Niraj Antani
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byPeggy Lehner
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 42nd district
In office
December 2, 2014 – December 31, 2020
Preceded byTerry Blair
Succeeded byTom Young
Personal details
Born
Niraj Jaimini Antani

(1991-02-26) February 26, 1991
Miami Township, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationOhio State University (BA)
University of Dayton

Niraj Jaimini Antani (born February 26, 1991) is an American politician who serves as a state senator representing the 6th district in the Ohio State Senate. He served three terms as Representative for the 42nd district of the Ohio House of Representatives.[1] He is a member of the Republican Party. His district, the 6th, is composed of northern, eastern, and southern Montgomery County.

Early life and education

Antani was born and raised in Miami Township. He lives in Miamisburg, Ohio.

Antani attended Miamisburg City Schools and graduated from Miamisburg High School in 2009. He went on to Ohio State University and earned his bachelor's degree in political science.[2] After that, he briefly attended the University of Dayton Law School before leaving to run for State Representative.[3]

Career

When state Representative Terry Blair died after winning the 2014 primary election for a fourth term, Antani was chosen by the Montgomery County Republican party to replace Blair on the ballot. It was a difficult win for Antani, who was at the time a political outsider, "It took four rounds for Niraj Antani of Miami Twp. to gain a majority of votes from the district’s GOP precinct captains."[3] However, Antani won the general election 64.5% to 35.5% over Democrat Patrick Merris at the age of 23.[4] Antani was sworn in to the Ohio House of Representatives to complete the remainder of Blair's term on December 2, 2014.[5]

During the 2020 United States elections, Antani ran for Ohio State Senate in the 6th district. This distrct includes much of eastern Montgomery County, Ohio. Antani won the general electing against Democratic Party candidate Mark Fogel with 53.17% of the vote.[6]

In 2019, Antani co-sponsored legislation that would severely restrict abortion in Ohio. Doctors who performed abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancy and other life-threatening conditions would be exempt from prosecution only if they "[took] all possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child, while preserving the life of the woman. Such steps include, if applicable, attempting to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman's uterus".[7][8][9] Reimplantation of an ectopic pregnancy is not a recognized or medically feasible procedure.[7][10]

Antani chaired the Ohio Republican Party Asian Pacific American Advisory Council and serves on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project.[11]

Committee assignments

During the 134th General Assembly, Antani was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees:[12]

  • (Vice Chair of) Health Committee
  • Financial Institutions & Technology Committee
  • Judiciary Committee
  • Transportation Committee

Electoral history

Election results
Year Office Election Votes for Antani % Opponent Party Votes %
2014 Ohio House of Representatives General 20,440 64.50% Patrick Merris Democratic 11,248 35.50%
2016 General 33,997 63.03% Patrick Merris Democratic 19,939 36.97%
2018 General 28,079 59.30% Zach Dickerson Democratic 19,273 40.70%
2020 Ohio Senate General 99,096 53.2% Mark Fogel Democratic 87,280 46.8%

Controversies

On March 14, 2018, Antani made headlines by appearing to suggest that students who were over the age of 18 should be allowed to bring rifles to school in their cars. The following day, after substantial press, Niraj backtracked and said that he did a poor job of stating his position.[13]

On December 2, 2018, it was reported that along with many other sitting members of the Ohio General Assembly, Niraj Antani's role in the creation of a letter with Jeff Jacobson, a lending industry lobbyist, intending to weaken a sweeping payday lending bill HB123, was under investigation by the US Department of Justice. A subpoena was issued on August 27, 2018, and sent to a federal grand jury on September 12, 2018. Senator Antani was never charged with a crime in relation to this letter.

On July 21, 2020, Larry Householder was arrested in connection with a $60 million bribery scheme. The federal complaint against Householder is allegedly the largest bribery and money laundering scheme in Ohio history. Allegedly, Householder ran a sham organization, Generation Now, that funneled bribery money to more than a dozen campaigns of both parties, that eventually won their races and then elected him Speaker.

Personal life

Outside of the Ohio Senate, Antani is a member of the NRA and Dayton Right to Life.[14] He was a member of the Rotary Club of Miamisburg, is the former President of the Miamisburg High School Alumni Association, and a former executive board member of the non-profit Dayton International Festival, Inc.

In 2015, Niraj was added to Forbes Magazine's list of the top “30 under 30” people in the U.S. for Law & Policy in 2015.[15]

Beginning in 2018, Antani started serving on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project.[16]

Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work on veterans issues. [17]

He is a Hindu.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "The next generation of Republicans: Do they stand with Trump? - The Washington Post". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ↑ DuVall, Audrey (October 28, 2014). "Recent Ohio State graduate Niraj Antani running for state House". The Lantern. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Blizzard, Nick. "UD student wins GOP nod for state rep spot". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ 2014 Ohio election results, Ohio Secretary of State Jon A. Husted
  5. ↑ {{cite >news|url=http://ohiopolitics.blog.daytondailynews.com/2014/12/02/antani-sworn-in-to-fill-blair-vacancy-in-ohio-house/%7Ctitle=Antani sworn in to fill Blair vacancy in Ohio House|date=December 2, 2014|work=Dayton Daily News|accessdate=December 2, 2014|location=Dayton}}
  6. ↑ https://www.montgomery.boe.ohio.gov/election-results/#281-336-2020-1588177826
  7. 1 2 Glenza, Jessica (November 29, 2019). "Ohio bill orders doctors to 'reimplant ectopic pregnancy' or face 'abortion murder' charges". The Guardian. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ Ohio bill would make doctors 'reimplant' ectopic pregnancies (which is impossible) or face 'abortion murder' charges, National Post, November 29, 2019
  9. ↑ "House Bill 413 | The Ohio Legislature". www.legislature.ohio.gov.
  10. ↑ Rezac, Mary. "Pro-life doctors: Despite Ohio bill, there is no procedure to save ectopic pregnancies". Catholic News Agency.
  11. ↑ https://ohiosenate.gov/members/niraj-antani/biography
  12. ↑ "Senator Niraj Antani - Bio | The Ohio Senate". ohiosenate.gov. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ Will Garbe, Staff Writer. "Ohio lawmaker: 'Did a poor job of communicating' position on students bearing firearms". daytondailynews. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ https://ohiosenate.gov/members/niraj-antani/biography
  15. ↑ "Niraj Antani, 23". Forbes. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ "FMP". RSLC. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  17. ↑ https://ohiosenate.gov/members/niraj-antani/biography
  18. ↑ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/23/ohio-republican-responds-to-inartful-comment-about-his-hindu-faith/69936194007/
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