Ohio State Senate - Definition and Overview

The Ohio Senate is the upper house in Ohio's bicameral legislature, the Ohio General Assembly; the lower house is the Ohio House of Representatives. Both were established in the state constitution of 1851. The 126th General Assembly will convene starting in January 2005.

Members of the Ohio Senate are limited to two consecutive four-year elected terms. Service to fill out another member's uncompleted term does not count against the term limits. There are 33 members elected from individual districts. The current party distribution is 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

In 2004, the even-numbered seats were up for re-election. Republicans managed to hold onto four open seats (in the 4th district, 8th district, 14th district, and 18th district). Meanwhile, Democrats managed to hold one open seat (30th). In the remaining 11 races, the sitting incumbent was successfully re-elected. No seats changed hands.

Leadership

Majority Leadership

Minority Leadership

Members of the Ohio Senate

See also:

• Ohio Senate membership, 125th General Assembly

Ref: [The Senate's Web Page. (http://www.senate.state.oh.us/)]