Mary Taylor (Ohio politician)

Mary Taylor (born March 7, 1966) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 65th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019.

Mary Taylor
65th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019
GovernorJohn Kasich
Preceded byLee Fisher
Succeeded byJon Husted
31st Auditor of Ohio
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 9, 2011
GovernorTed Strickland
Preceded byBetty Montgomery
Succeeded byDave Yost
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 43rd district
In office
January 3, 2003 – December 31, 2006
Preceded byTwyla Roman
Succeeded bySteve Dyer
Personal details
Born (1966-03-07) March 7, 1966
Green, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDon Taylor
Children2
EducationUniversity of Akron (BS, MS)

She was most recently a candidate in the Republican Party primary for Governor of Ohio in the 2018 election.[1]

Early life and business career

Taylor was born in 1966.[2] She attended Springfield Local School District in Springfield Township. She attended the University of Akron, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Accounting and master's degree in Taxation.[2] Becoming a Certified Public Accountant, she worked for Deloitte and Touche and Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Company in Akron.[2]

Political career

Taylor was first elected to the Green City Council,[3] eventually being elected to the Ohio General Assembly to represent the 43rd district. In 2006, she was elected to serve as Ohio State Auditor,[3] where she defeated Democratic candidate Barbara Sykes. Taylor succeeded fellow Republican Betty Montgomery as state auditor in January 2007. She was the only Republican in Ohio to be elected to a statewide non-judicial office during the 2006 election.

Lieutenant governor
Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor visiting the 178th Fighter Wing at the Springfield Air National Guard Base, on March 19, 2014

On January 14, 2010, she was announced as John Kasich's choice as lieutenant gubernatorial running mate in the 2010 election.[4]

On November 2, 2010, Kasich defeated incumbent Governor Ted Strickland (D). Thus Taylor became the lieutenant governor on January 10, 2011. She was named as Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance the same day.[5]

Kasich and Taylor were re-elected in November 2014.

In 2011, it was reported that she on several occasions used the state airplane to run "personal errands." Governor Kasich stated he requested Taylor to refund the money. Taylor stated that she had already refunded the money, even though the plane was only used for official business.[6]

An analysis by USA Today's Cincinnati branch indicated unusually high turnover among her staff during her tenure as Lieutenant Governor.[7]

2018 Ohio gubernatorial election
Main article: 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election

On February 23, 2017 she formed a campaign committee to raise money and campaign in the 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election.[8] She was endorsed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in April 2018.[9] Taylor's campaign hired Axiom Strategies, a consulting firm, with close ties to Cruz.[9] On May 8, 2018, Taylor lost the Republican Primary to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, garnering 40.2% of the vote compared to DeWine's 59.8% of the vote.

Family

She is married to Donzell (Don) Taylor and has two sons, Joe (b. circa 1991) and Michael (b. circa 1994) and the family resides in Green.[2][10] In 2017 she revealed that both her children have been struggling with opioid addiction.[10]

Electoral history
Ohio House of Representatives 43rd District Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mary Taylor 21,013 53.61
Democratic Michael Grimm 18,180 46.39
Ohio House of Representatives 43rd District Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mary Taylor (inc.) 34,478 57.58
Democratic Jane Tabor-Grimm 25,399 42.42
Ohio Auditor Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mary Taylor 1,940,665 50.64
Democratic Barbara Sykes 1,891,874 49.36

See also

References
  1. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor makes run for Ohio governor official, Dayton Daily News, July 7, 2017
  2. "Governor of Ohio". State of Ohio. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  3. "Ohio Ladies Gallery". State of Ohio. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  4. "NBC4i.com". Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
  5. "Key Staff". Ohio Department of Insurance. Ohio.gov. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  6. "State Lawmaker Says Lieutenant Gov. Used State Plane For Personal Errands". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio | Columbus News, Weather & Sports. December 23, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  7. "Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor can't keep her staff". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  8. Gomez, Henry J (February 23, 2017). "Mary Taylor for Governor launches". Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  9. "Ted Cruz endorses Mary Taylor for Ohio governor". cleveland.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  10. Bischoff, Laura (June 1, 2017). "Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor opens up about her sons' opioid addictions". Dayton Daily News.
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