Politics

Ohio Senate Republicans pick Tiffin's Bill Reineke as next Senate president

Columbus, Ohio • November 11, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Ohio Sen. Bill Reineke speaking at his desk in the Ohio Senate chamber

Photo: Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. Bill Reineke of Tiffin as the next president of the Ohio Senate, choosing the chamber's No. 2 Republican to lead it into the 137th General Assembly, which convenes Jan. 4, 2027.

Republicans also elected Sen. George Lang of West Chester as president pro tempore, Sen. Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green as majority floor leader, and Sens. Tom Patton and Susan Manchester as majority whips, completing the caucus's new leadership team for the two-year term.

Reineke, 72, moves up from president pro tempore, the post he has held since January 2025. He succeeds Sen. Rob McColley of Napoleon, who reaches his eight-year term limit at the end of the year. Reineke represents the 26th Senate District in north-central Ohio and has served in the Senate since 2021, after six years in the Ohio House. Outside the Statehouse, he is a partner in Reineke Family Dealerships, a three-generation family business with 10 vehicle dealerships.

His path to the presidency cleared months ago. Reineke announced his campaign for the job in April 2025, and his only rival, Senate Finance Chairman Jerry Cirino of Kirtland, ended his bid in February. Ohio's auto dealers had rallied behind Reineke, betting that one of their own would land one of the three most powerful jobs in state politics.

Reineke will preside over a 22-11 Republican majority in the 137th General Assembly. But the new term also brings divided government: Democrat Amy Acton won the governor's race last week, the first Democrat to win the office in 20 years, and she takes over in January. Republicans will lack the veto-proof majority they held in the current term, which changes the math on any lame-duck maneuvering and on the new governor's agenda.

Reineke co-sponsored a 2021 law that slowed renewable energy development in Ohio, requiring large wind and solar developers to hold a county meeting and letting county commissioners restrict areas for large wind and solar farms. Elevating him to the Senate presidency puts a principal architect of that restriction in the chamber's top job, with energy policy among the issues the new leadership will shape.

The leadership team takes office when the 137th General Assembly convenes on Jan. 4, 2027. The current two-year legislative term ends in late December.

Sources: WiseVoter, "Ohio Senate GOP Elects Bill Reineke as President" (Nov. 11, 2026); Ohio Optometric Association, "Ohio General Election Results and Recap November 2026" (Nov. 2026); Signal Ohio, "Car dealers back Bill Reineke for Ohio Senate President" (Aug. 7, 2025); State Affairs, "What now? How Amy Acton must move from campaigning to governing" (Nov. 2026).