Frank LaRose

Frank LaRose (born April 18, 1979) is an American politician.

He subsequently enlisted in the United States Army in 1998, serving in the 101st Airborne Division and later, the U.S. Special Forces as a green Beret.

He received the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.

He has said that his military service influenced his desire to protect elections and voters' rights.

He graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in consumer affairs and a minor in business administration.

LaRose ran for Ohio Senate in 2010 and defeated the Democratic nominee, Summit County Councilman Frank Comunale, in the 27th District, a Democratic-leaning district, by 56.5% to 43.5%.

He was a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate for two terms, from January 2011 to January 2019.

He is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 2024 election, challenging incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown.

LaRose was born at Akron City Hospital and grew up in Copley Township in Summit County, Ohio.

His grandfather started the House of LaRose, a beverage bottling and distribution company in Akron, Ohio, where Frank worked growing up.

He has four siblings and worked on the family farm during his childhood.

LaRose graduated from Copley High School.

LaRose was sworn into the Ohio Senate in 2011.

LaRose had previously voted against governor John Kasich's nomination of Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis to the state medical board in 2012.

LaRose won re-election to his seat in 2014 with 67.7% of the vote.

The anti-abortion advocacy group Ohio Right to Life endorsed LaRose's opponent in the 2014 Republican primary.

Governing magazine named him one of "12 State Legislators to Watch in 2014".

LaRose was chair of the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee; the Commerce and Workforce Committee; the State and Local Government Committee; the Public Safety, Local Government, and Veterans Affairs Committee; and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.

LaRose voted for Senate Bill 5 which reduced collective bargaining rights for public workers (including police, firefighters and teachers).

He said that he agonized over the decision.

After the bill, which passed by a narrow margin, was repealed by a public referendum, LaRose said, "The voters have made it clear that this was not the course they wished to take."

SB 238 was signed into law on February 21, 2014.

LaRose successfully advocated for funding the purchase of electronic poll books in the state operating budget.

Electronic poll books make voting more accessible and efficient and helps county boards of elections shorten voting lines while maintaining accuracy.

HB 64 was signed into law on June 30, 2015.

LaRose was named the 2015 Legislator of the Year by the Ohio Association of Election Officials due to his efforts to minimize gerrymandering, modernize Ohio's elections system, and increase campaign finance transparency in local elections.

LaRose sponsored Senate Bill 63, which was signed into law by Governor John Kasich in 2016.

This bill allowed Ohio residents to register to vote online.

In 2016, LaRose opposed automatic voter registration, but said during the campaign that he supported automatic voter registration if it included an opt-out clause for those who do not wish to register.

In 2017, he sponsored legislation to prevent women from having abortions after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

LaRose authored legislation to update Ohio's campaign finance law by allowing campaign finance reports to be filed electronically with local boards of elections.

This legislation removed the paper-only filing requirement that municipal, county, and local candidates and campaign committees were previously required to use when filing with county boards of elections.

On May 17, 2017, LaRose announced that he would run for Ohio Secretary of State in the 2018 election.

LaRose defeated the Democratic state Representative Kathleen Clyde in the general election, 50.9% to 46.7%.

Early during the campaign, LaRose indicated that he would continue enforcing the voter list maintenance state law, known as "purging", which removes voters from voter rolls if those voters had not voted for six consecutive years.

Later during the campaign, LaRose said that he thought the process could be better.

In 2018, LaRose said, "As I look back on [my yes vote on SB5] am I confident I did the right thing? Not necessarily."

LaRose sponsored Senate Bill 238, which removed the so-called "golden week" period where a voter was permitted to both register to vote and cast a ballot.

He was elected Secretary of State of Ohio in 2019.

This legislation passed the Ohio Senate in multiple General Assemblies and was signed into law in 2019.