Ohio Gun Owners graded every Republican nominee for the Ohio House and Senate on the November 3 ballot, all 109 of them, based on their votes, what they’ve said publicly and our candidate survey. Here are the standouts who voted YES on the Freedom to Carry Act, the politicians who got an F, and what we know about the statewide nominees.
| SEE THE GRADES |
Can’t see the button? See the grades in our 2026 ballot guide here.
Before you vote, see our grades
Early voting is already underway in Ohio, and on November 3rd you’ll pick the politicians who decide whether the Freedom to Carry Act ever becomes law. So before you fill in that ballot, I want you to know exactly where every Republican nominee for the Ohio House and Senate stands on your gun rights.
That’s why we’ve graded them. All 109 of them.
Here’s why it matters so much this year. On June 10th, the Freedom to Carry Act came up on the Ohio House floor. Most of the Republicans in that chamber voted against it. A lot of those same politicians had promised on our candidate survey that they’d support it. A handful stood up and voted YES on the Freedom to Carry Act anyway. Those votes are on the record now, and I don’t think you should have to dig through a House journal to find out how your own representative voted.
The June 10th vote was the real vote. If a politician voted against it, we graded it that way.
How our grades work
Each grade comes from three things: the politician’s voting record on the gun bills we track, what they’ve said publicly, and how they answered our candidate survey. Did they return it? Did they answer 100% pro-gun? And if they’re already in office, did they keep their word when the vote came?
A politician who made a promise on the survey and then voted against the Freedom to Carry Act got graded on the vote, not the promise. An endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, one of the leading opponents of pro-gun bills in the General Assembly, costs half a letter grade. And a candidate who hasn’t returned a survey and has no record gets a C until we know more.
The standouts
These Republicans in the Ohio House voted YES on the Freedom to Carry Act, and every one earned an A+ or an A:
A+: Jennifer Gross (District 45), Tex Fischer (District 59), Ron Ferguson (District 96)
A: Thomas Hall (District 46), Diane Mullins (District 47), Michelle Teska (District 55), Adam Mathews (District 56), Brian Lorenz (District 60), Jean Schmidt (District 62), Thad Claggett (District 68), Levi Dean (District 71), Jeff LaRe (District 73), Ty Mathews (District 83), Angie King (District 84), Tim Barhorst (District 85), Mark Johnson (District 92), Jason Stephens (District 93), Ty Moore (District 95)
In the Ohio Senate, Al Cutrona (Senate District 33) earned an A+. He’s the primary sponsor of the Senate version of the Freedom to Carry Act.
They took the heat when it would’ve been easier to go along with leadership, and I want you to know who they are.
You’ll also see some names near the bottom of the list that may surprise you. Speaker Matt Huffman got an F. So did Cindy Abrams, who chairs the House committee where pro-gun bills go to stall. Neither one co-sponsored the Freedom to Carry Act, the Ohio Self-Defense Act or the Second Amendment Protection Act.
See Huffman’s grade in the Ohio Gun Owners ballot guide
See Abrams’s grade in the Ohio Gun Owners ballot guide
And get this: Huffman and Abrams are both taking fat stacks of campaign cash from the gun control lobby.
Statewide races
Your ballot also has statewide races. Here’s what we know about the Republican nominees.
Governor: Vivek Ramaswamy. Vivek Ramaswamy returned the Ohio Gun Owners gubernatorial candidate survey 100% pro-gun, but only after early voting in the May primary had already started on April 7. That survey commits Ramaswamy to the Freedom to Carry Act, the Second Amendment Protection Act (H.B. 382), self-defense protections, repealing gun-free zones and preemption, and to vetoing rifle and magazine bans, universal gun registration and Red Flag Gun Confiscation. Ohio Gun Owners will hold Ramaswamy to every one of those promises.
U.S. Senate: Jon Husted. Jon Husted didn’t return the Ohio Gun Owners 2026 primary candidate survey. In October 2019, as Lieutenant Governor, Husted stood with Mike DeWine and presented STRONG Ohio (Senate Bill 221), which would’ve let a court order a person’s guns surrendered. Ohio Gun Owners called it what it was: Red Flag Gun Confiscation under another name. Husted’s 2026 campaign doesn’t mention STRONG Ohio, and we’ve found no record that Husted ever disavowed it. Jon Husted’s campaign took $30,800 in Wexner money. Jeffrey Epstein was billionaire Les Wexner’s longtime money manager and held power of attorney over Wexner’s personal finances from 1991 until 2007. According to NBC News, an unredacted 2019 FBI document listed Wexner as one of eight possible Epstein co-conspirators. Wexner has never been charged and says Epstein stole from him.
Secretary of State: Robert Sprague. Robert Sprague refused to fill out the Ohio Gun Owners 2026 Secretary of State candidate survey. As a state representative from 2011 to 2018, Sprague cosponsored and voted for House Bill 228, Ohio’s stand your ground and self-defense burden-of-proof law, and voted to override Gov. Kasich’s veto on Dec. 27, 2018. But Robert Sprague is taking fat stacks of campaign cash from the gun control lobby. Robert Sprague’s campaign took $23,000 in Wexner money. Jeffrey Epstein was billionaire Les Wexner’s longtime money manager and held power of attorney over Wexner’s personal finances from 1991 until 2007. According to NBC News, an unredacted 2019 FBI document listed Wexner as one of eight possible Epstein co-conspirators. Wexner has never been charged and says Epstein stole from him.
Attorney General: Keith Faber. In the Ohio House and Senate from 2001 to 2018, Keith Faber voted pro-gun on every gun roll call we reviewed. Faber cosponsored Ohio’s original concealed carry law (House Bill 12) and the 2006 statewide preemption law (House Bill 347), voted for the castle doctrine law (Senate Bill 184) in 2008, and cosponsored and voted for House Bill 228 in 2018. But Keith Faber is taking fat stacks of campaign cash from the gun control lobby. Keith Faber’s campaign took $20,000 from Les and Abigail Wexner. Jeffrey Epstein was billionaire Les Wexner’s longtime money manager and held power of attorney over Wexner’s personal finances from 1991 until 2007. According to NBC News, an unredacted 2019 FBI document listed Wexner as one of eight possible Epstein co-conspirators. Wexner has never been charged and says Epstein stole from him.
Auditor of State: Frank LaRose. In the Ohio Senate from 2011 to 2018, Frank LaRose voted pro-gun on every gun roll call we reviewed. LaRose cosponsored Senate Bill 199, House Bill 79 and Senate Bill 81. LaRose did not vote when the Ohio Senate passed House Bill 228 on Dec. 6, 2018, but voted to override Gov. Kasich’s veto three weeks later. But Frank LaRose took fat stacks of campaign cash from the gun control lobby. Frank LaRose’s campaign took $12,500 from Les and Abigail Wexner. Jeffrey Epstein was billionaire Les Wexner’s longtime money manager and held power of attorney over Wexner’s personal finances from 1991 until 2007. According to NBC News, an unredacted 2019 FBI document listed Wexner as one of eight possible Epstein co-conspirators. Wexner has never been charged and says Epstein stole from him.
Every grade, with the reasons behind it, is in the full guide now.
| SEE THE GRADES |
See how your politicians were graded
VOTE PRO-GUN.
For Freedom,
Chris Dorr
Executive Director
Ohio Gun Owners
P.S. Most Republicans in the Ohio House voted against the Freedom to Carry Act on June 10th, and plenty of them had promised you they’d support it. Before you vote, see how your own state representative was graded, and your state senator too if your district has a Senate race this year: https://www.ohiogunowners.org/2026-ballot-guide/