Ohio 17th District State Senator Bob Peterson of Sabina has announced his candidacy to run for the 91st District for the Ohio House of Representatives in 2022. The House District currently covers parts of Fayette, Highland and Clinton counties.
Peterson, who is a former member of the Ohio House, is term-limited in the Ohio Senate, with 2022 being his final year of the eight years he can serve. However, this does not prohibit him from running for the House of Representatives.
In a press release issued on his Facebook page, Peterson stated- “As some of you may remember I was elected as a State Representative in 2010 and only served about a year and a half before being appointed to the Ohio Senate. It would be an honor to go back to the Ohio House and continue working for the great people of our area. I would appreciate your support in the 2022 election.”
The Republican nomination for the 91st Ohio House seat that Peterson seeks, is currently occupied by Republican Shane Wilkin of Hillsboro, who has already announced his candidacy for the 17th District Ohio Senate seat now occupied by Peterson. Wilkin is term-limited in the Ohio House, which opens the door for Peterson to run for that GOP nomination, while Wilkin does the same for Peterson’s current Senate post.
Thus far, there has been no announcements for either the 17th District Ohio Senate seat or the 91st District Ohio House seat on the Democrat Party side.
(Columbus)—State Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) has announced controlling board approval of $737,101 for infrastructure improvements located on the Greenfield Rail Line in the Village of Greenfield.
The Village of Greenfield owns and operates a private rail line serving three major industrial operations, including Huhtamaki, Adient and Candle-Lite, which combined, employ over 1,200 southeast Ohioans.
In partnership with the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the project improvements will increase capacity and efficiency on the line, which is currently in jeopardy as tie conditions continue to deteriorate.
“This infrastructure investment will help keep products moving, continuing the trajectory of bringing viability to our community and helping improve the quality of life for the hard-working people in southeast Ohio,” said Peterson.
COLUMBUS—State Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) today recognized the Fayette County Special Olympics Dragons Flag Football Team on winning the 2021 Division I State Championship.
(Photo: State Senator Bob Peterson with Fayette County Dragons)
This year marks their third state championship in a row for the Dragons, who are sponsored by the Fayette County Board of Developmental Disabilities and coached by Tim Stewart.
“It is an honor to host the three-time State Champion Dragons at the Ohio Senate today,” said Peterson. “I am proud to have such a diverse group of individuals who worked together with determination to represent the Special Olympics, Fayette County, and all of Senate District 17.”
COLUMBUS—State Senator Bob Peterson has announced the approval of more than $228,000 in state funds that will be used to purchase medical training equipment from Radon Medical Imaging Corp., for the RAPIDS project at Rio Grande Community College.
The Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) program funds initiatives with regional collaboration between businesses and higher education. The goals of the program are to retain and expand existing businesses, attract new enterprises, and further entrepreneurship.
“Rio Grande is a tremendous provider of high quality education and workforce development opportunities for local students,” said Peterson. “I’m confident this new investment will benefit both the students, and the employers who will eventually hire them.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine along with two area state legislators met with Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth Wednesday.
State Representative Mark Johnson and State Senator Bob Peterson were also in attendance at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office to discuss various matters involving law enforcement. Stanforth is also the President of the National Sheriff’s Association.
State Representative Johnson stated on his Facebook post- “Today I was honored to join up with Vernon Stanforth, the Fayette County Sheriff, who is also the President of the National Sheriff’s Association; Governor Mike DeWine and State Senator Bob Peterson to discuss the recently passed additional law enforcement funding initiatives in the state budget. We had a long discussion of many ways we can further assist every Ohio law enforcement agency. Sheriff Stanforth has a wealth of knowledge and offered up many ideas for us to follow up on.”
Senator Peterson echoed many of the same thoughts about their meeting in his social media- “I always appreciate the opportunity to support law enforcement! We had a great discussion today with Governor Mike DeWine, State Representative Mark Johnson and Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth to announce grant funding that was approved in the state budget for body cameras for law enforcement. I am also so very proud of Vernon as he currently serves a president of the National Sheriff’s Association.”
State and Congressional elected officials fired criticism against each other concerning proposed changes in federal and state election laws.
State Senator Bob Peterson, a Fayette County Republican who is also seeking the 15th District Congressional seat, has co-sponsored an Ohio resolution aimed at blocking U.S. House Resolution #1.
Peterson stated in a press release Wednesday afternoon that Democrats are attempting- “an unconstitutional attempt to federalize state elections.” He continued by saying he is- “Urging the United States Congress to reject a proposed partisan power-grab that would remove state authority over elections and give it to federal bureaucrats.”
Peterson continued with a list of what he called dangers that would result in passage of U.S. House Resolution 1:
legalize the practice of ballot harvesting, potentially creating opportunities for voter suppression and fraud,
allow voters to register and vote on the day of an election without adequate time to ensure their eligibility,
use tax dollars to fund political campaigns,
ban efforts to require voter identification, and
prohibit local officials from verifying voter rolls and overseeing secure elections.
“This is a brazen attempt by the radical left to destroy the safeguards that protect our voting process,” said Peterson. “Nancy Pelosi and other extremists know they can’t build a lasting majority on credible candidates and sound public policy, so their solution is to game the system and make it easier to cheat. This is exactly why I’m running for Congress – to put an end to federal takeovers of our constitutional freedoms.”
Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown returned criticism of Ohio Republican lawmakers Wednesday, claiming their proposed changes to state voting laws are a “knee-jerk reaction” to Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
Brown told reporters Wednesday morning, that Republican legislators are responding to an “abject lie” created by the former President Donald Trump in an effort to limit voting access.
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Brown said. “It’s why Republicans are going to start losing more elections in Ohio because the voters know that they’re playing to that big lie from an angry president that cares more about dividing people than he does unifying our country.”
Brown joined Democratic Senate colleagues Tuesday in backing legislation they say would serve as a buffer against voting restrictions passed in other states.
With the U.S. Senate at 50-50, it still requires 60 votes to override a filibuster from Republicans, in order for the matter to be open for floor debate. The measure did not gain any support from the 50 U.S. Senate Republicans.
Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman said- “I’m proud of the way we conduct our elections in Ohio, in part because we’ve got high turnout. In fact, we had record turnout last year. And that’s great. And I don’t want to leave it up to federal employees here in Washington, D.C. to determine how our system should work in Ohio, which is what this legislation would do.”
Ohio State Senator Bob Peterson says he will run for the 15th Congressional seat, soon-to-be vacated by incumbent Steve Stivers.
Peterson becomes the second Republican in our area to announce his plans to seek the nomination after 78th Ohio House Rep. Brian Stewart made his plans known on Monday.
Congressman Stivers announced earlier this week that he will assume the duties as President/CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce on May 17th and will resign his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Peterson, in his final term as 17th District State Senator from Washington Court House, has also previously served in the Ohio House of Representatives and as a Fayette County Commissioner. He owns a family farm, not far from Sabina.
“Steve Stivers has served our area, our country, and this district with great distinction since he was first elected in 2010,” Peterson said. “I hope to continue his record of conservative leadership in the years to come and I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
“I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from hundreds of friends, family, neighbors and colleagues in each of the counties in this district to consider running. I’m honored and humbled by their encouragement and will work tirelessly to earn each and every vote in the weeks ahead.”
Senator Peterson said he is gravely concerned about the state of the nation under President Biden and Democrat majorities in Congress.
“Our country is headed down the wrong path in Washington: unsustainable debt and deficits, a national security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and a constant assault on our freedoms, which are guaranteed under the United States Constitution,” Peterson said. “It is time to put an end to these reckless, liberal policies that will cause lasting damage to our state and nation if we don’t enact conservative policies now.”
