(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . State Rep. Derek Merrin set to become next Ohio House speaker after GOP vote [1] ['Jeremy Pelzer', 'Jpelzer Cleveland.Com'] Date: 2022-11-16 23:46:43.671000+00:00 COLUMBUS, Ohio—State Rep. Derek Merrin, a Lucas County Republican, will be named the next Ohio House speaker after his fellow House Republicans picked him over two rivals, according to several people in the room for the vote. Merrin, a 36-year-old Realtor and real estate investor, was voted the House Republicans’ pick for speaker after the GOP caucus met behind closed doors for more than 90 minutes on Wednesday evening. Given Republicans hold more than two-thirds of Ohio House seats, they can elect Merrin speaker next January without needing any Democratic votes. “I have an incredible amount of gratitude to my colleagues for trusting me to lead this caucus moving forward,” Merrin told cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer after the vote. “We are very excited -- we will have a united caucus, and we will move a conservative agenda to make Ohio as prosperous of a state as it can be.” As speaker, Merrin will have broad power over which bills are voted on by the lower chamber and which die in committee. State lawmakers will have to pass a massive new two-year state budget plan next year and have a number of controversial issues to tackle, from abortion to taxes. Merrin was first elected to the House in 2016, meaning he can serve only two years as speaker before he’s term-limited. He currently chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. House Republicans chose Merrin over state Rep. Jason Stephens of Lawrence County and state Rep. Phil Plummer of Montgomery County. Plummer was elected speaker pro tempore, the number-two leadership spot in the House, according to Merrin. State Rep. Scott Wiggam, a Wooster Republican, was elected majority floor leader. Other Republicans elected to leadership posts for next session include state Reps. Susan Manchester of Auglaize County, Brian Baldridge of Adams County, and Brian Stewart of Pickaway County. The current speaker, Republican Bob Cupp of Lima, is leaving the legislature after this year because of term limits. Cupp told reporters last week that he discouraged the speaker candidates from running their favored candidates against each other in GOP primaries. “I also said that I was not going to try to put my thumb on it,” Cupp said. “It was not my decision to make – it’s the caucus’ decision to make.” Cupp was named speaker in 2020 after his predecessor, Larry Householder, was arrested on a federal corruption charge. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/11/state-rep-derek-merrin-set-to-become-next-ohio-house-speaker-after-gop-vote.html Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/