Ohio elections chief Frank LaRose will run for state auditor in 2026

https://apnews.com/article/election-2026-ohio-auditor-54a413311573b76428127ce6ba30a8fc

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Thursday that he is running for state auditor in 2026, continuing the recent game of musical chairs among high-ranking Ohio Republicans.

LaRose is one of the state’s highest profile politicians. With term limits preventing him from seeking another term as the state’s elections chief, he had sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate last year but lost the three-way primary to the GOP’s Bernie Moreno. Moreno went on to defeat incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in November.

“I’ve always answered the call of duty, and I’ve had a lot of encouragement from across Ohio to consider serving in this important office,” LaRose said in a statement first provided to The Associated Press.

In a video posted to X, LaRose said Ohio has set a “gold standard in trustworthy and accessible elections” under his watch, and “now, as your next auditor of state, we can bring that same focus on transparency, efficiency and accountability to every government office in this state.”

LaRose, 45, a former state senator and U.S. Army Green Beret, is the last of Ohio’s five term-limited statewide executive officeholders to make his future plans known.