Welcome To Ohio Politicals
We are committed to sharing resource material related to Ohio political history, including photos and original writing about Ohio candidates and elected officials dating to statehood in 1803.
Ohio encyclopedia
Ohio’s governing documents
Click the buttons below to visit and learn about Ohio’s governing documents.
The Ohio Constitution on display at the Ohio Statehouse.
Photo by The Columbus Dispatch
View of the Ohio Statehouse and grounds, circa 1865–1875. Photo: Ohio History Connection.
Ohio’s Governors and U.s. Senators
Below are links to pages with lists and links to biographies of Ohio Governors and U.S. Senators. We plan to add additional lists of elected officials, including statewide elected officials, members of the General Assembly and Representatives to Congress.
Senate election results:
Ohio’s Counties and their names
Did you know that the captors of Major John Andre, the British “handler” of American Spy Benedict Arnold, were honored with counties names for them in Ohio? It’s true. Click “learn more” below to see Ohio’s counties by order of creation, how they got their names, and some interesting political maneuverings that shaped Ohio.
Ohio Political Memorabilia
"As Ohio Goes, So Goes the Nation" says presidential election conventional wisdom. Yes, we are lucky. Ohio serves as a swing state year in and year out. Along with competitive politics comes the plethora of buttons, ribbons, posters, stickers, and pamphlets. These items, meant to be thrown away, tell the story of our political history. From stalwart candidates like FDR and Jack Kennedy to lesser known candidates like George Wallace and Adlai Stevenson to our own presidential hopefuls like Robert A. Taft and John Bricker, the material is nearly endless.
That history doesn't stop at the top of the ticket either. We have a rich tradition of colorful officeholders and candidates for Governor, Senator, Congress and local offices.
Here we have a digital museum of oddities from small circular celluloid covered buttons to richly designed ribbons, posters, stickers, and paper ephemera. Some of the names you’ll recognize, but the most interested stories come from bringing back to life the lesser known candidates for office in Ohio who each had a unique and often colorful story to tell.
acknowledgements
This site wouldn’t be possible without preservationists past and present. At least two extensive handbooks on collecting Ohio political memorabilia, by Michael Meiring and Ira Forman serve as its foundation. The Ohio Political Almanac regularly updated is a terrific reference. And there's a website that serves as a vital resource for election results published by Mike Dawson. Where materials were taken from books or other reference material, I have worked to cite it properly on that page.
Additional contributors from the network of political item collectors include: Jonathan Binkley, Wes Berger, Jack Dixey, Al Anderson, David Lindeman, David Quintin, Larry Brokofsky, Don Hardman, Don Starkey, Stephen Davis, Robert Cody, John MacDonald, Brent Carson, Gary Faber, Mark Gelke, Joe Rice, Brandon Saxton, and Norm Eavenson. Sadly several on this list have passed away since the start of this project. The site will hopefully serve as a tribute to their commitment.
Finally, if this sort of thing interests you, I cannot recommend enough a membership in the American Political Items Collectors. The monthly Bandwagon newspaper, quarterly “The Keynoter” magazine, social media channels, regional shows, and bi-annual national convention are heaven for a political history enthusiast.
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