. Amy Acton, a former state health department director, is running for governor. But many Democrats have held off from making a decision about 2026 as they wait to see what Brown will do. Brown widely is seen as the state’s top Democrat, even after he lost his reelection bid in November to Republican Bernie Moreno.
Two additional Democrats have emerged as statewide candidates so far, but neither has a high political profile.
Dr. Bryan Hambley, a physician from the Cincinnati area who’s never sought elected office before, has said he’s running for Secretary of State. Elliot Forhan, a former state legislator who lost his bid for reelection last year after alienating his Democratic colleagues, is running for state attorney general.