Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican who’s held statewide office for more than 15 years, said he is resigning, effective June 7, to join a Christian conservative legal advocacy group – a move that may create a domino effect among other executive branch positions.

Yost is leaving his state position to become vice president of strategic research and innovation for the Alliance Defending Freedom. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the ADF focuses on cultural issues such as religious liberty, private school vouchers, restricting abortion access as well as opposing LGBTQ+ rights and same-sex marriages. The ADF played a central role in the landmark 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson case in the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade. In the Dobbs decision, the court ruled the U.S. Constitution does not give women the right to abortions.

Yost said he’s “been honored to serve Ohio and will continue to fight for freedom” in his new position.

It will be up to Gov. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican, to appoint Yost’s replacement.

DeWine could appoint a placeholder or name state Auditor Keith Faber, the Republican nominee for attorney general, to the position. If the latter occurs, DeWine, who is finishing his final term as governor, could open the flood gates and appoint three other Republicans who won Tuesday’s GOP primary for statewide office.

State Reps. Tex Fischer, R-Canfield, and David Thomas, R-Jefferson, said they expect DeWine to name a placeholder to the seat with Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as a likely frontrunner.

Fischer said: “I’ve heard speculation that he would shuffle (statewide officeholders) around, but it’s not something Mike DeWine would do. I expect him to appoint a low-profile caretaker. That’s my best guess on what happens.”

Thomas said: “I personally don’t think DeWine would appoint Keith Faber. The domino effect it would have with the statewides would lead to a lot of turnover. A lot of staff would change. He might do it, but I don’t believe he would.”

DeWine said he was “grateful” for “Yost’s long career in public service.”

DeWine added: “Having served as Ohio attorney general, I know how important this office is and the great work done by its employees. I will give the appointment of someone to serve as attorney general thoughtful and deliberate consideration.”

Fischer and Thomas said they were caught off-guard by Yost’s early departure.

“I’m very surprised,” Fischer said. “I was not expecting this now. I did not see it coming at all.”

Thomas said: “I’m surprised by this. He was one of my favorite statewides. He’s a straight shooter. He will be missed.”

If DeWine appoints Faber, it would create a vacancy for the state auditor position he’s held for more than seven years. Secretary of State Frank LaRose is the Republican nominee for auditor on the Nov. 3 ballot. If LaRose is appointed auditor by DeWine, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, would almost certainly be appointed to succeed him. That would result in the treasurer seat being open and DeWine would then appoint former state Rep. Jay Edwards, who won Tuesday’s GOP primary for that position.

That would also make those four Republican nominees the incumbents during the Nov. 3 general election.

It would also mean that DeWine would be the only statewide executive branch official actually elected to his seat by voters in the 2022 election.

Even Jon Husted, DeWine’s lieutenant governor, left his post in January 2025 when the governor appointed him to a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate and replaced him with Jim Tressel, former Youngstown State University president and a former football coach at Ohio State University and YSU.

Yost’s resignation came Thursday, only two days after the primary. The announcement came hours after Yost attended the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony at the Peace Officers Training Academy.

Among those honored at Thursday’s event was Nicholas Cayton, an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper from the Canfield Post, who died Oct. 16 when his cruiser was hit from behind by a truck while he was assisting another driver.

NEW JOB

Yost, who starts June 8 at ADF, said: “This is a moment of unprecedented change and uncertainty, and the stakes for our foundational freedoms could not be higher. ADF isn’t just responding to these threats – it’s leading the charge. I’ve been passionate about religious liberty, free speech, parental rights and human dignity for a long time, and to now bring my legal and advocacy skills to bear alongside the best constitutional lawyers in the world is an extraordinary opportunity. I’m honored to join this renowned organization.”

Yost will focus on expanding ADF’s strategic research capacities and developing innovative approaches to advance its message globally.

He described ADF as “essential to the future of American freedom.”

In addition to Dobbs, ADF has won 17 other cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in the past 15 years.

Kristen Waggoner, ADF’s CEO, president and chief counsel, said: “We are honored to welcome Attorney General Yost to ADF at this defining moment. General Yost is a proven, bold advocate to the fight for truth – in the courtroom and the public square. As censorship accelerates and God-given rights face unprecedented attack, ADF is advancing on new fronts, and we are fortunate to have a leader of General Yost’s stature and conviction standing with us. He doesn’t just understand these issues, he has spent his career fighting for them.”

FAILED GOVERNOR BID

Yost planned a 2026 run for governor, but his campaign for the job was derailed almost as soon as he announced Jan. 23, 2025, that he would seek the office. Vivek Ramaswamy, a billionaire biotech entrepreneur, declared his candidacy Feb. 24, 2025, though it was planned well before that.

With Trump, the Ohio Republican Party and several statewide officeholders backing Ramaswamy, Attorney Yost quit the race May 16, saying he didn’t see a path to victory.

When he withdrew, Yost said it was “apparent that the steep climb to the nomination for governor has become a vertical cliff. I do not wish to divide my political party or my state with a quixotic battle over the small differences between my vision and that of my opponent. I am simply not that important.”

Right before Yost’s withdrawal, there were reports that the Trump administration offered him the ambassadorship to Cyprus, which he rejected, as an enticement to get him out of the race. Yost declined to discuss the offer, saying it was part of “private conversations.”

During an April 22, 2025, interview in Warren, Yost said he had no plans to quit the race and hoped Trump would also back him as well as Ramaswamy in a dual endorsement.

During that interview, Yost said his “original intent was to retire after my attorney general term. But I was encouraged by people to offer an alternative. This isn’t a lifelong dream. Wanting to be governor is a fairly recent thing – a couple of years. I want to make a difference. I want to have meaningful work so the idea that I would go do something else just to have a job – I don’t really need a job. I could earn a lot more money in the private sector. So my goal is to leave Ohio brighter, better and growing for my kids and grandkids.”

A former newspaper reporter, Yost got into Republican politics, working for Buck Rinehart when he was Columbus mayor as his press secretary. Yost was appointed Delaware County auditor in 1999, and four years later was elected county prosecutor.

Yost wanted to run for state attorney general in 2010, but instead sought the state auditor’s position when DeWine, a former U.S. senator and lieutenant governor, opted to seek attorney general in his political comeback.

Yost served two four-year terms as auditor – statewide legislative and executive branch officeholders can hold a specific seat for a maximum of eight years under Ohio’s term-limits law – and then was elected in 2018 as attorney general. He was reelected as attorney general in 2022.