Candidates & Issues

PRIMARY ELECTION is MAY 5, 2026

CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT
Would you like to see more Democratic representation on your ballot? Do you wish you had elected officials who are truly advocating for your interests and standing up to extremism? Consider running for office—or encouraging someone you know to explore candidacy. Ohio’s heavily gerrymandered districts have left many communities without fair representation, and our current congressional maps do not reflect the diversity of our state. Strengthening our democracy requires all of us to take an active role and help build a government that genuinely represents Ohio.

The Allen County Democratic Party has been working locally to support this mission by acquiring a headquarters, fostering community engagement, educating voters, and building a strong volunteer base to support local candidates. The deadline for filing is Feb. 4. We need candidates for County Commissioner, Auditor, 78th district State seat and 4th district Congressional seat. If you have questions or are interested in learning more about running for office, please contact us at 419-230-2170, comm.allendems@gmail.com, or rochelledtwining@gmail.com.

CENTRAL COMMITTEE
The Allen County Democratic Party will be reorganizing in May 2026, during the governor’s primary election. If you would like to help the party reorganize and grow, please consider becoming a Central Committee member. Central members are elected by the Democrats in their precinct. They then vote on the new party leadership and keep the Democrats in their precinct informed about issues & candidates around election time. Candidate forms are due by Feb. 4. If you would like more information about Central Committee, please email Corrie at  corriedunlap16@gmail.com.

OHIO EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Allen Dems will be helping  Ohio Equal Rights to get an initiative on the ballot in Nov. 2026. This initiative would protect citizens from discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression regardless of sex assigned at birth, pregnancy status, genetic information, disease status, age, disability, recovery status, familial status, ancestry, national origin, or military and veteran status.

This initiative would also protect marriage equality in OH. Right now, marriage equality is only guaranteed by federal protections, and could be lost in OH if overturned on the federal level. Signature collections will take place through July. Details to come.

2026 DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES
–Governor– Dr. Amy Acton-Running against Vivek Ramaswamay.
–Senate– Sherrod Brown-Running against John Husted.
–Secretary of State– Dr. Bryan Hambley OR Rep. Allison Russo.
–Attorney General– John Kulewicz OR Elliot Forhan.