Ohio 28th District: Rematch between Rep. Jessica Miranda and Chris Monzel

A rematch for the Ohio Statehouse race to represent northern suburbs in Hamilton County will likely be close.

Democrat state Rep. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, faces Republican Chris Monzel, a former Cincinnati City Councilman and Hamilton County commissioner, for the House District 28 race.

Miranda beat Monzel by 2,314 votes in 2020. That so far has been the largest margin of victory for Miranda.

She first won election in 2018 by a razor-thin 56 votes, unseating incumbent GOP Rep. Jonathan Dever.

The district is fairly evenly split, 50% Democrat, 47% Republican, according to Dave's Redistricting.

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Here's the race at a glance.

The District

House District 28 covers the north-central suburbs of Hamilton County, including Blue Ash, Montgomery, Springdale, Sharonville, Forest Park, Glendale and Madeira. To find out if you're in the district, enter your address here on the Ohio Secretary of State's website.

The candidates

Jessica Miranda

Residence: Forest Park

Party: Democrat

Age: 36

Occupation: Owns Fiesta Auto Insurance and Tax Service

Political experience: Former president of the Winton Woods City School District Board, Ohio State representative for the 28th District since 2019.

Why she's running: Miranda said she's running "to keep another extremist voice out of the statehouse."

"Unfortunately, the Republican supermajority has done a number on our rights that we hold so dearly."

Miranda cited two pieces of legislation as examples, Ohio's six-week abortion ban and the bill to block transgender girls from playing female sports in K-12 and college, including a provision that could require genital checks for athletes whose gender is questioned.

Chris Monzel

Residence: Glendale

Party: Republican

Age: 54

Occupation: Aerospace engineer

Political experience: Cincinnati City councilman from 2001 to 2003 and 2005 to 2010, Hamilton County commissioner from 2011 to 2018.

Why he's running: Monzel told The Enquirer in July he believes his experience in local government will allow him to hit the ground running in Columbus. He also touted his experience as an engineer.

"Being able to look at the issues that are affecting the community and coming up with those ideas is something I’ve been trained to do," Monzel said. "I want to bring that experience from the private sector as well as the public sector to Columbus."

What is the top issue?

For Miranda, abortion has been the top issue she's heard about going door-to-door in the district.

"Everyone is upset about it," Miranda said. "And a lot of folks are confused as to why the government is trying to insert their big overreach into these very personal decisions that should be left up to a woman, her family, her significant other, and their health care professional."

Miranda also said she's heard a lot about the economy. She said she wants to increase the amount the state government gives to local school districts and local governments so they're less reliant on property taxes.

Monzel said gas prices and inflation are top issues for him. He would support rolling back, or possibly eliminating, Ohio's income tax to lessen the burden on people.

Ohio has a graduated income tax rate based on income ranging from 2.76% to 3.99%. The income tax is the second-largest source of revenue for the state, bringing in $10.2 billion in 2021.

What would replace the income tax or where he would cut state government expenses? Monzel said that would be determined later.

"I think it’s not a replace but rather trying to reduce the spending in order to make sure to control the cost aspect of it," Monzel said. "Where can we go in and be more efficient and provide services at lower costs?"

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Chris Monzel takes on Jessice Miranda for Ohio House 28th District