COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Republican Ohio Sen. Nathan Manning becomes a judge, he leaves behind a competitive House race. Democrats are confident his departure allows for a smoother way to eliminate the Republican supermajority.
On Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Manning, a moderate Republican, to the Ninth District Court of Appeals. He will take over on Aug. 3 from the retiring Judge Donna Carr.
"I'm looking forward to a new chapter," state Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) said in an interview Monday. "It was always in the back of my mind and certainly a dream job."
After more than a decade at the Statehouse, Manning will be leaving the legislature and putting on a judge’s robe.
"I'm going to miss helping people," Manning said. "But I think I'll be able to do that in a different role now."
The moderate Republican said making the switch will be easy because, while in the legislature, his main focus was on making the criminal justice system more equitable.
"Criminal justice in general is a major issue, and it's something that is bipartisan," he said.
The vast majority of the bills he passed or sponsored had support from both sides, including legislation that made AirTag stalking a crime. He also passed sweeping criminal justice reforms that expand record sealing and expungement for certain low-level crimes, while also enhancing penalties for domestic violence offenders.
He also brought back millions of dollars in multiple capital budgets for the people of Senate District 13.
"For being a politician, I'm not that political," Manning smiled. "It's kind of nice to be able to work on those issues that aren't clearly red or blue issues. These are issues that affect all Ohioans and something I can work on."
Manning was the sole Senate Republican to vote against banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Open season
Manning was term-limited in the Senate and was set to run for his former House seat, one currently held by his mother, state Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville). She is also a moderate.
That is a seat that the Democrats, like House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), were already eyeing.
"This is a seat that leans Democratic, that the Mannings, because of a history of elected office in that role, have overperformed the baseline in that district," Isaacsohn said.
The district, the central portion of Lorain County including Elyria and Avon, has been getting bluer for years. Republican strategist Bob Clegg said the best chance of keeping that seat is to run another moderate.
"It's a suburban district," Clegg said. "And we've seen during the Trump years where a lot of the suburbs have tended to become less Republican."
Manning no longer being in the race helps Democrats with their goal of flipping eight seats in the House from Republican to Democrat, Isaacsohn said. If they can flip six seats, the supermajority is broken, and the House would no longer be able to override a governor's veto.
"When Dr. [Amy] Acton is our next governor, she needs the ability to veto bills from the legislature if she's gonna govern," Isaacsohn said.
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Clegg said this seat may be winnable by Democrats, but they won't break the supermajority since the Republicans were in charge of redistricting.
"I don't know if there are six seats out there that are winnable for Democrats," Clegg said, chuckling. "We drew the lines."
I asked him if it was fair that many of the winners were already decided, since the majority of districts lean heavily red or blue. He said yes, since Democrats used to gerrymander back when they had control. If politicians are in charge of the process, there will always be this issue, he laughed.
Lorain County Republicans will have to decide who will run in Manning's place against Democrat business owner Mike Baker for House District 52 in the fall. He hopes his successor continues his work and mentality.
"In order to win that seat, you need to be bipartisan, you need to be pragmatic and work across the aisle and realize that you're not just representing your party — you're representing everybody," Manning said.
G. Manning may be appointed to her son’s Senate seat after he resigns in late July or early August, as she is running for it in November. N. Manning would like her to win, he said, jokingly saying he may be "biased." State Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) is running, as well.
"I’m honored to be speaker pro temp, but I will do whatever the senate president, speaker and what’s good for my district," G. Manning said in a text.
Senate District 13 is less blue than House District 52, since it also includes part of Huron County and the entirety of Lorain. G. Manning would have what it takes because she, like her son, is focused on the constituents and good policy, N. Manning said.
"The best legislators are the people who come in that want to learn, that wanna help solve problems and aren't just necessarily coming in and thinking they're the smartest person in the room, and they want to do X, Y, Z," Manning said.
Manning will now be on the fall ballot for his newly appointed appellate court seat. It includes Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne Counties and is based in Akron.
So, which are the other seven seats the Democrats are targeting? Future stories coming.
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