Democrat Elliot Forhan, a former one-term state representative reprimanded and stripped of his committee assignments by his own party’s Ohio House leader, is running for attorney general in 2026.

“I’m looking forward to talking to voters on the campaign trail about issues that matter to them,” said Forhan, an attorney who lives in Brooklyn Heights.

Forhan said he’s “running to apply the law equally to everyone, including the rich and powerful. That means ending corruption, including catching and prosecuting rich tax cheats, getting money out of politics and fighting illegal actions by the federal government.”

Forhan said if elected attorney general, part of his focus would be to join other attorneys general throughout the country in trying to reign in questionable actions by the federal government under President Donald Trump, a Republican.

“This is bigger than just one attorney general,” he said. “It’s about coming together. I want to speak clearly about what is being done and how to stop it.”

Forhan said Elon Musk “is running riot through the federal government. Musk is damaging and destroying programs – like veterans’ affairs, cancer research, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – that keep us healthy, secure and free.”

Forhan said Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced Monday he was running for governor and is a former classmate of his at Yale Law School, “plans to do the same here in Ohio. As attorney general, I won’t let that happen.”

Forhan, who interned with Richard Cordray when he was treasurer and Ted Strickland when he was governor, was elected to the Ohio House in the 2022 election.

Forhan was reprimanded May 30, 2023, by House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, after a conflict with a constituent and later with other lawmakers. In a report, Russo accused Forhan of a “pattern of harassment, hostility and intimidation of colleagues and staff.”

Russo stripped Forhan of his committee assignments on Nov. 16, 2023, and then-House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, four days later suspended his access to his office and the Ohio Statehouse.

Forhan lost the March 2024 Democratic primary for his seat.

But a month later, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge sided with Forhan in an effort by a Democratic legislator who contended he was stalking her.

Forhan said despite the issues, he is running as a Democrat for attorney general.

“My commitment to the values of the Democratic Party are rock solid and the terrible decisions – frankly, illegal conduct by Allison Russo – by one person could never shake that commitment,” he said.

In November, Forhan filed a lawsuit against 18 people including Russo, Stephens and Attorney General Dave Yost for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and abuse of process.

A Democrat last won a state executive branch race in Ohio in 2008.

“It would be foolish to suggest Ohio has been anything less than challenging for Democrats,” Forhan said. “But some things are changing. People are seeing this version of the Republican Party is an enrichment program for the rich. They’re seeking to destroy what’s been built in the state and the nation.”

The only other announced candidate for attorney general is state Auditor Keith Faber, a Republican.

Matt Dole, a Faber campaign advisor, said: “It’s early and we’re gonna wait and see who wins the Democrat primary. In the meantime, Keith continues to put the auditor’s office to work for Ohioans and travel across the state sharing his background and vision for the attorney general’s office.”

Faber has a March 11 fundraising event scheduled at the Grand Resort in Warren.