Representative James B. Renacci

James B. Renacci (rih-NAY-see; born December 3, 1958) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Ohio’s 16th congressional district from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he is a former city council president and two-term mayor of Wadsworth, Ohio, and later became the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Ohio in 2018. Renacci has also been active in state-level politics, including an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio in 2022, and he currently serves as the chairman of the Republican Party of Medina County.

Renacci was born on December 3, 1958, and trained as an accountant before embarking on a career in business and public service. He built a substantial private-sector career, notably as a wealthy auto dealer prior to his election to Congress, and was involved in various enterprises that contributed to his reputation as a businessman. His financial success later made him one of the wealthiest members of Ohio’s congressional delegation; in 2018 he was ranked as Ohio’s wealthiest member of Congress. His early professional background in accounting and business management informed both his local political work and his later legislative interests, particularly in fiscal and economic policy.

Renacci’s political career began at the local level in Wadsworth, Ohio, where he served on the city council and rose to become city council president. He was subsequently elected mayor of Wadsworth and served two terms in that office. In these municipal roles he gained experience in local governance, budgeting, and economic development, building a profile that would support his later bids for higher office. His tenure as mayor and council president established him as a prominent Republican figure in his region and laid the groundwork for his entry into national politics.

On August 24, 2009, Renacci announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio’s 16th congressional district, officially filing his candidacy on January 11, 2010. Running as a “Contender” in the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” program, he challenged first-term Democratic incumbent John Boccieri in the 2010 election. In November 2010, Renacci defeated Boccieri with 52 percent of the vote to Boccieri’s 41 percent, while Libertarian candidate Jeffrey Blevins received about 7 percent. He took office on January 3, 2011, beginning the first of four consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving until January 3, 2019. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by debates over federal spending, health care, and regulatory policy, and he participated in the legislative process as a Republican representative of a northeastern Ohio district.

Following the 2010 census, Ohio’s congressional districts were redrawn, and in September 2011 The Plain Dealer reported that the new district map would place Democratic Representative Betty Sutton into a Republican-leaning district configured to favor Renacci. Sutton filed in December 2011 to run against him in the newly drawn district, setting up one of the most closely watched House races of the 2012 cycle. A poll reported by Roll Call showed the race essentially tied, with each candidate at 45 percent, and The Washington Post listed it among the top ten House races to watch in 2012. In the general election, Renacci defeated Sutton by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent, securing a second term. During his House tenure he was associated with several caucuses and coalitions, including the Republican Study Committee, the Congressional Coal Caucus, the Congressional Steel Caucus, the Congressional CPA Caucus, the NorthEast-MidWest Coalition, the General Aviation Caucus, the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Caucus, and, in the 113th Congress, the Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus, reflecting his interests in industry, energy, professional practice, and regional economic issues.

Renacci’s congressional career was not without controversy. In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated campaign contributions made by employees of Suarez Corporation Industries, an Ohio-based direct marketing company, to the campaigns of Renacci and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. In response to questions about the donations, Renacci’s campaign returned all of the contributions. The owner of Suarez Corporation was later found guilty of witness tampering in the case and served time in prison, but the broader investigation did not result in charges against Renacci. Later, in March 2018, the Associated Press reported that as a registered lobbyist prior to his time in Congress, Renacci had failed to report $50,000 in political contributions he had received from 2008 to 2010. His campaign stated that he had never actually lobbied and that he had been registered as a lobbyist with a consulting firm he helped found, Smokerise International Group, only as a precautionary measure. While his lawyer provided documents indicating he was listed as “inactive” in 2009, the Associated Press found that his lobbyist registration was not formally deactivated until May 2011, several months after he entered Congress.

While still serving in the House, Renacci began to explore statewide office. In January 2017, news outlets reported that he was considering a run for governor of Ohio in 2018, noting that his personal wealth from his auto dealership and other businesses could help finance a statewide campaign. On March 21, 2017, he formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor. However, in January 2018 he withdrew from the gubernatorial race to pursue a campaign for the U.S. Senate. On January 10, 2018, Renacci announced his candidacy for the Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. He won the Republican primary on May 8, 2018, becoming the party’s nominee. During the campaign he was endorsed by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, and his race against Brown drew national attention. The campaign was contentious; a scheduled debate at WOSU-TV studios in Columbus was nearly canceled amid last-minute disputes between the campaigns, which were fueled by what observers described as Renacci’s escalation of personal attacks on Brown. Renacci’s campaign finances also drew scrutiny, as he had loaned his campaign $4 million of his own money, representing the majority of his fundraising, while Brown significantly outspent him on advertising. In October 2018, Renacci defended his decision to fly on the plane of a strip club owner to meet with religious leaders, stating that the individual was a volunteer and that he did not intend to “vet volunteers.” In the November 6, 2018 general election, Brown defeated Renacci by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent, a 7-point spread.

After leaving Congress in January 2019, Renacci remained active in Ohio Republican politics and public commentary. He wrote opinion pieces critical of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, particularly focusing on the governor’s policies and leadership style. In May 2021, NBC News reported that former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was offering unpaid strategic support as Renacci considered a gubernatorial bid. On June 9, 2021, Renacci officially launched a campaign for the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio in the 2022 election, challenging DeWine. He framed his candidacy as a response to what he characterized as mismanagement under DeWine, stating that “Ohio cannot afford for Mike DeWine to be the governor anymore” and that, although his path had been “diverted” in 2018, his desire to “change Ohio” remained. Renacci criticized the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said he would not have hired Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, calling her early projections about the virus a “scare tactic.” His campaign drew on the expertise of Parscale and other former Trump staffers, and Renacci emphasized his continued support for Donald Trump, expressing hope for the former president’s endorsement, though by June 22, 2021, Trump had not endorsed a candidate in either the Ohio Senate or gubernatorial races. In the May 2022 Republican primary, Renacci lost to incumbent Governor Mike DeWine, receiving about 28 percent of the vote to DeWine’s 48 percent.

In addition to his electoral pursuits, Renacci has remained engaged in party leadership and public affairs. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Party of Medina County, maintaining influence in regional Republican politics and continuing to advocate for his policy views within Ohio. His career, spanning local government, four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, and multiple statewide campaigns, reflects a sustained involvement in both business and public service, as well as an ongoing role in shaping Republican politics in his home state.