(The Center Square) – The Republican plan of state-office-holder musical chairs continued Thursday when Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced he will run for state auditor in 2026.
LaRose hopes to replace Auditor Keith Faber, who recently announced he is running for attorney general after current AG Dave Yost announced a bid for governor. Current Republican State Treasurer Keith Sprague announced this week he is running for secretary of state after flirting with a bid for governor.
Instead, Sprague announced earlier this week he would support former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy if he decides to run for governor.
LaRose, Faber, Yost and Sprague are all prohibited by term limits from running for their current offices, as is Gov. Mike DeWine, who has said he will return at the end of his current term.
LaRose ran for the U.S. Senate last year but lost a primary to eventual winner Bernie Moreno, who beat long-time incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in November.
“I’ve always answered the call of duty, and I’ve had a lot of encouragement from across Ohio to consider serving in this important office,” LaRose said Thursday. “They’ve asked me to build on what we’ve done in the Secretary of State’s office, where we’ve made Ohio a national leader in election administration and economic development by focusing on the highest performance standards. I believe we can do the same for government offices and agencies across the state, and I have a plan to help them more openly and efficiently manage our tax dollars but also to hold them accountable when they don’t.”
The only Democrat announced for statewide office in the 2026 election is Dr. Amy Acton, who has declared to run for governor.
