MIAMISBURG, OH — Former State Senator Niraj Antani has launched his campaign for Ohio Secretary of State, a position currently held by Frank LaRose, who is term-limited. Antani, a Republican, represented the Dayton area in the Ohio General Assembly for over a decade, first as a State Representative and later as a State Senator.

Former state Sen. Niraj Antani, a self-described “pro-Trump conservative warrior” who proposed unsuccessful bills banning ballot drop boxes and requiring citizenship checks for voters, has launched a bid to be Ohio's next elections chief.

The former Republican state senator from Miamisburg announced his 2026 bid for secretary of state Thursday, saying his family’s immigration from British-occupied India gave him a deep appreciation for the right to vote.

In this April 2024 file photo, Allen County Board of Elections workers Morgan Bode, lower left, and Beth Harnishfeger, audited paper ballots from the March primary election while former board ...