Larry Householder's election to Speaker of the Ohio House ended a months-long battle, and returned him to the role 14 years after he first held it. The vote also marked the beginning of some new work and maybe more changes in the legislature.
Householder won half of his 52 votes from Republicans and half from Democrats. Ryan Smith, the incumbent Speaker, won a majority of the Republican caucus but only got 46 votes total.
Householder said votes for the rest of the new leadership team in the House will come in time.
“I think both of these caucuses right now are fractured. I’ve actually encouraged the Democrats to take their time as well in looking at their leadership," Householder said.
Democrats selected Fred Strahorn as their leader in an informal leadership vote last month. However, Strahorn supported Smith while 26 of his 38-member caucus backed Householder. That has lead to speculation that a shakeup among the minority leadership could be possible.
