State Rep. Nick Santucci, a Howland Republican serving his first term in the Ohio House, is running for reelection against Lauren Mathews, a Warren Democrat.

The election is Nov. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 8

Santucci narrowly won the 64th Ohio House District seat in the 2022 election, beating Democrat Vincent Peterson II by 1.8%. At the time, the seat favored Democrats by almost 10% based on voting results in statewide partisan elections during the past decade.

With redistricting, the new 64th is a lot more friendly for Santucci though it still favors Democrats by about 2.5% based on voting results.

The new district keeps Warren, Howland, Niles and Weathersfield. It adds more rural and Republican communities including Bristol, Champion, Farmington, West Farmington, Leavittsburg, Newton, Newton Falls, Lordstown and all of Warren Township. Warren Township currently is split between Trumbull County’s two state House districts.

SANTUCCI PRIORITIES

Santucci said his top priorities are revitalizing the Mahoning Valley’s economy, delivering resulting and returning funds to Trumbull County, and fighting human trafficking.

“We’re at a point where we have more jobs available than people qualified to fill them,” Santucci said. “I work closely with members of the skilled trades and area employers and constantly hear feedback that they can’t find people willing and able to work to fill their open positions.”

Santucci said he supported a record investment in career tech education in the last state budget and “will continue to advocate for expanding access so we can help fill the jobs available now and get people back to work. But we also need to look to the future.”

That includes a bill Santucci sponsors called the Community Connectors Workforce Program that would create a voluntary statewide program for high school students to receive career mentorship and be placed into jobs or internships. The bill awaits a House vote.

During Santucci’s first term, he had four bills pass the House.

Santucci said: “Historically, the Valley has been overlooked when it comes to returning funds from Columbus, but we’ve made great progress in recent years. I plan to keep working to make sure we get our fair share of money and investments to help make our region stronger.”

Santucci said his priorities when it comes to state funding for Trumbull County are brownfield remediation, building more affordable housing and supporting the Mosquito Lake area.

Santucci said he’s also fighting human trafficking and introduced the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, which would increase penalties on anyone arrested in connection with human trafficking in Ohio. The bill remains in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

“We have some of the weakest penalties in the nation and that needs to change,” he said. “My legislation will send a clear message: if you traffic in the state of Ohio, you are going to prison for a very, very long time.”

The bill increases the minimum sentence for most trafficking-related crimes from 10 years to 25 years to life.

MATHEWS PRIORITIES

Mathews said her top priorities are advocating for accessible healthcare and reproductive freedom, strengthening public education, and promoting workforce development and living wages.

Mathews said she wants a “robust healthcare system that provides care and freedom for all to make personal healthcare decisions. As a social worker, member of the YWCA board and a youth sports coach, I have worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all people.”

She said she would legislate “”for personal responsibility for health choices including reproductive and gender-affirming care. The Statehouse should fully implement the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2023. I would work to rollback public funding to crisis pregnancy centers.”

Mathews also wants to legislate for mental health services including substance use disorders and expand Medicaid to cover mental and physical health in schools. Mathews also supports the use of doulas and midwives in Medicaid plans to improve rural and minority maternal health.

Regarding public education, Mathews wants to strengthen it with pre-K programs and affordable childcare.

“Public schools are the cornerstone of our communities,” she said. “They provide support to students, families and the communities throughout the lifetime of a resident. With the school vouchers, our rural schools, who often have less resources, are funding private education no matter the family income level.”

Mathews said she wants to fully fund pre-K education in all public schools, hold private and charter schools to the same accountability standards as public schools, and provide childcare credits to allow for parents to return to work and tax credits for childcare facilities that expand and to assist with training costs.

Mathews said she wants to promote workforce development and would advocate for a living wage to support local communities.

“I witnessed the pay, benefits and safety disparity when a union was not present,” she said. “I want to keep our young talent and attract new employees to our community.”

Mathews wants to focus on workforce development and partner with employers who use Ohio workers and set limits on the use of permanent temporary workers. She also supports a ban on requiring felons to acknowledge their criminal past when seeking employment.

Mathews also wants to pass legislation to diversify public contract bidding to include prompt payment timelines, require raising solicitation thresholds and require educational sessions and simplify the bidding process.

64th Ohio House district

Nick Santucci (R)

Age: 33

Occupa-tion: State representative and VAZA Consulting’s senior consultant for workforce and community engagement.

Previous elected experience: Serving first term in Ohio House.

Goals: Revitalizing the Mahoning Valley’s economy, delivering resulting and returning funds to Trumbull County, and fighting human trafficking.

Lauren Mathews (D)

Age: 51

Occupa-tion: Former vocational rehabilitation counselor for Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, left to run for office.

Previous elected experience: None.

Goals: Advocating for accessible health care and reproductive freedom, strengthening public education, and promoting workforce development and living wages.