Jimmy Stewart (born January 24, 1970) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served in the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

. He served as a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 2003 to 2008, and in the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

from 2009 to 2011.

Biography

After graduation from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

, Stewart was a salesman for

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

before winning election to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

City Council and as City of Athens Auditor. With incumbent Kerry Metzger unable to run again due to term limits, Stewart sought to replace him. Unopposed in the 2002 primary election, Stewart faced James Pancake in the general election, and won by 4,000 votes. Early in his first term, Governor

Bob Taft Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...

named Stewart to the Commission on Higher Education. Sighting Stewart as vulnerable in 2004, House Democrats fielded former Athens City Councilman Pat Lang to run against him. However, Stewart was easily reelected, winning by 9,000 votes. When

Joy Padgett Joy Padgett (born Joy Ann Conrad, February 4, 1947 in Coshocton, Ohio) is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 20th district until the end of 2008. In 2006, dogged by personal scandals, she ran unsuccessfully for Li ...

became a candidate for Congress in 2006, Stewart was mentioned as a potential appointment candidate if she had won the seat. However, Padgett lost to

Zack Space Zachary T. Space (born January 27, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After serving in Congress, Space became a lobbyist and w ...

. In his battle for a third term, Stewart faced his strongest opposition yet. Against Democrat

Debbie Phillips Debbie Phillips (born October 12, 1969) is a former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 92nd District until 2009, then the 94th District from 2012 onward after the districts were redrawn. She also served as a ...

, final tallies came down to under 1,000 votes, guaranteeing an automatic recount. Stewart won this time by only 842 votes. In September 2007,

announced that she would not seek another term in the Senate. Shortly after, Senate Republicans stated that they would support Stewart to replace her. With the Senate seat being one targeted in the past by Democrats, they took the open seat as an opportunity, and fielded Morgan County Commissioner Rick Shriver to run against Stewart. The race proved to be colorful, with Shriver being caught up in false stories perpetuated by Stewart's campaign, and with Stewart touting the reliability of his

Geo Prizm The Geo Prizm and Chevrolet Prizm were compact cars that were rebadged versions of the Toyota Sprinter, a vehicle that the Japanese automaker Toyota never directly sold in the North American market. The Sprinter itself was derived from the T ...

. Stewart beat Shriver by 12,000 votes. Stewart outspent Shriver ten to one. For the 129th General Assembly, Stewart served as Senate majority floor leader, the third highest position of the Senate. In late May 2011, Stewart announced that he planned to resign his seat in the 20th Senate District at the end of the fiscal year, when he will go to serve as president of the Ohio Gas Association. While Stewart says that there were no ulterior motives, many believe Stewart's unpopular votes on

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

legislation lead to the decision to resign. Stewart continued as majority floor leader, the number three leadership post, until he left office. Stewart resigned from the Senate effective June 30, 2011, over eight years after initially coming to the Ohio General Assembly. Lost 2020 Meigs County Auditors Race.

References

External links

Project Vote Smart - Senator Jimmy Stewart(OH)
profile *''Follow the Money''
200620042002
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Jimmy Republican Party Ohio state senators Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio city council members Xavier University alumni Marshall University alumni Living people 1969 births 21st-century American politicians People from Albany, Ohio