Niraj Jaimini Antani (born February 26, 1991) is an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician who serves as a state senator representing the 6th district in the

Ohio State 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 ...

. He served three terms as Representative for the 42nd district of the Ohio House of Representatives. His district, the 6th, is composed of northern, eastern, and southern Montgomery County.

Early life and education

Antani was born and raised in Miami Township. He lives in

Miamisburg, Ohio Miamisburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio. The population was 20,181 at the time of the 2010 census. A suburb of Dayton. It is part of the Dayton metropolitan area. Miamisburg is known for its large industry (mainly for its nuclear ...

. Antani attended Miamisburg City Schools and graduated from Miamisburg High School in 2009. He went on to Ohio State University and earned his bachelor's degree in political science. After that, he briefly attended the University of Dayton Law School before leaving to run for State Representative.

Career

When state Representative Terry Blair died after winning the 2014 primary election for a fourth term, Antani was chosen by the Montgomery County Republican party to replace Blair on the ballot. It was a difficult win for Antani, who was at the time a political outsider, "It took four rounds for Niraj Antani of Miami Twp. to gain a majority of votes from the district’s GOP precinct captains." However, Antani won the general election 64.5% to 35.5% over Democrat Patrick Merris at the age of 23. Antani was sworn in to the Ohio House of Representatives to complete the remainder of Blair's term on December 2, 2014. During the

2020 United States elections The 2020 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Democratic presidential nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the presidential election. Despite losing seats ...

, Antani ran for

in the 6th district. This district includes much of eastern

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor ...

. Antani won the general election against

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate Mark Fogel with 53.17% of the vote. In 2019, Antani co-sponsored legislation, along with 21 other House Republicans that would restrict

abortion in Ohio Abortion in Ohio is legal in some cases. A person who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman shall determine whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat can be detected by a medical professional in as few ...

. Doctors who performed abortions in cases of

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptoms. ...

and other life-threatening conditions would be exempt from prosecution only if they " ookall possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child, while preserving the life of the woman. Reimplantation of an ectopic pregnancy is not a recognized or medically feasible procedure. Antani chaired the Ohio Republican Party Asian Pacific American Advisory Council and serves on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project. In 2024, Antani ran for Congress to fill Ohio's 2nd congressional district after

Brad Wenstrup Brad Robert Wenstrup (born June 17, 1958) is an American politician, U.S. Army Reserve officer, and doctor of podiatric medicine, who has been the U.S. representative for since 2013. A Republican, he upset incumbent U.S. Representative Jean Schm ...

announced he would not seek re-election. In the Republican primary he came in 10th out of 11th place, earning only 1.69% of the vote, with David Taylor winning the primary election with 25.40% of the vote.

Committee assignments

During the 134th General Assembly, Antani was assigned to the following

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 ...

committees: * (Vice Chair of) Health Committee * Financial Institutions & Technology Committee * Judiciary Committee * Transportation Committee

Electoral history

Controversies

On March 14, 2018, Antani made headlines by appearing to suggest that students who were over the age of 18 should be allowed to bring rifles to school in their cars. The following day, after substantial press, Niraj backtracked and said that he did a poor job of stating his position.

Personal life

Outside of the

, Antani is a member of the National Rifle Association of America and Dayton

Right to Life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...

. He was a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Miamisburg, is the former President of the Miamisburg High School Alumni Association, and a former executive board member of the non-profit Dayton International Festival, Inc. In 2015, Niraj was added to ''Forbes'' Magazine's list of the top “30 under 30” people in the U.S. for Law & Policy in 2015. Beginning in 2018, Antani started serving on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project. Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work on veterans issues. He practices Hinduism.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antani, Niraj 1991 births 21st-century American legislators Asian-American state legislators in Ohio Asian conservatism in the United States American politicians of Indian descent American Hindus Living people Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Miamisburg, Ohio Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party Ohio state senators Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections