Jay Edwards (politician)

Jay Edwards is a State Representative of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 94th District. He is a Republican. The 94th district consists of Meigs County, as well as portions of Athens, Vinton, and Washington counties. Edwards additionally serves as the Majority Whip of the Ohio House.

Jay Edwards
Majority Whip of the Ohio House of Representatives
Assumed office
February 6, 2019
Preceded byTom Patton
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 94th District
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byDebbie Phillips
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceNelsonville, Ohio
Alma materOhio University

Life and career

Edwards was born and raised in Nelsonville, Ohio, where he graduated from Nelsonville-York High School and still resides today. After high school he attended nearby Ohio University on a football scholarship, where he studied mathematics. In an interview Edwards disclosed during senior year of college, a medical condition led to an illness that didn’t allow him to finish his coursework at OU, and so he never earned his degree.[1] Edwards is a licensed realtor, and recently begun work in medical sales within the drug treatment market.[2]

The Edwards family has long roots in Nelsonville, where his uncle recently served as city manager.

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2016, Representative Debbie Phillips was term-limited and ineligible to run for a fifth term.[3] A Democrat, Phillips had only faced one serious election in her four terms, in 2014, where she won by just over 100 votes. However, despite Athens County, the largest in the district, being considered reliably Democratic, Republicans had historically seen success in winning the district prior to Phillips' taking the seat.[4]

Democrats nonetheless fielded Sarah Grace, a small-business owner from Athens who was a newcomer to politics and a liberal. Despite being considered the favorite, Edwards raised considerable money, albeit not without controversy.[5] In the end, in what was a very good year for Republicans, Edwards defeated Grace by a 58% to 42% margin, taking the seat.[6]

Edwards is the first Republican to hold the seat since Jimmy Stewart held the seat from 2003 to 2008.[7]

On February 6th, 2019 Edwards was chosen to serve as Majority Whip of the Ohio House.

Electoral history
Election results
Year Office Election Votes for Butler % Opponent Party Votes %
2016 Ohio House of Representatives General 28,649 57.80% Sarah Grace Democrat 20,897 42.20%
2018 General 23,562 58.29% Taylor Sappington Democrat 16,855 41.71%


References
  1. "Introducing the 'other candidate'". Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  2. "Jay Edwards biography". Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  3. "Sarah Grace outraises Jay Edwards after trailing him prior to primary". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  4. "Political parties contributed big-time in Ohio House race". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  5. DeWitt, David. "House Dems drop election complaint against Jay Edwards". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  6. "Jay Edwards wins Ohio's 94th district". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  7. "Edwards takes Ohio's 94th District seat - The New Political". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
Political offices
Preceded by
Debbie Phillips		 Ohio House of Representatives, 94th District
2017–present		 Incumbent
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