Who will replace Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in 2027? Candidates who want to be Ohio’s top cop are already campaigning for the job.
Yost cannot run for reelection in 2026 because of term limits. He backed off his plan to run for governor when fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy landed early endorsements from the state party and President Donald Trump.
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, who cannot run for reelection due to term limits, is looking to change jobs and become attorney general. He is uncontested in the GOP primary.
Columbus area attorney John J. Kulewicz and former state lawmaker Elliot Forhan are both running in the Democratic primary.
The attorney general runs the largest public interest law firm in the state with 1,400 employees. The attorney general represents all state agencies, serves as a special prosecutor upon request, runs the state crime labs and collects debts owed to the state.
Who is Keith Faber?
Faber, of Celina, has been in state politics since 2001 when he first joined the Ohio House. Facing term limits, Faber shifted to the Ohio Senate where he became its top leader. He won a statewide race for auditor in 2018 and reelection in 2022.
As auditor, Faber has focused on waste and fraud cases, such as at the Columbus Zoo. Since 2019, the auditor’s special investigations unit has worked on cases that resulted in 142 convictions.
He campaigned against Issue 1 on the November 2024 ballot that would’ve changed Ohio’s system for drawing political maps. Faber served on the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Oakland University in Michigan and a law degree from Ohio State University.
Endurance swimmer jumps into Dem primary for AG
Tattooed on his left ankle is the Rock of Gibraltar, where Kulewicz made the longest distance swim of his life – 13.7 miles across the Straits of Gilbraltar. “It was a fantastic day. It was one of those days when everything went absolutely right,” he said of the challenging swim.
Kulewicz sees parallels between endurance swimming and running statewide as a Democrat in Ohio. He said he knows how to fight the tide. “You learn how to deal with it. You learn not to let it defeat you.”
In 2024, Kulewicz retired from the Columbus-based law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease where he started as an associate in 1981 and made partner in 1987.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and his law degree from Yale University. He has been on the Upper Arlington City Council since 2020.
Former lawmaker Elliot Forhan wants to be AG
In 2023, Forhan, a Democrat from South Euclid, was accused of hostile and erratic behavior toward constituents, staff and his fellow representatives.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appointed outside counsel to examine the conduct of Rep. Elliot Forhan at the request of then House Speaker Jason Stephens. The move came days after top Democrats stripped Forhan of his committee assignments due to a “continued pattern of harassment, hostility and intimidation.”
Forhan later sued the Ohio General Assembly, alleging that powerful politicians mounted a defamatory campaign against him that falsely portrayed him as unstable and dangerous.
The judge in the Ohio Court of Claims dismissed parts of his lawsuit but scheduled the remainder for trial in November 2026.
In September, Forhan posted to his personal Facebook page comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The remarks spurred thousands of calls and messages as well as death threats, which Forhan said he reported to the FBI.
“Violence is wrong,” said Forhan in a written statement. “Threats of violence are also wrong and illegal. Our nation was conceived in and remains based on freedom. That includes the freedom to express opposition to racism, bigotry, hatred and violence. I will continue to express that opposition. I take this very seriously.”
Forhan earned his undergraduate from Kenyon College and his law degree from Yale, where his classmates included Ramaswamy and Vice President JD Vance.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@gannett.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who is running for Ohio attorney general in 2026? The race to replace Dave Yost is on
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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