Theresa Gavarone

American politician (born 1966)

Theresa Gavarone

Member of the Ohio Senate
from the 2nd district

Incumbent

Assumed office
February 6, 2019
Preceded by| Randy Gardner
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 3rd district
In office
August 2, 2016 – February 6, 2019
Preceded by| Tim Brown
Succeeded by| Haraz Ghanbari
Personal details
Born|  (1966-06-30) June 30, 1966 (age 58)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Spouse| Jim Gavarone
Children| 3
Education| Bowling Green State University (BS)
University of Toledo (JD)

Theresa Gavarone (born June 30, 1966) is an American attorney, politician, and businesswoman serving as a member of the Ohio Senate for the 2nd district. A Republican, Gavarone was first appointed to the Senate in 2019 after serving in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2016 to 2019.

## Early life and career

[edit]

Gavarone was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Archbishop Alter High School in neighboring Kettering. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo College of Law, graduating in 1994. Soon after, she began practicing law in Bowling Green.[1][2]

Along with her husband, Jim, Gavarone owns and operates Mr. Spots Philadelphia Steak Sandwich in Bowling Green along with practicing law.[3] Gavarone was elected to two full terms on the Bowling Green City Council, winning in 2013 and again in 2015.

## Political career

[edit]

### Ohio House of Representatives

[edit]

In 2016, Tim Brown decided to step down from the Ohio House to take a position with the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, allowing Speaker Cliff Rosenberger and the House Republican Caucus to select his successor. After vetting, Gavarone was chosen to complete the remainder of Brown's term and to take his place on the ballot for a full term beginning in 2017. She was seated in the House on August 2, 2016, and won elections for full terms in 2016 and again in 2018.

Gavarone was vice chair of the House Health Committee.[4]

### Ohio Senate

[edit]

In 2019, Randy Gardner was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine as chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education. He resigned from the Senate in January. Gavarone immediately announced her intention to seek an appointment to the seat.[5] On February 6, after unanimous approval by the Senate Republican Caucus, Gavarone was officially sworn in as a member of the Senate.[6]

At the beginning of the 133rd General Assembly, Gavarone became vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee.

In June 2019, Gavarone sponsored legislation that would ban synthetic urine.[7] In 2021, after Democratic candidates had won several races for the Supreme Court of Ohio in a row, Gavarone proposed a bill that would list the party affiliation of state supreme court judicial candidates on ballots.[8]

#### Committee assignments

[edit]

During the 134th General Assembly, Gavarone was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees:[9]

* (Chair of) Local Government and Elections Committee
* (Vice Chair of) Finance Committee
* Judiciary Committee
* Small Business & Economic Opportunity Committee
* Rules & Reference Committee

Additionally, Gavarone had the following special appointments:

* (Chair of) Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review
* (Vice Chair of) Ohio Ballot Board
* Joint Legislative Committee on Adoption Promotion and Support
* Ohio Child Support Guideline Advisory Council
* Great Lakes Commission
* National Council of State Legislatures Redistricting & Election Committee

### 2022 congressional election

[edit]

Gavarone was a Republican candidate for Ohio's 9th congressional district in the 2022 election. She placed third in the May 3, 2022, Ohio primary, losing to J.R. Majewski, a nuclear power plant employee who came to prominence after painting a Trump sign on his lawn.[10][11][12]

## Personal life

[edit]

Gavarone and her husband have three children.[13]

## Electoral history

[edit]

Election results[14]

Year  | Office  | Election  |  | Subject  | Party  | Votes  | %  |  | Opponent  | Party  | Votes  | %  |
2016  | Ohio House of Representatives | General |  | Theresa Gavarone | Republican | 35,025  | 59.05%  |  | Kelly Wicks  | Democratic | 24,289  | 40.95%  |
2018  | Ohio House of Representatives | General |  | Theresa Gavarone | Republican | 29759  | 62.2%  |  | Aidan Hubbell-Staeble  | Democratic | 18058  | 37.8%  |
2020  | Ohio Senate | General |  | Theresa Gavarone | Republican | 122,084  | 62.2%%  |  | Joel O'Dorisio  | Democratic | 74,240  | 37.8%  |
2022  | Ohio's 9th congressional district | Primary |  | J.R. Majewski | Republican | 21,666  | 35.7%  |  | Craig Riedel | Republican | 18,861  | 31.0%  |  | Theresa Gavarone  | Republican | 17,337  | 28.5%

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Gavarone to complete Ohio House term". The Courier. 2016-07-14. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
2. ^ "2 new members from area join Ohio legislature". Toledo Blade. 2016-08-03. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
3. ^ "Gavarone sworn in as state representative". BG Independent News. 2016-08-03. Archived from the original on 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
4. ^ "Theresa Gavarone". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
5. ^ "Gavarone seeking Senate appointment". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
6. ^ "Gavarone sworn in to replace Gardner in Ohio Senate". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
7. ^ "Correction: Opioids-Synthetic Urine story". AP NEWS. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
8. ^ Tobias, Andrew J. (2021-04-21). "Bill listing party ID for Ohio Supreme Court candidates clears Ohio Senate". cleveland. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
9. ^ "Senator Theresa Gavarone - Bio | The Ohio Senate". ohiosenate.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
10. ^ "Gavarone announces candidacy against Kaptur in reworked 9th Congressional District". wtol.com. November 29, 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
11. ^ "Dark horse candidate J.R. Majewski gets surprise win in OH-9 GOP primary". May 4, 2022.
12. ^ "A MAGA Rapper Who Painted His Lawn for Trump Won a Republican Primary for Congress". May 5, 2022.
13. ^ "Gavarone announces run for Congress - Fulton County Expositor". www.fcnews.org. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
14. ^ "Election Results". Ohio Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2014.

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Ohio's 2nd senatorial district

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Other Senate Districts: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Defunct

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Current members of the Ohio Senate

135th General Assembly (2023-2025)

President of the Senate
Matt Huffman (R)
President pro tempore
Kirk Schuring (R)
Majority Leader
Rob McColley (R)
Minority Leader
Nickie Antonio (D)

1. ▌Rob McColley (R)
2. ▌Theresa Gavarone (R)
3. ▌Michele Reynolds (R)
4. ▌George Lang (R)
5. ▌Steve Huffman (R)
6. ▌Niraj Antani (R)
7. ▌Steve Wilson (R)
8. ▌Louis Blessing (R)
9. ▌Catherine Ingram (D)
10. ▌Bob Hackett (R)
11. ▌Paula Hicks-Hudson (D)
12. ▌Matt Huffman (R)
13. ▌Nathan Manning (R)
14. ▌Terry Johnson (R)
15. ▌Hearcel Craig (D)
16. ▌Stephanie Kunze (R)
17. ▌Shane Wilkin (R)
18. ▌Jerry Cirino (R)
19. ▌Andrew Brenner (R)
20. ▌Tim Schaffer (R)
21. ▌Kent Smith (D)
22. ▌Mark Romanchuk (R)
23. ▌Nickie Antonio (D)
24. ▌Matt Dolan (R)
25. ▌Bill DeMora (D)
26. ▌Bill Reineke (R)
27. ▌Kristina Roegner (R)
28. ▌Vernon Sykes (D)
29. ▌Kirk Schuring (R)
30. ▌Brian Chavez (R)
31. ▌Al Landis (R)
32. ▌Sandra O'Brien (R)
33. ▌Alessandro Cutrona (R)

* ▌Republican (26)
* ▌Democratic (7)

* Ohio General Assembly
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