Chris Widener
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Christopher Widener (born August 22, 1963) was the President pro Tempore 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 t ...
, and represented the 10th Senate District, which includes
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,
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and
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counties. Before the Senate, he served three terms non-consecutively in the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
. He is a Republican.


Career

After graduation from the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
, Widener served two terms on the Mad River-Greene Local Board of Education before starting his legislative career. His resume includes a stint as a civil service architect at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...
, where he also served as the base's first full-time historic preservation officer until 1989. Widener was appointed to his first term as a member of the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
in 1999, but lost the party nomination to reelection to Merle G. Kearns, a prominent state Senator who was facing term limits. However, after redistricting occurred in 2002, Widener won a term beginning in 2003. In the 2004 cycle, Widener again faced a primary challenge against fellow Republican Robert Rogers III. He defeated Rogers with 65% of the vote. He easily won reelection in 2006 with 60% of the vote. In January 2016, Widener announced his retirement after nearly two decades of public service.


Ohio Senate

In 2008, Senator
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was term limited and running for Congress, and Widener declared his candidacy for his Senate seat. In the primary, he faced W. Reed Madden and James Howard, and won about 67% of the electorate. In the general election, Widener faced
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Commissioner Roger Tackett. While Democrats initially thought the district as potentially competitive, Widener won with 62% of the vote. Widener served as Chairman of the Energy & Public Utilities Committee in the 128th General Assembly, and in the 129th General Assembly, Senate President
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named Widener as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, He also serves on the State Controlling Board; and to the State Council on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. As Chairman of the Finance Committee, Widener played a leading role in shaping the biennium budget. Widener was also a key player on the conference committee on the budget, where the budget was finished, and helped to pass the final budget for 2012-2013. In 2012, Widener won reelection to a second term, defeating Jeff Robertson with 62% of the vote. Widener has faced controversy for trying to shield public records related to Senate parking key cards. For this and other reasons, the
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in an editorial named Widener the worst person in the
Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...
.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Rules


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widener, Chris 1963 births Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Republican Party Ohio state senators University of Cincinnati alumni