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Adam Mathews
Adam Mathews (Republican Party) is a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing District 56. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Mathews (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Ohio House of Representatives to represent District 56. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Mathews completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Adam Mathews earned a high school diploma from St. Xavier High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 and a law degree in 2013. His career experience includes working as a lawyer, small business owner, engineer, and substitute teacher.
Mathews has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1][2]
- Heartbeat International
- Elizabeth’s New Life Center
- Cincinnati Federalist Society
- St. Thomas More Society of Cincinnati
- Warren County (Ohio) Foundation
- Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Warren County Republican Central Committee
- St. Francis de Sales Parish
- Cincinnati Notre Dame Lawyers
- Notre Dame Club of Dayton
- Mason SAY Soccer
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Incumbent Adam Mathews defeated Cleveland Canova in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Adam Mathews (R)  | 62.6 | 39,280 |
 | Cleveland Canova (D) | 37.4 | 23,510 | |
| Total votes: 62,790 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Cleveland Canova advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cleveland Canova | 100.0 | 3,307 |
| Total votes: 3,307 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Incumbent Adam Mathews defeated Kathy Grossmann and Heather Salyer in the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Mathews | 44.4 | 6,251 |
| Kathy Grossmann | 31.3 | 4,411 | ||
| Heather Salyer | 24.3 | 3,414 | ||
| Total votes: 14,076 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Mathews received the following endorsements.
Pledges
Mathews signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Adam Mathews defeated Joy Bennett in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Mathews (R) | 60.4 | 29,241 |
 | Joy Bennett (D) | 39.6 | 19,135 | |
| Total votes: 48,376 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Joy Bennett defeated Sam Cao in the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joy Bennett | 70.5 | 2,107 |
 | Sam Cao | 29.5 | 883 | |
| Total votes: 2,990 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56
Adam Mathews defeated Kathy Grossmann in the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Mathews | 53.6 | 3,346 |
| Kathy Grossmann | 46.4 | 2,891 | ||
| Total votes: 6,237 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Mathews' endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Adam Mathews completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mathews' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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After graduating from St. Xavier High School, I attended Notre Dame to study mechanical engineering and political science. I graduated from Notre Dame’s Engineering Honors Program, which included a thesis on my research modeling brain material for use by the United States Army to protect our soldiers from shrapnel and concussions caused by IEDs. My engineering work included time at P&G’s diaper division and R&D as a civilian for the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program.
I returned to Notre Dame for my law degree and have since practiced as a small business and patent attorney, helping inventors and entrepreneurs remove legal red tape standing between them and realizing their business success. As a small business attorney and law firm partner, I have seen firsthand how regulations can hinder growth and success. I continue to keep a full-time legal practice.
By working with others, I have been able to take my skills to deliver real results for Warren County and will continue to do the same in Columbus.- We know what works in Warren County, with pro-family and pro-business policies contributing to a vibrant and growing community. I will protect and promote these values in Columbus so our children have a place where they can grow to be virtuous and have the economic opportunities needed to thrive.
- Inflation and taxation are too high and continue to rise making the American dream un-attainable for too many in Ohio. Ohio should be the best place to live, work and raise a family. and that starts with more jobs and lower costs, including taxes, fees and healthcare costs. To that end, I introduced an income tax cut, which was rolled into the budget as a $2.2 billion cut. I have also introduced legislation to allow voters more control over their property taxes and to protect our seniors by expanding the homestead exemption.
- I will continue to work for our citizens to ensure victories for each of us. When our schools were threatened with closing because of not enough teachers, I personally signed up to be a substitute to keep kids in classrooms. I am available, accessible, and deliver for what we hold most dear. By working with our county and municipal leaders, we were able to keep the Cincinnati Open, a top 8 tennis tournament, in Mason when everyone expected it to leave.
My office introduces and passes many bills, though our first focus is on constituent services. Whether that is helping with naturalization services, issues with state agencies, or providing commendations for retirements or honor rolls, we are happy to help.
(Yes, I have many small children)
Because they're hill areas.
Next General Assembly, I will continue the work, introducing a six-year phase-out of the income tax. Ohio would then join the growing number of states with no personal income tax.
Senator JD Vance
Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims, Deputy Sheriff Barry Riley, Auditor Matt Nolan, Recorder Linda Oda, Engineer Neil Tunison, Deputy Engineer Kurt Weber, Clerk of Courts Jim Spaeth, Treasurer Barney Wright, Commissioner Dave Young
I am the vice chair for Civil Justice, where we have passed laws allowing Ohio victims of abuse to be made whole, strengthened the judicial system, and passed one of my bills in overturning two activist judicial holdings.
I thoroughly enjoy serving on Ways and Means, which is our tax policy committee. I have been able to enact policies simplifying business municipal income tax.
I am honored to serve on the Joint Committee of Agency Rules Review, where we check the growth of bureaucracy and evaluate rules put forth by administrative agencies.
I am the only attorney on Families & Aging, which has been great, as we have been able to provide help to young families.
I introduced a bill to change the numbering, so we don't continue to have "Issue 1" every time, but rather then numbering would go up in subsequent elections. I was able to get this bill included in other legislation and it has now been enacted. This November's Issue 1 on redistricting will be the last statewide Issue 1 until we get to Issue 500 and start over.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Adam Mathews completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mathews' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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After graduating from St. Xavier High School, I attended Notre Dame to study mechanical engineering and political science. I graduated from Notre Dame’s Engineering Honors Program, which included a thesis on my research modeling brain material for use by the United States Army to protect our soldiers from shrapnel and concussions caused by IEDs. My engineering work included time at Procter & Gamble’s diaper division, as well as R&D as a civilian for the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program.
I returned to Notre Dame for my law degree and have since practiced as a small business and patent attorney, helping inventors and entrepreneurs remove legal red tape standing between them and realizing their business success. As a small business attorney and law firm partner, I have seen firsthand how regulations can hinder growth and success.
By working with others, I have been able to take my skills to deliver real results for Warren County and plan to do the same in Columbus.- We know what works in Warren County, with pro-family and pro-business policies contributing to a vibrant and growing community. I will protect and promote these values in Columbus so our children have a place where they can grow to be virtuous and have the economic opportunities needed to thrive.
- Inflation and taxation are too high and continue to rise making the American dream un-attainable for too many in Ohio. Ohio should be the best place to live, work and raise a family. and that starts with more jobs and lower costs, including taxes, fees and healthcare costs.
- I will continue to work for our citizens to ensure victories for each of us. When our schools were threatened with closing because of not enough teachers, I personally signed up to be a substitute to keep kids in classrooms. I am available, accessible, and deliver for what we hold most dear.
Adam believes the government should be bound by our Constitutions and laws. We need to strengthen the State Legislature against overreach, especially when it interferes with our schools, businesses, and daily lives. Decision-making should be as local as possible, ideally down to the individual and municipal levels.
He has worked to protect free and fair elections, serving multiple times as a Presidential Election Day Attorney. As a board member of the Cincinnati area Federalist Society, Adam has promoted originalist and textualist legal thinking, where the law should mean what it says and not bend to personal whims.
Adam fully supports the right to keep and bear arms, sponsoring and passing legislation to expand CCW rights as a city councilman. Adam is a CCW holder himself and a multi-year member of the NRA and the Buckeye Firearms Association. For his work and support, Adam is an NRA 2022 Defender of Freedom Award winner.
2. Pro-Police
Adam has sponsored and passed legislation on City Council to fully fund Lebanon's police and give them the high-tech equipment they need. While others work to defund the police or excuse looting, Adam stands with our law enforcement and is endorsed by Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims.
3. Pro-Life
Because they're hill areas.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Ohio scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 2 to December 19. A special session on elections commenced on May 28, 2024, and ended on May 31.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Ohio House of Representatives District 56 |
Officeholder Ohio House of Representatives District 56 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph A. Miller III (D) |
Ohio House of Representatives District 56 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
