Who is Jason Stephens? The new Republican Speaker of the Ohio House

Republican Jason Stephens banded together with Democrats and Republican moderates to pull off a stunning upset in the race for Ohio House Speaker on Tuesday.

The rural Republican from southern Ohio defeated his party's unofficial pick for the powerful position, Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, in a 54-43 vote that essentially let Democrats pick the leader of a chamber where Republicans outnumber them two to one.

Conservatives called it "absurd" and "disgusting." House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, called it an opportunity to work with a speaker who "would work with us on the issues we could agree on."

And Stephens promised to "try to do my best to communicate and to listen and to be there for all members of the House regardless of party."

"I intend to listen, and I intend to be very open and receptive to all members of the Ohio House," he said. "We represent all of Ohio."

Now Stephens holds one of the most powerful posts in state government. But who is he?

How Jason Stephens got to the legislature

Stephens was appointed to the Ohio House in October 2019 to replace former House Speaker Ryan Smith who left the legislature 10 months after losing his own race for speaker.

Before that, Stephens served as Lawrence County auditor and a Lawrence County commissioner.

"My background is in local government," Stephens said.

He also has a background in insurance. He's the co-owner of Stephens & Son Insurance of Chesapeake, Inc, and has worked in the industry since 1996.

How he views the new job as Ohio House speaker

When it comes to his new role as one of the three most powerful elected officials in Ohio, Stephens said he views the job as a conduit for other people's ideas.

"I think what's important for the speaker is to provide the platform and to provide the structure so that the members, their ideas can come to fruition," he said. "That's really the function of the speaker in my opinion.

He also acknowledged that he has work to do within his own party after "a tough vote and an emotional vote."

Forty-three of the 65 Republican members present on Tuesday voted for Merrin.

"I'm really looking forward to working with Rep. Merrin and those who may not have voted for me," Stephens said.

Merrin declined to comment.

Positions on key issues

Stephens wasn't in the state legislature for many of the pivotal votes on abortion, but he supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“Today, we celebrate a victory for the sanctity of innocent human life," Stephens said in a statement in June. "I commend the United States Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and thank the pro-life movement for their unwavering commitment that led to today’s historic decision."

On other cultural issues, the Kitts Hill Republican did co-sponsor a bill to ban transgender girls from playing on female sports teams in both high school and college.

He also voted for a controversial elections bill that would shorten the window for absentee ballots to be returned after an election and require a photo ID to vote on Election Day.

Deal with Democrats?

Russo told reporters she made no "grand deal" with Stephens in exchange for her party's 32 votes, but she did say they reached an understanding about how to work together on everything from education policy to redistricting.

"There was lots of discussion about things and areas of agreement," Russo said.

Stephens gave reporters a similar answer about bipartisanship but declined to get into specifics.

When asked whether a failed plan to make it harder to amend Ohio's constitution would be coming back, he said, "We will have to look at that."

Conservatives in Stephens' party aren't so sure that will happen.

Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, wrote on Twitter after the speaker vote that he suspected stopping his resolution to require 60% of the vote to amend Ohio's constitution was part of the deal.

Stephens is "very much" not a Democrat, Equality Ohio Public Policy Director Mario Bruno wrote on Twitter, but his election changes what she expects to see in terms of anti-LGBTQ legislation over the next two years.

She expected "a full-court press" against the gay community but now wonders whether "there's potential for proactive stuff."

"There is this concept where people can disagree dramatically and still have a functional decision-making process rather than just burning everything to the ground," Bruno wrote.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who is Jason Stephens? The new Republican Speaker of the Ohio House