Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters will step down by end of next month

By Megan Henry
Ohio Capital Journal

The Ohio Democratic Party will have a new chair for the mid-term elections. 

Liz Walters is stepping down as Ohio Democratic Party Chair no later than June 30 she announced earlier this week on X, former known as Twitter. 

“The state of the OH Dems organization is in the strongest possible position for change, and completing a chair transition now ensures the next leader of our party will have a healthy amount of time to get their legs under them for the 2026 cycle,” she said in a statement.

Walters was appointed chair in 2021 and was the first woman elected to the role. David Pepper was the previous chair. 

“Making the decision to leave was not easy,” she said in her statement. “It has been an honor, and a true vocation, to serve as the chair of the Party that I love in the state I call home.” 

Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, thanked Walters for her time as chair.

“Liz has done an exceptional job for more than four years leading the Democratic Party in Ohio,” Russo said in a statement. “Her dedication to upholding the democratic values of freedom, dignity, and opportunity in the fight to make the lives of all Ohioans better is a testament to the legacy she will leave behind.”

The Ohio Democratic Party suffered losses in the 2024 election. Republican Bernie Moreno ousted long-time incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown who held office since 2006. All three Republican Ohio Supreme Court candidates swept their races giving the court a 6-1 Republican majority. 

Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner’s seat will be up next year.

Looking ahead to 2026, former Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton is currently the only Democratic candidate running for Ohio governor. 

Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and political newcomer Heather Hill are all vying for the Republican nomination for governor.