Kathleen Clyde, the former Portage County commissioner and state lawmaker, will serve as the new chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, executive committee members overwhelmingly voted Tuesday night.
Clyde is tasked with guiding a political party that hasn鈥檛 won the governor鈥檚 office in close to 20 years. Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited, so that office is on next year鈥檚 ballot, as are all of the statewide executive offices, seats in the U.S. Senate and on the Ohio Supreme Court, all 15 members of the state Congressional delegation, all 99 members of the Ohio House and 17 of the 33 members of the Ohio Senate.
鈥淎s a former statewide candidate in Ohio, we have time, and we are working hard to make sure we fill out that ticket and have a candidate in every race,鈥� Clyde said. 鈥淲e have a lot of great talent and great candidates to choose from.鈥�
Democrats in Ohio have weathered back-to-back bruising election cycles, and statewide, the party鈥檚 presence is dwindling. With U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno鈥檚 defeat of Sherrod Brown last fall, Democrats hold only one elected office statewide: a seat on the state鈥檚 highest court. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner is running for reelection in 2026.
Clyde will take over for outgoing Chair Liz Walters, who has been at the Ohio Democratic Party鈥檚 helm since 2021. Walters is leaving to become chief executive of TargetSmart, a Democratic data and analytics firm. She received a standing ovation from committee members in attendance Tuesday night before the election was conducted.
Clyde鈥檚 focus, she said, is on building out county-by-county infrastructure and increasing outreach to certain communities, including Black and working class Ohioans.
鈥淲e need to make sure that they know that the work that we do every day as Democrats stands for them, and we are with them, and we need to do a better job of getting outside of our Democratic bubbles and having those key conversations,鈥� Clyde said.
Heading into the meeting, Clyde was the clear frontrunner and had weeks ago clinched Brown鈥檚 endorsement, key in her bid to be the party鈥檚 chair.
Tamie Wilson, who has mounted two unsuccessful Congressional bids against Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, ran too. Wilson got one vote, while Clyde got 108.
It was a far more crowded field before last week. Former Ohio Democratic Party Executive Director and current state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) threw his hat in the ring early on but bowed out Thursday, saying he did not have the votes to win.
Greene County Democratic Party Chairwoman Kim McCarthy exited shortly after DeMora.
About an hour before the election, Stow City councilmember Kyle Herman withdrew. One executive committee member stood to nominate Herman anyway, saying he 鈥渃ame for an election, not a coronation.鈥�