Mike DeWine

Personal life

Born in Springfield, Ohio, the son of Jean and Richard L. DeWine, DeWine lives in Cedarville, Ohio but grew up in neighboring Yellow Springs, Ohio. DeWine earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University College of Law in 1972.

He and his wife Frances have had eight children, one of whom died in an automobile accident in 1993. Current Ohio Supreme Court Justice R. Patrick DeWine is Mike DeWine's son. Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine (R-Fairborn) is DeWine's second cousin.

Political career

At age 25, DeWine started working as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Greene County, Ohio, and in 1976 was elected County Prosecutor, serving for four years. In 1980 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate and served one two-year term.

Two years later, U.S. Representative Bud Brown of Ohio's 7th congressional district retired after 26 years in Congress; his father, Clarence Brown, Sr., had held the seat for 26 years before that. DeWine won the Republican nomination, assuring him of election in November. He was reelected three more times from this district, which stretches from his home in Springfield to the Columbus suburbs. He ran unopposed in 1986 during what is regarded as a bad year for Republicans nationally.

DeWine gave up his seat in 1990 to run for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio as the running mate of George Voinovich. The Voinovich-DeWine ticket was easily elected.

In 1992, DeWine unsuccessfully ran against the former astronaut and incumbent Senator John Glenn. His campaign used the phrase, "What on earth has John Glenn done?"

In 1994, DeWine ran for the United States Senate, defeating prominent attorney Joel Hyatt (the son-in-law of the then-incumbent U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum) by a solid 14-point margin. DeWine was reelected in 2000, defeating gunshow promoter Ronald Dickson (161,185 votes, or 12.44%) and former U.S. Rep. Frank Cremeans (104,219 votes, or 8.05%)in the primary and Ted Celeste (brother of former Ohio Gov. Dick Celeste) in the general election.

DeWine was defeated in the 2006 midterm elections by Democrat Sherrod Brown, receiving 905,644 fewer votes in 2006 than he received in 2000.

On July 22, 2009, DeWine announced his intention to run for Attorney General of the State of Ohio. On November 2, 2010, DeWine was elected as the new attorney general, defeating Democratic incumbent Richard Cordray. As attorney general of Ohio, DeWine sent letters to drugstore chains, encouraging them to discontinue the sale of tobacco products. On November 4, 2014, DeWine was re-elected as attorney general by defeating challenger, David A. Pepper. DeWine carried 84 out of Ohio's 88 counties.

Legislation

DeWine was the initial sponsor of the Drug-Free Century Act in 1999.

Legal challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

In 2015, as Attorney General of Ohio, DeWine filed a lawsuit in federal court in Ohio against a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the suit, DeWine alleged that the ACA's Transitional Reinsurance Program (which imposed a fee "paid by all employers who provide group health insurance in the workplace," which in 2014 was $63 per covered person and in 2015 was $44 per covered person) was unconstitutional as applied to state and local governments. When he filed the suit, DeWine claimed that the fee was "an unprecedented attempt to destroy the balance of authority between the federal government and the states."

In January 2016, the federal court dismissed DeWine's suit, with U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley held that the Transitional Reinsurance Program did not violate the Constitution. The State of Ohio appealed, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed Judge Marbley's dismissal of the suit.

Highway safety

As U.S. Senator, DeWine was behind the move to make 0.08% the national maximum blood-alcohol limit, and to require reporting of vehicle-related deaths on private property like parking lots and driveways. He sponsored legislation on determining when aging tires become unsafe.

Social issues

DeWine is opposed to legal abortion. In the Senate, he was the lead sponsor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

DeWine opposes same-sex marriage and sponsored the Federal Marriage Amendment but opposed State Issue 1, Ohio's constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman.

In 2004 DeWine co-sponsored an amendment to renew the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He was one of only two Republican senators to vote against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which banned lawsuits against gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers for criminal misuse of their products. In the 2006 election cycle, DeWine was the first senatorial candidate to be endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and displayed that endorsement on his campaign webpage. Furthermore, DeWine authored Senate Bill 954, to extend lifetime bans on gun ownership on citizens who happened to get a conviction in a foreign country, which carried a jail term of more than a year. That bill only garnered the endorsement of one other Senator, Dianne Feinstein of California.

After President George W. Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers on October 3, 2005, for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, DeWine said "I think the fact she doesn't have judicial experience will add to the diversity of the Supreme Court.... There is no reason everyone has to have that same [judicial] background." Opposition from conservative groups unhappy with Miers' resume ultimately sank her nomination.

DeWine sponsored the "Stars on Cars" legislation, which appeared in the 2005 highway bill. The rule requires that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration star safety rating information be displayed on part of the window sticker on new cars beginning with the 2008 model year.

Senate committees

DeWine sat on both the Senate Judiciary and Select Intelligence committees.

Academics and law

DeWine accepted positions teaching government courses at Cedarville University, Ohio Northern University and Miami University. In 2007, he joined the law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp as corporate investigations group co-chair. He also advised the Ohio campaign of John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

Attorney General of Ohio

On November 2, 2010, DeWine was elected Attorney General of the state of Ohio, defeating incumbent Richard Cordray (D) 48%-46%. During his tenure, Ohio received a D in 2012 concerning State Integrity Investigation from the Center for Public Integrity, and a D+ in 2015, including an F for Public Access Information, D+ for Political Financing, D- for Executive Accountability, D- for Legislative Accountability, D- for Judicial Accountability, D- for State Civil Service Management, and D- for Ethics Enforcement Agencies.

In the 2012 Republican presidential primary, DeWine endorsed Tim Pawlenty, then endorsed Mitt Romney after Pawlenty dropped out of the race. On February 17, 2012, DeWine announced he was retracting his endorsement of Mitt Romney and endorsed Rick Santorum. DeWine said, "To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponents. You have to give the American people a reason to vote for you, a reason to hope, a reason to believe that under your leadership, America will be better. Rick Santorum has done that. Sadly, Governor Romney has not."

Ohio Governor

On May 26, 2016, DeWine announced that he will run for Governor of Ohio in 2018. He reconfirmed this on June 25, 2017 at the annual ice cream social held at his home in Cedarville, Ohio.

Electoral history

*Write-in candidates Michael Fitzsimmons received 45 votes (< 1%) and Patrick Flower received 29 votes (< 1%)