While the open Ohio Senate race has attracted much of the state's political attention, Ohioans will vote on the governor in 2022 as well.
The field includes three Republicans and two Democrats. Here's who has announced a gubernatorial bid.
Gov. Mike DeWine
Age: 75
City: Cedarville
Current job: Governor
Political party: Republican
DeWine is running for reelection in 2022 with running mate Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
The Republican incumbent is the heavy favorite to win but unpopular COVID-19 restrictions and corruption at the Ohio Statehouse have opened the door for challengers to take their shot.
DeWine has more than 40 years of experience in Ohio politics and has lost just two races, including one to national hero John Glenn.
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci
Age: 63
City: Wadsworth
Current job: Founder of LTC Management Services Inc, which manages nursing homes
Political party: Republican
Renacci, a former congressman from northeast Ohio, is challenging DeWine in the GOP primary. He is offering an alternative to GOP voters frustrated with DeWine's health orders and COVID-19 response.
Renacci initially wanted to run for governor in 2018 but left that race to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown instead. He ultimately lost by 6.8 percentage points.
His running mate is Joe Knopp, a Christian film producer.
Farmer Joe Blystone
Age: 52
City: Canal Winchester
Current job: Owner of Blystone Farm, a butcher shop, market and steakhouse
Political party: Republican
Blystone launched a gubernatorial bid to capitalize on anti-DeWine sentiment in the party.
Blystone's bid is a longshot but he embodies the pro-Second Amendment, anti-COVID-19 restrictions strain of the Republican party that DeWine has sometimes struggled to capture.
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Blystone selected Jeremiah Workman, an Iraq War veteran, as his running mate after Joanna Swallen left the campaign.
Ex-Rep. Ron Hood
Age: 52
City: Ashville
Current job: Ex-state lawmaker
Political party: Republican
Former Rep. Ron Hood is a Republican known for his efforts to ban abortion in the state. He touts himself as a pro-President Donald Trump conservative.
Hood is running for former Butler County Rep. Candice Keller. At one point, the Ohio Republican Party leader told Keller to resign over her social media post about the Dayton shooting.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley
Age: 46
City: Dayton
Current job: Former mayor
Political party: Democrat
Whaley is taking another shot at the governor's office after a short-lived bid during the 2018 election. She dropped out and endorsed former Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray, who later lost to DeWine.
Whaley has served as Dayton's mayor and a city commissioner. As mayor, Whaley had to overcome tornadoes, a water main break, a Ku Klux Klan rally and a mass shooting in heart of the city's Oregon District.
Her running mate is Cheryl Stephens, a Cuyahoga County Council member.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley
Age: 47
City: Cincinnati
Current job: Former mayor
Political party: Democrat
Cranley is taking his first shot at statewide office after serving as Cincinnati mayor and on city council. He has run unsuccessfully for Congress, challenging Republican incumbent Steve Chabot.
Outside of politics, Cranley is known for co-founding the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, which helps to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals.
Cranley's running mate is Sen. Teresa Fedor of Toledo.
Original source can be found here.
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