Kent Smith
2023 - Present
2026
1
Kent Smith (Democratic Party) is a member of the Ohio State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Smith (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio State Senate to represent District 21. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Kent Smith graduated from Euclid High School in 1984. Smith earned his B.S. from Miami University in 1988, his M.S. in urban studies from Cleveland State University in 2001, and his Ph.D. in economic development from Cleveland State University in 2009. His professional experience includes working in the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office, co-authoring the book Please God Save Us, and working for nonprofit organizations.[1][2]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Public Utilities Committee
- Financial Institutions and Technology
- Judiciary Committee
- Senate Rules and Reference Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
- Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee
2021-2022
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Higher Education and Career Readiness Committee
- House Public Utilities Committee, Ranking member
- Technology and Innovation Committee
2019-2020
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Ethics Committee
- Financial Institutions Committee
- House Public Utilities Committee, Ranking minority member
- House Public Utilities Committee
- Commerce, Labor, and Technology Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Education and Career Readiness |
| • Financial Institutions, Housing and Urban Development |
| • Higher Education and Workforce Development |
| • Public Utilities |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Economic and Workforce Development |
| • Education |
| • Financial Institutions, Housing and Urban Development |
| • Public Utilities |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Ohio State Senate District 21
Kent Smith defeated Mikhail Alterman in the general election for Ohio State Senate District 21 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith (D) | 83.0 | 90,623 | |
| Mikhail Alterman (R) | 17.0 | 18,584 | ||
| Total votes: 109,207 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 21
Kent Smith defeated John E. Barnes Jr. in the Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 21 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith | 61.7 | 16,944 | |
| John E. Barnes Jr. | 38.3 | 10,496 | ||
| Total votes: 27,440 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Willie Britt (D)
- Vincent Rosemond (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 21
Mikhail Alterman advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 21 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mikhail Alterman | 100.0 | 2,867 | |
| Total votes: 2,867 | ||||
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Campaign finance
2020
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 8
Incumbent Kent Smith won election in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith (D) | 100.0 | 41,159 | |
| Total votes: 41,159 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 8
Incumbent Kent Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 8 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith | 100.0 | 11,185 | |
| Total votes: 11,185 | ||||
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Republican primary election
No Republicans filed for this race. Chris Litwinowicz ran as a write in and received 16 votes. Write-in candidates were required to receive at least 50 votes to make the general election ballot.
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 8
Incumbent Kent Smith won election in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith (D) | 100.0 | 36,688 | |
| Total votes: 36,688 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 8
Incumbent Kent Smith defeated Cassandra McDonald in the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 8 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kent Smith | 59.2 | 6,890 | |
| Cassandra McDonald | 40.8 | 4,749 | ||
| Total votes: 11,639 | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Ohio House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 16, 2015.
Incumbent Kent Smith defeated Cassandra McDonald in the Ohio House of Representatives District 8 general election.[3]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 8 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Kent Smith Incumbent |
79.81% | 40,634 | |
| Republican | Cassandra McDonald | 20.19% | 10,280 | |
| Total Votes | 50,914 | |||
| Source: Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Kent Smith ran unopposed in the Ohio House of Representatives District 8 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 8, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kent Smith Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 13,057 | |
| Total Votes | 13,057 | |||
Cassandra McDonald ran unopposed in the Ohio House of Representatives District 8 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Ohio House of Representatives District 8, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Cassandra McDonald (unopposed) |
100.00% | 3,423 | |
| Total Votes | 3,423 | |||
2014
Elections for the Ohio House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 5, 2014. Kent Smith defeated Sylvia James in the Democratic primary, while Mikhail Alterman was unopposed in the Republican primary. Jocelyn Conwell ran as an Independent candidate. Smith defeated Alterman and Conwell in the general election.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kent Smith |
71.6% | 21,420 | |
| Republican | Mikhail Alterman | 18.3% | 5,472 | |
| Independent | Jocelyn Conwell | 10.1% | 3,027 | |
| Total Votes | 29,919 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Kent Smith |
64.2% | 6,348 |
| Sylvia James | 35.8% | 3,533 |
| Total Votes | 9,881 | |
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kent Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Kent Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[7]
- Excerpt: "I am committed to fighting for the citizens of the 8th House District. I believe the current priorities of State Government are not working for the residents of the 8th District or Ohio’s middle class. I will work to expand economic opportunities for all Ohioans while fighting to protect voter’s rights, women’s rights and worker’s rights. I believe increased investment in education is critical to Ohio’s future and I will work to expand Medicaid in Ohio."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Ohio scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 19 to December 15.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 4 to December 31.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 6 to December 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 through December 31.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 132nd Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 132nd Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
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Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Smith's endorsements included the following:[1]
- State Rep. Armond Budish
- Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald
- Congresswoman Marcia Fudge
- County Council Member Sunny Simon
- State Sen. Nina Turner
- State Rep. Kenny Yuko
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Ohio State Senate District 21 |
Officeholder Ohio State Senate District 21 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 kentsmith.org, "About," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ The Ohio Senate, "Kent Smith Biography," accessed March 9, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "2016 Official Elections Results," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official primary election results for May 6, 2014," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ kentsmith.org, "Official Campaign Website," accessed April 17, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dale Martin (D) |
Ohio State Senate District 21 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Ohio House of Representatives District 8 2015-2022 |
Succeeded by Beth Liston (D) |
| Preceded by - |
Euclid City School District school board At-large 2001-2013 |
Succeeded by - |
