COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Former Republican state Sen. Niraj Antani is suspending his 2026 campaign for Ohio secretary of state to run for state treasurer.
Antani, 33, of Miamisburg in the Dayton area, on Wednesday cited the 鈥渘ew dynamic鈥� injected into the contest last week when Ohio鈥檚 sitting statewide officeholders finally settled into their lanes.
Treasurer Robert Sprague to run for secretary of state and Secretary of State Frank LaRose launched a . Both have said they will endorse Trump insider for governor should he seek the seat, .
Antani said that he was disappointed but 鈥渘ot deterred鈥� when the jockeying created a head-to-head with Sprague. He will just seek a different office.
鈥淢y team and I have taken the last week to evaluate this new dynamic, and unfortunately we see no path forward to victory with Treasurer Sprague in the race,鈥� Antani said in a statement. 鈥淲hile I am disappointed, I am not deterred. For the last decade, I鈥檝e fought against the entrenched establishment who seek to protect the status quo. I will continue that fight.鈥�
It is unclear if Antani's announcement marks an end to Republican positioning for Ohio's statewide executive offices, all five of which are open next year due to term limits.
Antani was first elected to the Ohio House in 2014, the first Indian-American and Hindu to serve in the chamber. He served six years there and a single four-year term in the Ohio Senate before seeing his district redrawn by fellow Republicans to favor Democrats.
Antani opted not to seek re-election, but ran instead for southern Ohio鈥檚 2nd Congressional District. He finished 10th of 11 primary candidates, with 1.7% of the vote, to Republican and now-U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor.
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
