Gary Cates (born December 27, 1955) is a Republican politician who served 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 ...

. He was 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 ...

from 1995 to 2004, and a 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 t ...

from 2005 to 2011.

Life and career

A graduate of

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

, Cates began his political career as a Union Township Trustee from 1990 to 1995. When Representative

Scott Nein Scott R. Nein of Middletown, Ohio, (April 13, 1951 – August 19, 2023) was an American politician of the Republican party, who formerly served in the Ohio General Assembly. Political career Nein was encouraged by John Boehner to run for th ...

resigned from the Ohio House of Representatives to take a seat in the

late in 1995, Cates was appointed to fill the remainder of his term. A reliably Republican district, Cates faced no opposition in the 1996 primary and beat Kendall L. Mays handily in the 1996 election. He went on to win easily against opponents in 1998 and 2000, and ran unopposed in 2002. In 2001, Cates was elected by his peers to serve in as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, the second highest position under Speaker of the House

Larry Householder Larry Lee Householder (born June 6, 1959) is an American former politician and convicted felon, who was convicted in the largest bribery corruption scandal in Ohio's history. Householder was the state representative for Ohio's 72nd district and w ...

. He served in this capacity for both the 124th General Assembly and the 125th General Assembly.

Ohio Senate

With incumbent Senator

unable to run for the Senate again because of term limits, Cates, along with Representative Greg Jolivette and County Commissioner Courtney Combs were seen as potential successors. Midway through 2003, the Butler County Republican party sought to create a proposal that would help to avoid a primary. It focused on Jolivette and Combs switching offices, therefore allowing Cates to seal the nomination for the Senate seat. However, this did not work out. Jolivette decided to seek a fourth term in the House, and Combs decided to seek the Senate seat. Cates faced no opposition for his bid. Therefore, he had a clear path to the Senate in a staunchly Republican district. Against Democrat Melvin A. Smith in the general election, Cates won by about 48,000 votes. Cates, up for reelection in 2008, was again a strong favorite against Democratic challenger Kathryn Bridgman. He won a second term by approximately 35,000 votes. On May 5, 2011,

Ohio Governor The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's Ohio National Guard, military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bill (proposed law ...

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

announced that he would be appointing Cates as the senior vice chancellor for the division of Innovation and Enterprise Development with the Ohio Board of Regents. Cates accepted, and on May 23, 2011, resigned from the Senate. He was succeeded by

Bill Coley Bill Coley (born August 5, 1960) is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 4th District from 2011 to 2020. Formerly, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011. Career After graduation from t ...

, who will serve out the remainder of Cates' term before running for a full term in 2012.

References

External links

Senator Gary Cates
at Project Vote Smart *''Follow the Money'' - Gary Cates
200620042002200019981996
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Cates, Gary Republican Party Ohio state senators Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly 1955 births Living people People from Petersburg, Virginia People from West Chester, Butler County, Ohio