Jay Edwards (politician)
Jay Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 94th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 6, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Debbie Phillips |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Ritter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nelsonville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Grantham University Ohio University (BS) |
Jay Edwards is an American politician who served as a state representative in the Ohio House of Representatives for the 94th District from 2017 until being term-limited in 2025. He is a Republican. Edwards additionally served as the Majority Whip of the Ohio House.
Edwards is currently a candidate seeking nomination to be the Ohio State Treasurer.
Life and career
Edwards was born and raised in Nelsonville, Ohio, where he graduated from Nelsonville-York High School. After high school he attended nearby Ohio University on a football scholarship, where he studied mathematics. Edwards is a licensed realtor, and is involved with work in medical sales within the drug treatment market.[1]
Ohio House of Representatives
In 2016, Representative Debbie Phillips was term-limited and ineligible to run for a fifth term.[2] A Democrat, Phillips had only faced one serious election in her four terms, in 2014, where she won by just over 100 votes. However, despite Athens County, the largest in the district, being considered reliably Democratic, Republicans had historically seen success in winning the district prior to Phillips' taking the seat.[3] Democrats nonetheless fielded Sarah Grace, a small-business owner from Athens who was a newcomer to politics and a liberal. Despite being considered the favorite, Edwards raised considerable money, albeit not without controversy.[4] In the end, in what was a very good year for Republicans, Edwards defeated Grace by a 58% to 42% margin, taking the seat.[5]
Edwards is the first Republican to hold the seat since Jimmy Stewart, who held the seat from 2003 to 2008.[6]
In 2018, Edwards defeated Democrat Taylor Sappington to retain the seat.[7]
In the 2020 general election, Edwards faced Democrat Katie O'Neill.[8]
In 2021, Edwards was the primary sponsor of a Joint Resolution which brought a Constitutional Amendment to ballot which prohibited local governments from allowing non-citizens from voting in local elections
House Bill 6 scandal and repeal efforts
In 2019, Edwards voted in favor of House Bill 6 in the Ohio House; the bill passed 51–38 in what federal prosecutors later alleged was a $61 million racketeering scheme involving then-Speaker Larry Householder and his allies to secure its approval and provide a coal and nuclear bailout worth more than $1 billion.[9][10]
After the scandal became public, Edwards supported a partial rollback through House Bill 128 in 2021, which revised electric utility service law, repealed the nuclear bailout and related “decoupling” provisions of HB 6, and ordered refunds to customers, while leaving other subsidy provisions in place.[11][12]
Subsequent repeal proposals, including House Bill 351 and Senate Bill 117 in the 134th General Assembly, were referred to committee but never received floor votes.[13][14]
Electoral history
| Election results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Election | Votes for Edwards | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % |
| 2016 | Ohio House of Representatives | General | 28,649 | 57.80% | Sarah Grace | Democratic | 20,897 | 42.20% |
| 2018 | General | 23,562 | 58.29% | Taylor Sappington | Democratic | 16,855 | 41.71% | |
| 2020 | General | 31,584 | 60.4% | Katie O’Neil | Democratic | 20,719 | 39.6% | |
| 2022 | General | 22,190 | 61.2% | Tanya Conrath | Democratic | 14,084 | 38.8% | |
References
- ^ "Jay Edwards biography". Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ "Sarah Grace outraises Jay Edwards after trailing him prior to primary". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ^ "Political parties contributed big-time in Ohio House race". 21 December 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ^ DeWitt, David (14 December 2016). "House Dems drop election complaint against Jay Edwards". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ^ "Jay Edwards wins Ohio's 94th district". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ^ "Edwards takes Ohio's 94th District seat - The New Political". The New Political. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ^ "Rep. Edwards re-elected to Ohio Statehouse". Athens Messenger. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "Meet the Candidate: State Rep. 94th District". The Daily Sentinel. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "House Bill 6 – Votes (133rd General Assembly)". Ohio Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Repeal HB6". Ohio Citizen Action. April 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "House Bill 128 – 134th General Assembly". Ohio Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "House Bill 128 – Votes (134th General Assembly)". Ohio Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "House Bill 351 – 134th General Assembly". Ohio Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Senate Bill 117 – 134th General Assembly". Ohio Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
External links
- Ohio State Representative Jay Edwards official site