Capri Silvestri Cafaro (born November 21, 1977) is a former Democratic member of the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the s ...

, representing the 32nd District from 2007 to 2016. From the

Mahoning Valley The Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley (and historically the Steel Valley), is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania the United States, with th ...

, Cafaro served three terms as an

Ohio State Senator The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the ...

(2007-2016), including a stint as Minority Leader from 2009 to 2012. Her district included all of

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of the ...

Ashtabula County Ashtabula County ( ) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula der ...

and portions of Geauga County (including the City of Chardon; but excluding Chardon Township). She is currently a TV personality, appearing as a contributor on

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

, primarily as a semi-regular co-host of the afternoon talk show '' Outnumbered''. Cafaro is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent.

Career

Cafaro was born and raised in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, and graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

with a BA in American Studies and from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

with a MALS in International Studies. She served on the

Senior Services Advisory Council and was a State Policy Liaison for Ohio with the National Patient Advocate Foundation. She was also a State Advocate Representative for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and served as a councilor for the Medicare Rights Center. Cafaro has also acted as an Economic Policy Associate for Global Action on Aging, an NGO with consultative status at the United Nations. As a political novice, Cafaro won a surprise victory in the 2004 Democratic primary for

Ohio's 14th congressional district The 14th congressional district of Ohio is in the far northeast corner of the state, bordering Lake Erie and Pennsylvania. It is currently represented in the United States House of Representatives by Dave Joyce. As defined in January 2013, it ...

, topping a five-candidate field, which included 2002 nominee Dale V. Blanchard, columnist Herb Hammer, U.S. Marine Charles L. Wolfe, and Ohio state Rep. Ed Jerse (who received the endorsement of the ''

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon ...

'' newspaper). Cafaro polled 54% of the vote, while Jerse, the second-place finisher, managed 19%. In the general election, however, she lost to Republican

Steve LaTourette Steven Clare LaTourette (July 22, 1954 – August 3, 2016) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for and then from 1995 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. On July 30, 2012, it was reported that he woul ...

. Cafaro again ran for the Democratic nomination in the open 13th Congressional District in 2006, placing second in a nine-candidate primary, behind future Congresswoman Betty Sutton. That seat was vacated by U.S. Representative

Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown (; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Ohio, a seat which he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Ohio ...

, Democrat who replaced Republican

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the Oh ...

in the U.S. Senate after defeating him on November 7, 2006. As of 2017, Cafaro was the Executive in Residence at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

's School of Public Affairs and gave commentary on political events as a contributor on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

Ohio Senate

In 2007, Cafaro was appointed to the 32nd District of the

to replace Marc Dann after Dann won the Ohio Attorney General's race on November 7, 2006. One year after becoming a member of the Ohio General Assembly, Cafaro secured a leadership position as the assistant minority whip for the Senate Democrats. In 2008, Cafaro was elected to her first full term after running unopposed in the general election. Soon after, she was elected Minority Leader by her colleagues for the 128th General Assembly. Cafaro again served as Minority Leader in the 129th General Assembly. Cafaro would serve as Leader for three years until she stepped down and was replaced in 2012 as Ohio Senate Minority Leader by Senator

Eric Kearney Eric H. Kearney (born 1963) is an American Democratic politician who served as the state senator for the 9th District in the Ohio Senate. Life and career In 1981, Kearney graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. He later received ...

. She won a second full term to her Senate seat in the 2012 general election, defeating Republican Nancy McArthur 67% to 33%. Cafaro played a prominent role in the

Medicaid expansion In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...

efforts in

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and has sought to codify the expansion permanently in Ohio law. She has offered legislation numerous times to do so. Cafaro did not seek reelection to the Ohio state senate in 2016 due to term limits.

Election history

References

External links

USA Today - Campaign 2004: Capri Silvestri Cafaro (D)
profile
Capri Cafaro
at the Ohio Ladies' Gallery, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cafaro, Capri Democratic Party Ohio state senators 1977 births Living people Georgetown College (Georgetown University) alumni Stanford University alumni Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Women state legislators in Ohio 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections People from Hubbard, Ohio

Career

Ohio Senate

Election history

See also

References

External links