Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the candidates running for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District. Libertarian Tricia Sprankle is seeking a seat on the Libertarian Party Ohio Central Committee in the 3rd Congressional District.
Several people who filed to run for office in Franklin County this year did not make the primary ballot due to insufficient valid signatures collected on their petitions or other issues.
The Franklin County Board of Elections met on Feb. 17 and certified candidates to the May 5 ballot. Here’s who made the ballot and who didn’t.
Congress from Columbus
All of the candidates who filed for Congress from Columbus made the ballot.
In Ohio’s 3rd Congressional district, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, faces a primary challenge from newcomer Joe Gerard, a 25-year-old who is just old enough to run.
Cleophus Dulaney is running unchallenged as a Republican for Beatty’s seat and will get a pass to the general election.
In Ohio’s 15th Congressional district, Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus, will face a challenge in the Republican primary from Samuel Ronan.
Two Democrats made the primary ballot: State Rep. Adam Miller and Don Leonard.
Brennan Jacob Barrington is running for Carey’s district as a Libertarian.
Who’s on the ballot for the Ohio Senate in Franklin County?
Franklin County has three State Senate seats, two held by Democrats and one held by a Republican.
In Ohio Senate District 3, incumbent State Sen. Michelle Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, in unopposed and will get a pass to the general election in November.
The district includes part of southern Columbus and stretches south to Circleville and west to London. Reynolds’ seat could be competitive in 2026 as Reynolds flipped the seat in 2022 from a Democrat.
Two Democrats are running in the primary for the district: Stacie Baker and Natasha Wheatley-Caffrey.
In Ohio Senate District 15, Latyna Humphrey, the current state representative for Ohio House District 2, is the only Democrat who filed to replace term-limited State Sen. Hearcel Craig. Craig endorsed Humphrey, clearing the field of any Democrats considering a run for the seat.
Joseph Healy is running unopposed on the Republican primary ballot for the Ohio Senate District 15 seat, and will face Humphrey in November.
In Ohio Senate District 25, incumbent Sen. Bill Demora, D-Columbus, will face Jesse Bruce Baker in the primary election.
One Democrat who filed, Raisheda Angus, won’t make the ballot because of the 68 signatures she submitted, the Board found only 12 to be valid and 50 were required.
Don Roberts is the sole Republican running in Ohio Senate District 25.
Who’s on the ballot for Ohio House in Franklin County?
Almost all of Franklin County’s Ohio House districts are held by Democrats, including all the districts that file in the county. Several incumbents representing Franklin County in the Ohio House are facing no competition for their seat in the primary or general election, but a few face challengers.
Ohio House District 1: Incumbent Rep. Dontavius Jarrells faces a challenge from fellow Democrat Christopher Robbins. Republican Joel Greff is running unopposed on his party’s primary ballot.
Ohio House District 2: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Latyna Humphrey is vacating the seat to run for State Senate. Three Democrats made the ballot in the race to replace her: Elizabeth Richards, Charity Martin King and Michael Cole, a former Columbus City school Board president.
Ohio House District 3: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Ismail Mohamed is unopposed on the party ballot. Libertarian candidate Elijah Joshua Williams submitted insufficient valid signatures and did not make the ballot.
Ohio House District 4: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio faces no challenger.
Ohio House District 5: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Meredith Lawson-Rowe faces no challenger.
Ohio House District 6: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Christine Cockley will face no challenger in the primary. Another Democrat who filed did not pay the filing fee. In the general election, Cockley will face unopposed Republican candidate Matthew Jackson.
Ohio House District 7: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Allison Russo is vacating the seat to run for Ohio Secretary of State. Three Democrats made the ballot in the race to replace her: Ukeme Awakessien Jeter, Michaela Burriss and Zach Rossfeld. Republican William Mercier is unopposed in the primary and will face the Democratic winner in the general election.
Ohio House District 8: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Anita Somani faces no challenger.
Ohio House District 9: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Munira Yasin Abdullahi faces no primary challenger. In the general election, she will face unopposed Republican Bruce Euans.
Ohio House District 10: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Mark Sigrist faces no primary challenger. In the general election, he will face unopposed Republican Denise D’Angelo.
Ohio House District 11: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Crystal Lett faces no primary challenger. In the general election, she will face unopposed Republican Shawn Kaeser.
Who made the ballot for Franklin County offices?
Democrats continue to dominate Franklin County offices. Only one Republican was certified to the ballot to run for a Franklin County office in 2026. Another Republican did not make the ballot due to a paperwork error.
Franklin County Commissioner Erica Crawley will face a challenge in the general election from Republican Davide Cugini, a local attorney.
Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano, a Democrat, will face no challenger for his office in 2026.
Five Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judges, all Democrats, up for reelection will run unopposed. Those judges are General Division Judges Carl Aveni, Andy Miller, David Young and Chris Brown; and Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division Judge Lasheyl Stroud.
Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division Judges George Leach is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat Kelley Boller.
In the race to replace retiring Franklin County Probate Court Judge Jeffrey Mackey, two Democrats were certified to the ballot: Kelly Green and Mathias Manner. At the Franklin County Democratic Party’s recent meeting, the party announced Manner had dropped out to endorse Green.
Chris Junga, who filed to run for probate court judge as a Republican, was not certified to the ballot due to a paperwork error. On his petition, Junga wrote he was running for a term that would commence in January 2026 but the term begins in February 2027.
Two 10th District (Franklin County) Court of Appeals judges up for reelection, Michael Mentel and Terri Jamison, face no challengers.
What local questions and issues will be on the May primary ballot?
Several Franklin County municipalities are putting tax levies or issues before voters in May. Those questions and issues certified to the ballot are:
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: See which candidates and levy issues are on Franklin County primary ballot
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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