Tristan W. Rader is an American politician who is the representative for the 13th district 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 ...

, serving since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously a member of the Lakewood city council.

Political career

In 2016, Rader was the operations director of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, an organization that endorsed and campaigned for

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

, as well as various local progressive causes. Rader was elected to an at-large seat of the

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

, city council in 2017, taking office in 2018. He was reelected in 2021. Rader ran in the Democratic primary for

Ohio's 7th congressional district Ohio's 7th congressional district is represented by Max Miller. It is currently located in the northeastern section of the state, including southern and western Cuyahoga County, all of Medina and Wayne Counties, and a sliver of northern Holm ...

; however, he suspended his campaign on April 2. He remained on the ballot, losing to Matthew Diemer, who went on to lose the general election to Republican Max Miller. In 2024, Democrat

Michael J. Skindell Michael J. Skindell (born August 31, 1962) is the former state representative for the 13th district of the Ohio House of Representatives after previously serving there from 2003 to 2010. He also previously served as the state senator for the 23rd ...

, the representative of the 13th district in the

, chose not to run for reelection. Rader ran to succeed him. He won the Democratic primary unopposed, and won the general election against Republican Robert E. Dintaman.

Electoral history

Personal life

Rader lives with his wife, Caitlin, in downtown Lakewood.

References

External links

*{{ballotpedia Politicians from Lakewood, Ohio 21st-century Ohio politicians Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Ohio 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Year of birth missing (living people)