Matt Patten (born June 16, 1977) is a Democratic politician who served 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 ...

. A native of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Patten was a labor organizer before beginning a career in the political sector. When Representative Tom Patton gave up another term in the House to run for 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 ...

, Patten ran for his seat. It was thought that Patten would run against term limited Senator

Robert Spada Robert F. Spada is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 24th District of the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It bord ...

, but an appointment given to Spada by

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 ...

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ( ...

changed the favorite of the race. With Spada out of the race, good last name recognition and a strong showing by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

within the district, Patten won the seat over Colleen Grady, who was a last minute entrant to the race. Patten was sworn into his seat in the House on January 5, 2009, to a newly won Democratic majority. However, from the beginning of his term, Patten was a top target by

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. While Patten was a strong advocate for education and

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, as well as a supporter of health initiatives and

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

, he was seen as potentially vulnerable by Democrats as well. In his first reelection bid, Patten faced Mike Dovilla, a political consultant who was running for his first elected office. Over time, the race became one of the closest watched in the cycle, with Patten and Dovilla both neck and neck. Both the Democratic and Republican committees invested heavily in the campaign. Patten was defeated by Dovilla, leaving him as a one-term Representative. Along with Patten's defeat, Republicans also took control of the majority in the Ohio House. After his term was completed, Patten returned to the Berea area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Matt 1978 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly