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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is set to resign eight months before his term ends, concluding a 25-year political career in Ohio, according to report on Thursday. Yost, who is ineligible to seek reelection, experienced a setback in his 2026 campaign for governor after biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy entered the race.
Ramaswamy received support from President Donald Trump and an early endorsement from the Ohio Republican Party. Following Tuesday’s primary, Ramaswamy secured a position in the November general election.
Yost’s career began in 1999 when he was elected as the Delaware County auditor. He later served as the county prosecutor after being appointed in 2003, and in 2010, he won statewide office as Ohio’s auditor. Prior to that victory, he ran unsuccessfully for attorney general against the current GOP Governor, Mike DeWine.
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In 2018, he was elected as Ohio’s attorney general, becoming the state’s top law enforcement official. His recent campaign for governor aimed to position him as a successor to DeWine, who is term-limited.
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With Yost stepping down, DeWine will appoint an interim replacement. Ohio Auditor Keith Faber is already running for attorney general in the upcoming November election, while Secretary of State Frank LaRose is aiming to fill Faber’s current position. Treasurer Robert Sprague recently won the GOP primary for Secretary of State, and Jay Edwards has secured the nomination to replace Sprague as Treasurer.
Yost gained national attention in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which ended federal protections for abortion. He quickly declared Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” in effect, which bans most abortions after approximately six weeks.
On election matters, Yost took a mixed approach. He supported a legal brief that backed Trump’s efforts to challenge Pennsylvania ballots in the 2020 presidential election. However, he later opposed a separate lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that aimed to block the certification of Joe Biden as president-elect.
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I begin a new chapter June 8 as VP of Strategic Research and Innovation at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit law firm that’s won 18 cases at SCOTUS in the last 15 years.
I’ve been honored to serve Ohio, and will continue to fight for freedom! https://t.co/zTsTLdycAC
— Dave Yost (@DaveYostOH) May 7, 2026
Yost also drew attention in 2024 when he declined to grant provisional approval for Joe Biden to appear on Ohio’s general election ballot as the Democratic nominee, a decision later reversed by state lawmakers.
In the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment, Yost took an aggressive legal approach. His office filed a broad civil lawsuit against Norfolk Southern seeking damages related to cleanup costs and environmental harm. He also pursued action against an alleged fraudulent charity, suing Mike Peppel and the “Ohio Clean Water Fund” for raising more than $141,000 under the pretense of aiding East Palestine residents. A court later ordered the group to return more than $131,000 to donors.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced in early April that she will not seek reelection next year, opening up a rare open-seat contest in the reliably Republican state. Lummis announced her decision after the Senate adjourned for the holiday recess. Her departure will bring her tenure in the chamber to a close after just one term.
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In a statement, she said that following an intense legislative session — particularly in recent weeks — she just didn’t believe she had the stamina to commit to another six-year term.
“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,” she said, via The Hill. “I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon. The energy required doesn’t match up.”
“I am honored to have earned the support of President Trump and to have the opportunity to work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming,” she continued. “I look forward to continuing this partnership and throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the U.S. Senate.”
