External links
- Ohio State Representative Jay Edwards official site
Jay Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Member of the OhioHouseofRepresentatives from the 94th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 –January 6, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Debbie Phillips |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Ritter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nelsonville,Ohio,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Grantham University Ohio University (BS) |
Jay Edwards is an American politician who served as a state representative in the Ohio House of Representatives for the 94th District from 2017 until being term-limited in 2025. He is a Republican. Edwards additionally served as the Majority Whip of the Ohio House.
Edwards has been closely associated with Ohio's contested energy law,House Bill 6,and its partial rollback. In 2019,he voted in favor of House Bill 6 in the Ohio House;the bill passed 51–38 and was later described by the advocacy group Ohio Citizen Action as “the worst energy bill of the 21st century,”passed after what federal prosecutors alleged was a $61 million racketeering scheme involving then-Speaker Larry Householder and his allies to secure its approval and provide a coal and nuclear bailout worth more than $1 billion. [1] [2]
After the scandal became public,Edwards supported a partial rollback through House Bill 128 in 2021,which revised electric utility service law,repealed the nuclear bailout and related “decoupling”provisions of HB 6,and ordered refunds to customers,while leaving other subsidy provisions in place. [3] [4]
Subsequent repeal proposals,including House Bill 351 and Senate Bill 117 in the 134th General Assembly,were referred to committee but never received floor votes,meaning Edwards did not cast a recorded vote on legislation that would have fully repealed the remaining HB 6 subsidy provisions. [5] [6]
Edwards was born and raised in Nelsonville,Ohio,where he graduated from Nelsonville-York High School. After high school he attended nearby Ohio University on a football scholarship,where he studied mathematics. Edwards is a licensed realtor,and recently begun work in medical sales within the drug treatment market. [7]
In 2016,Representative Debbie Phillips was term-limited and ineligible to run for a fifth term. [8] A Democrat,Phillips had only faced one serious election in her four terms,in 2014,where she won by just over 100 votes. However,despite Athens County,the largest in the district,being considered reliably Democratic,Republicans had historically seen success in winning the district prior to Phillips' taking the seat. [9] Democrats nonetheless fielded Sarah Grace,a small-business owner from Athens who was a newcomer to politics and a liberal. Despite being considered the favorite,Edwards raised considerable money,albeit not without controversy. [10] In the end,in what was a very good year for Republicans,Edwards defeated Grace by a 58% to 42% margin,taking the seat. [11]
Edwards is the first Republican to hold the seat since Jimmy Stewart,who held the seat from 2003 to 2008. [12]
In 2018,Edwards defeated Democrat Taylor Sappington to retain the seat. [13]
In the 2020 general election,Edwards faced Democrat Katie O'Neill. [14]
| Election results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Election | Votes for Edwards | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % |
| 2016 | Ohio House of Representatives | General | 28,649 | 57.80% | Sarah Grace | Democratic | 20,897 | 42.20% |
| 2018 | General | 23,562 | 58.29% | Taylor Sappington | Democratic | 16,855 | 41.71% | |
| 2020 | General | 31,584 | 60.4% | Katie O’Neil | Democratic | 20,719 | 39.6% | |
| 2022 | General | 22,190 | 61.2% | Tanya Conrath | Democratic | 14,084 | 38.8% | |
