Josh Williams (born 1984) is an American politician who is a Republican 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 ...

representing the 44th district. He was first elected November 8, 2022, and assumed office January 1, 2023. He is the first Black Republican to be elected to the Ohio House in 50 years.

Biography

Williams dropped out of high school at the age of 18 in order to work to support his son. He later suffered a serious back injury after falling over thirty feet while working. This incident left him disabled for six years as he underwent numerous surgical procedures. After getting a

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

, he started college at the age of 30, and five years later, he graduated from

University of Toledo College of Law The University of Toledo College of Law is the law school at the University of Toledo, and is located on the university's main campus in a residential neighborhood in western Toledo, Ohio. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Associa ...

and became a practicing attorney and professor at

Adrian College Adrian College is a Private college, private United Methodist Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40&nbs ...

Career

In July 2023, Williams was one of the lead sponsors of a bill that would ban drag performances from any venue where minors could be present. In December 2024, Williams was the lead sponsor of a bill that would make it a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

to plant a flag at

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencemen ...

in response to the

flag planting Flag planting is a behavior humans have exhibited in various different contexts. It is often done as a means to assert territorial claims in military or geopolitical situations, though it has also become common in sports – particularly college f ...

incident at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

after a loss to rival

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

on November 30, 2024. In January 2025, Williams was sworn in and serves as a whip apart of Ohio's 136th General Assembly.

References

1980s births 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives University of Toledo College of Law alumni Black conservatism in the United States {{Ohio-politician-stub