| Tina Maharath | |
| State Senate: | Ohio |
| District: | 3rd |
| Term Start: | January 7, 2019 |
| Term End: | January 3, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Kevin Bacon |
| Successor: | Michele Reynolds |
| Birth Date: | 30 November 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Whitehall, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Canal Winchester, Ohio |
| Alma Mater: | Ohio University (B.A., M.A.) |
| Children: | 2 |
Tina Maharath (Lao: ຕີນາ ມະຫາລາດ) (born November 30, 1990) is an American politician who served as an Ohio State Senator from the 3rd District from 2019 until 2023. She also served in the Senate Democrats leadership team as Minority Whip.
As a Democrat, Maharath won 2018 election to the Senate in a highly close race with Republican opponent Anne Gonzales, flipping the 3rd Senate District from the Republicans.[1] Maharath's victory represented the first time Ohio Democrats had won a Republican held State Senate seat since 2006.[2] Maharath is also notable for being the first Asian-American woman in the Ohio Senate and the first Laotian-American elected into public office.[3] [4]
Maharath is from Whitehall, Ohio, the daughter of Laotian refugees. Her father served the U.S. Army under the Laos Army while her mother worked as a nurse in the Laos Army.[5] Maharath is a third-generation politician, and the first woman to hold office in her family.[6] Maharath has a Bachelor's degree in political science and a Master's degree in Law, Justice and Culture from Ohio University.
In 2018, Maharath was elected to the Ohio State Senate by 705 votes. During her time in the Senate she sponsored legislation that would prohibit conversion therapy for minors, create an Asian-American and Pacific Islander Affairs Commission, and designate Maternal Mortality Awareness Month.
During her time in the Senate, she had been elected by her fellow Democratic colleagues to their leadership team as Assistant Minority Whip then Minority Whip.[7] In the 2022 election, Maharath lost to Republican Michele Reynolds.[8]
Committees served under the 133rd General Assembly:
| Election results | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Election | Votes for Maharath | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | ||||||
| 2018 | Ohio State Senate | Primary | 11,462 | 71.81 | Katherine Chipps | Democratic | 4,500 | 28.19 | ||||||
| General | 66,438 | 50.27 | Anne Gonzales | Republican | 65,733 | 49.73 | ||||||||
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | + Ohio Senate 3rd District | 2022 | Tina Maharath | align="right" | 56,023 | 47.58% | Michele Reynolds | 61,723 | 52.42% |
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