Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup to Retire from U.S. House in 2024

Wenstrup currently represents that state's most Republican district.

Representative Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, a Republican, has today announced that he will not seek a seventh term representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He made the news in a video released on X (formerly Twitter).

Wenstrup, 65, is the 25th retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives for the upcoming 2024 cycle - 16 Democrats and 9 Republicans. He is the fifth House Republican to retire without seeking another political office - joining Ken Buck of Colorado, Kay Granger of Texas, Debbie Lesko of Arizona and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.

Wenstrup has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2013. Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District covers rural southern Ohio - taking in Adams, Brown, Pike, Clermont, Highland, Clinton, Ross, Pickaway, Hocking, Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Meigs, Lawrence and Scioto Counties as well as parts of Fayette County.

In 2012, U.S. Army veteran Wenstrup challenged incumbent Representative Jean Schmidt for re-election. He prevailed 48.7-43.0 in the Republican primary. He then won election to six terms with double digit victories over Democratic candidates. Following the 2021 round of redistricting, the 2nd District became the reddest in the state.

For the 118th Congress, Wenstrup serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

No candidates have announced their campaigns to succeed Wenstrup in the U.S. House of Representatives. Given the district’s partisan lean, a competitive Republican primary is expected to quickly develop.

Under the previous lines, Donald Trump won Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District with a 55.6-42.9 finish against Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. That came as Trump was carrying the state 53.27-45.24 in his ultimately unsuccessful national campaign. In 2022 though, Wenstrup was re-elected 74.5-25.5 against Democrat Samantha Meadows.