“My message and record resonated with voters,” the Buckeye state lawmaker says.
Indian American Rep. Niraj Antani defeated fellow republicans Sarah Clark and Marcus Rech in the Ohio House of Representatives District 42 primary election on Tuesday.
Antani, the incumbent, is running for re-election from the district, which he first won in 2014, replacing Rep. Terry Blair. He will now face Democrat Zach Dickerson in the November election.
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Antani received 6,780 votes (63 percent), while Miamisburg Vice Mayor Clark received 3,007 votes (28 percent). Rech finished third with 968 votes (9 percent).
“I’m very happy to have won with a strong majority despite a three-person race,” Antani said. “My opponents worked very hard and tried to make it a competitive election. My message and record resonated with voters. I think they’ve taken a look at what I’ve done over the last three and a half years and delivered results for the district using my conservative principles and I look forward to making them proud in the general election.”
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Antani had earlier received endorsement of Ohio Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee (OCCPAC) for the election.
Antani has been under attack from Dickerson over what he calls “extreme” views, including on issues such as gun control.
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The Indian American is a cosponsor of a controversial gun bill passed by the state House in July 2017. Currently before a state Senate committee, the bill proposes “to provide an opportunity for a concealed handgun licensee or qualified military member to avoid charges for carrying a deadly weapon into a prohibited place if the person leaves upon request, and to penalize failure to leave upon request or returning with a firearm.”
Antani was one of 66 delegates from Ohio who pledged to support to Gov. John Kasich at the Republican National Convention in 2016.