State Rep. Gayle Manning announces plans to run for Ohio Senate

AVON — State Rep. Gayle Manning, R-Avon, hopes to return to her old stomping grounds on the other side of the state Legislature next year. Manning announced she will run for the state Senate to replace her son, Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, who is term-limited. Nathan Manning was reelected in 2022, and he will have represented Ohio Senate District 13, which encompasses all of Lorain County and most of Huron County, for eight years in total when his second term ends in 2027. Gayle Manning is similarly term-limited in the Ohio House, prompting her run for the Senate, where she previously represented the 13th District from 2011 to 2018. Nathan Manning previously announced plans to run for House District 52, where his mother currently represents Elyria, Avon, North Ridgeville, and Amherst and Elyria townships. If elected, this would be the Mannings' second time flipping seats. Gayle Manning had been weighing whether to run for another stint in the state Legislature since her son announced his plans to run for the Ohio House in early October, she said Tuesday evening. "I just think with talking to some people and people back home — family, friends, elected officials and others encouraging me — they say I made a difference," she said. "Sometimes you don't feel like you have when you don't get your way all the time, but when I look at some of the bills I've managed to fix … I think I've done a good job there." As House speaker pro tempore, she said she had a unique perspective of seeing the importance of individuals elected into those positions of power, and believed she was the "quiet" voice in leadership meetings, unafraid to go toe-to-toe with her fellow Republicans. The retired public school teacher said education remains one of her key issues, and, if elected, would continue to work to address the needs of districts and children at the state level. "I (couldn't) find anybody willing to step up," she said of her decision to run. "I think these are really important times to be in the Legislature and have that voice of reason pro temporepro temporepro tempore — unfortunately, I think both sides have gone too far to the right or left." As of Tuesday, no other Republican had announced plans to run for District 13. State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, who is also term-limited out of his House seat, announced plans to run for Nathan Manning's Senate seat in November. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.