Former state legislator Antani drops out of one race, will run for Ohio treasurer

“My team and I have taken the last week to evaluate this new dynamic, and unfortunately we see no path forward to victory with Treasurer Sprague in the race,” said Antani, a Republican from Miami Twp.

“While I am disappointed, I am not deterred. For the last decade, I’ve fought against the entrenched establishment who seek to protect the status quo. I will continue that fight.”

This is the fifth office Antani has sought. Antani first took office at in 2014 — at age 23, making him the youngest state lawmaker at the time — when he was elected to the Ohio House.

He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2020, becoming the first Indian-American elected to that chamber. He chose not to run for reelection in 2024 after his district was redrawn to favor Democrats and Antani fell out of favor with Republican leadership.

He instead ran for U.S. Congress in a district he didn’t live in. He came in next-to-last in a 11-way GOP primary despite raising more than $600,000 for the race.

Antani announced his run for secretary of state last month, noting his work in the Ohio General Assembly pushing for voting security legislation.

A formal announcement of his run for treasurer is expected later today. No other candidates have announced a run for that office, though there is still plenty of time before the 2026 primary.

The dynamics of who is running for statewide office have been shifting in recent weeks since businessman Vivek Ramaswamy became a sudden front-runner for governor. Most of the current statewide officeholders, all Republicans, are term-limited. Attorney General Dave Yost is also running for governor.

Current Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose now wants to be Ohio auditor. He and Sprague have endorsed each other.

“These recycled cookie cutter, copy-paste politicians are playing musical chairs with Ohio’s Constitutional executive offices,” Antani said in a statement. “They’ll do whatever it takes to stay in power, no matter the Tammany Hall style, smoke filled, back room behavior that makes Ohioans sick. Ohioans are tired of riding this merry-go-round within the insane asylum carnival of squishy establishment politicians.”