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March 28th, 2025 Len’s Political Note #715 Bryan Hambley Ohio Secretary of State
2026 General Election
Bryan Hambley
If I had half of Elon Musk’s money, I would launch a campaign for Bryan Hambley. (Is Musk down to half of what he once had? No matter.) I don’t have anything like that kind of money, but I will donate to Bryan Hambley and urge you to do the same.
This is a Dr. Smith goes to Columbus story. But he is not an ordinary citizen. He grew up in a small town in Ohio and could make a claim that he is a country doctor. That’s not what he is, though. He is a distinguished Cincinnati oncologist married to a surgeon. He is a doctor outraged at the inequities of politics and is focused on a particular niche which he believes he can make fairer. Good for him.
Bryan Hambley grew up on a family farm in a small town in Indiana. He recalls going from door to door with his parents urging support for a candidate or a funding issue. The first big issue was when he was eight years old. He helped his mom and dad work with the local Methodist churches to oppose a ballot referendum to allow a river boat casino. He was devastated when they lost the referendum which he saw as being financed by wealthy people to make poor people poorer. He felt cheated by the big money spenders. Their victory was not achieved in a way was “fair and square.”
Fighting river boat gambling was not his only childhood political issue. His dad was on the local school board and a state plan to shut down the local school was seen as an attack on the community itself. He describes the community effort that kept the school alive: “The town of 800 people got into their trucks, drove to the state capitol, and made their voices heard to save the school, the heart of their community. His parents taught him this was democracy at its best: a community rallying to do together what no one could do alone.”
Despite those experiences, he grew up planning to be a doctor, not a politician. He went to Notre Dame, graduating from that school in Indiana in 2007. From there, he went south to Louisiana to Tulane Medical School, graduating in 2012. And he returned to the Midwest, doing his residency at Case Western Reserve Hospital in Ohio.
Bryan Hambley never escaped politics. Trump kept him in politics. In 2016, while still a medical resident, offended by Trump’s proposals to ban Muslims, standing in an airplane hanger that hosted a Trump rally, wearing a T shirt saying “Muslim doctors save lives every day,” a member of a group called STAT (Stand Together Against Trump), Bryan Hambley led a chant: “Stop the bigotry.” He later explained. “We were a little nervous. This is out of our comfort zone. We have never interrupted a speech before. Probably never will again. We are not an active protest crew.”
Trump was elected President in 2016 and Bryan Hembley went to work. By 2020, Trump was voted out of office and Bryan Hembley had come to the University of Cincinnati to rebuild , as he describes it “what had become a very small blood cancer and bone marrow transplant program. If it closed, a lot of people would not have been able to get good care. We built a team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other people. It has worked great. We went from 18 bone marrow transplants in 2020 to 70 in 2024, and our one-year survival rate has gone from about 54% to 80% in 2023.”
Bryan Hembley came to an understanding of the political impact on his own work. His campaign website continues: “he’s seen how outrageous healthcare costs are bankrupting families, health insurance denials are delaying urgent chemotherapy, and rural hospitals and nursing homes are closing and leaving communities without quality care.”
He expects Ohio to expend some resources to address these problems. Instead, he complains: “Ohio’s government has been silent….” Bryan Hembley points particularly to the gerrymandered Ohio legislature. He and others had hopes for change when enough signatures had been collected to change the redistricting process in a way that would end Republican dominated partisan gerrymandering.
Proclaiming that Ohioans deserve better, Bryan Hembley got caught up in the fight over how the Secretary of State described the upcoming referendum on the change in Ohio’s constitution: “When Ohio’s Secretary of State used misleading ballot language in 2024 to confuse voters and maintain unfair districts, Bryan organized medical professionals across the state to fight back. He took his two young children door to door to talk with neighbors about how gerrymandering leads to an unresponsive and ineffective government. These conversations confirmed that Ohioans all want the same thing: a state government that works for the people.”
The Secretary of State, with the responsibility to communicate to the public about any referendum to be voted on, described the constitutional amendment to create a commission that was “required to gerrymander” district boundaries. Unsurprisingly, in November, 2024, the proposed change was voted down by a 54-46 margin.
Dr. Bryan Hembley was energized, driven by what he saw as the very best way to ensure that the Secretary of State’s office was run with integrity. He would run for the office himself. He does not have the opportunity to run against the man who was Secretary of State in 2024. Frank LaRose was elected as Ohio’s Secretary of State in 2018 and 2022. Limited to two consecutive terms, Frank LaRose cannot run for that office again. He ran for the US Senate in 2024, but lost in the Republican primary to Bernie Moreno who was elected to the office. After the 2024 election, he discussed a run for Governor. Faced with a primary field that included former Trump advisor Vivek Ramaswamy and Ohio Attorney General David Yost, he turned to the state treasurer position, open because State Treasurer Robert Sprague was term-limited.
Bryan Hembley will have an opportunity to run against Robert Sprague, who has announced for Secretary of State. Or, perhaps, State Senator Theresa Gavarone. Or some other Republican.
In this Political Note urging you to DONATE to Bryan Hembley’s campaign, I may seem to be breaking my own rules. The purpose of these political notes is to urge you to donate to candidates where your donations will make a difference. Last November, when Bernie Moreno defeated Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio ousted its last non-judicial state-wide elected. The likelihood of a Democrat being elected Secretary of State is slim.
The world has changed. We do not yet know in what way the world has changed. Donald Trump’s push to be an authoritarian ruler may succeed. Or it may lead to what otherwise would have been unlikely Democratic victories in 2025 and 2026. We will get a clue on April 1 about which way the world is going. Even now it is not too late to donate for the April 1 elections and help shape this country’s future.
APRIL 1 IS AROUND THE CORNER
There is a race that will probably be postponed until November, 2026. Donald Trump has withdrawn Elise Stephanik’s nomination for Ambassador to the UN. He needs her in Congress. He appears to be worried the Republicans could lose the House of Representatives in 2025.
Right now the House is at 218 Republicans, 213 Democrats.
- Florida 01 is vacant because Matt Gaetz resigned, was elected in November 2024, but declined to take his seat. Florida 06 is vacant because Michael Waltz resigned to become National Security Advisor. Even though the elections for these seats is scheduled for April 1, let me complete the discussion about the Florida seats after discussing the vacancies in Arizona 07 and Texas 18.
- Arizona 07 is vacant due to the death of Representative Raul Grijalva. The primary is scheduled for July 15. The election is scheduled for September 23. This district will elect a Democrat and reduce the putative Republican margin to 218-214.
- Texas 18 is vacant due to the death of Representative Sylvester Turner. Governor Greg Abbott is delaying. The likeliest date for a special election is November 4, 2025. This district will elect a Democrat and reduce the putative Republican margin to 2018-2015
- A few months ago, any suggestion that Democrats could carry Florida 01 and/or Florida 06 would have been received with extreme skepticism. In 2024; the Florida 01 result was 64-34; the Florida 06 result was 66.5-33.5. Now, however, the skepticism is not so great. The chaotic Trump administration and its consequent unpopularity and the worsening economy has changed the dynamic – even in these heavily Republican districts. In the still unlikely circumstances that Democrat Gay Valimont was elected to represent Florida 01; that Democrat Josh Wiel was elected to represent Florida 06, the putative Republican majority would be 2018-2017.
Considering those numbers, President Donald Trump has withdrawn his nomination of Representative Elise Stefanik of New York 21 as Ambassador to the United Nations. New York law provides for county chairs to select nominees to fill vacant positions. The Democratic county chairs have been unanimous in supporting farmer Blake Gendebien as their nominee for the anticipated vacancy. Because they were prescient or because they could not decide among themselves, the Republican county chairs have made no selection. Elise Stefanik would have resigned from Congress when confirmed by the Senate. Had President Trump not withdrawn his nomination, he might have faced what was, from his perspective, a nightmare. New York 21 is almost as Republican as the Florida Districts. Stefanik carried the district in 2024 by a 62-38 margin. But 2025 is not 2024 and Democrat Blake Gendebien against a Republican starting from scratch would be only a slight underdog in this race which would give the Democrats a 2018-2017 majority if Florida and Arizona and Texas worked out as described above. That does not mean we would have a Democratic Speaker. The House rules complicate matters. But still… Just imagine….
Wisconsin – General Election April 1.
State Supreme Court
Support Democratic County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford against former Attorney General Brad Schimel. Currently Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has a 4-3 Democratic majority. There are only a few days left in this campaign. Susan Crawford is running to replace a Democratic justice who is retiring. A Republican win would give the court a 4-3 Republican majority. This race is crucial for preserving the right to abortion in Wisconsin, for preserving an un-gerrymandered state legislature and eliminating voter suppression. Largely because of Elon Musk, who is working toward donating $100 million to Susan Crawford’s opponent, former state Attorney General, Brad Schimel, this has become a very expensive election. It is not too late. DONATE to Susan Crawford. Do your little bit to oppose Musk. No donation is too small. Of course, if you have a spare $100 million to match Musk, that would be nice. See Len’s Political Note #684
State Superintendent of Public Instruction – also on Wisconsin’s April 1 ballot
Support Democratic incumbent Jill Underly in the primary and in the general election. Jill underly serves as a bulwark against right wing culture war positions. DONATE. Keep a successful Democrat in a leadership role in Wisconsin. See Len’s Political Note #693.
Florida’s Special Election on April 1 – now only a few days away. In these two heavily Republican districts, with your help, we can see just how much damage Republicans have done to themselves during Donald Trump’s opening unconstitutional salvos. A Democratic win in either of these races would be cataclysmic for Trump and the Republicans. A close race would be remarkable
Florida 01: Gay Valimont is the Democratic nominee. Gay Valimont is the former head of the Florida Chapter of Mom’s Demand Action, a gun safety organization. She has returned to politics after two family tragedies. She understands how Republican her district is. She is both courageous and energetic enough to give it her all in a very tough cause. Her opponent is the former CFO for the state of Florida. He proposed using Florida tax money to defend Donald Trump in his criminal trials. That proposal was too extreme even for the Florida legislature. The Democrats have surprised the Republicans in these two specials. Gay Valimont has raised just under $7 million while her opponent has raised about $2 million. Pile on. It could make a difference. DONATE to Gay Valimont. See Len’s Political Note #694.
Florida 06: Josh Weil is the Democratic nominee. He is a teacher of middle school boys who have not been able to remain in typical classrooms, a job that may be tougher than seeking election as a Democrat in FL 06. Originally exercised by the 2020 Democratic losses in Florida, he describes his commitment to his own children and his students as energizing his campaign. His opponent is Randy Fine, wealthy from the gaming industry, an opponent of rights for members of the LGBTQ community, an opponent of abortion. Fine is convinced that God saved Donald Trump so he could be president. This race has been a bigger ambush of the Republicans. Josh Weil has raised $10 million. His opponent $1 million. Keep that pressure on. DONATE to Josh Weil. See Len’s Political Note #704.
One more candidate to donate to. She exemplifies why candidates need resources even after the election is over.
North Carolina Supreme Court
Previously appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court, Allison Riggs won her election in November. Unfortunately, her opponent continues to attempt to disqualify 65,000+ voters. Furthermore, her past and future North Carolina Supreme Court colleagues in what is now a 5-1 Republican Court, have thrown obstacles in her path. DONATE. Help her win her law suit. If she can sustain her effort, it is unlikely the Court would be so bold as to invalidate the election. See Len’s Political Note #594
