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Candidates › OH-12 race › 2025–2026
Jerrad Christian
D Democratic nominee for U.S. House, OH-12
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- On the general election ballotNov 3, 2026 · Ohio US House 12
- Where to vote
- Find your polling place (opens in a new tab) · More ways to vote
- Top priorities
- Get money out of politics
- Protect Voting Rights & democracy
- Abolish & Prosecute Ice
- Pass Universal Healthcare
- Raise the minimum wage
- Money
- $140K raised, $119.6K spent, $24.1K cash on hand (through Oct 14, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 61% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · 87% from Ohio · largest committee giver THE CENTER FOR FREETHOUGHT EQUALITY PAC, $250
- Backed by
- Ohio AFL-CIO · Indivisible Central Ohio · Ohio Federation of Teachers and 6 more. As the campaign lists them
23 priorities from christianforohio.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
Money has distorted our politics so badly that people barely recognize the system anymore. When the Supreme Court handed down Citizens United, it opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending and told the richest voices in the country they could drown out everyone else. Billionaires should not have a louder voice than a teacher, a mechanic, a nurse or a janitor. If we are serious about self-government, we have to end Citizens United, cap campaign spending, and make it clear that elections are not auctions.
Lobbying as it exists today is legalized bribery with paperwork. Corporate interests and well-funded groups swarm Washington to extract policy that benefits them, not the people. Dark money flows through shell organizations so voters cannot even see who is pulling the strings. And yes, foreign interest groups should not be shaping our laws. That includes banning foreign-linked organizations, including groups like AIPAC, from influencing elected officials through campaign cash or political pressure. If you represent Americans, your loyalty and your funding should come from Americans. Clean up the money, expose every dollar, and watch how quickly policy starts reflecting working families instead of donor-class wishlists.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
The government is not some distant machine. It is us. And in a healthy republic, the people hold the power. That means protecting the right to vote with the seriousness it deserves. We should pass the Voting Rights Act and fully restore the protections that were stripped away after Shelby County v. Holder. When federal oversight was weakened, states were free to pass laws that made it harder for certain communities to vote.
An updated framework like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would reestablish clear guardrails against discrimination and ensure that changes to voting laws are reviewed before harm is done. Protecting democracy means making sure every eligible citizen can cast a ballot without unnecessary barriers and know it will count. The government should answer to the people. And if those in power ever forget that, the ballot box is how we remind them.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
ICE was created in the panic and fear of the post-9/11 era, folded into the Department of Homeland Security and handed orders that have steadily expanded with little oversight. What we have now is an agency that conducts raids in communities, separates families, and operates detention facilities where abuse and neglect are documented again and again.
When an institution repeatedly violates rights and erodes trust, the answer is not cosmetic reform. It is structural change. Abolishing ICE as it exists and replacing it with a narrowly tailored, accountable system focused on real public safety is a serious conversation this country needs to have.
And accountability cannot be optional. If agents break the law, falsify records, abuse detainees, or violate constitutional protections, they should be investigated and prosecuted like anyone else. A badge is not immunity.
Law enforcement in a democracy derives its legitimacy from the rule of law, not from fear. If we expect immigrants to respect our laws, the government must respect laws first. That standard should not bend for any agency, including ICE.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
This is not an abstract concept or a handout. Universal healthcare is a non-partisan policy in nearly every other modern country. It is proven to lower costs while removing the middle men who tell us which doctors we can see and which medications we can buy. It provides the freedom to start a business without the fear that you or your child will get sick, the freedom to leave a job you hate and find one you love, and the freedom to take a chance on something without your health being chained to an employer’s HR department.
Right now we tie our lives to jobs in a way that keeps us stuck. Coverage disappears when employment does. A layoff becomes a medical crisis. An entrepreneur has to “price in” private premiums before they even open the doors on a new business. That is not a market that encourages innovation and growth. It is a system that punishes risk and rewards consolidation. Universal healthcare breaks that chain.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
In the richest country in the world, no American should have to live in poverty. That is a baseline standard of dignity. The minimum wage has been allowed to erode for years while productivity and corporate profits soared. People working forty hours a week are still choosing between rent and groceries. In the wealthiest country on Earth, that is a policy failure.
Raising the minimum wage is not radical. It is an adjustment to reality. Housing, child care, food, health care - everything costs more. Wages at the bottom have not kept pace. When people earn more, they spend more in their own communities. Small businesses benefit. Local economies strengthen. The alternative is what we have now: profits concentrating at the top while taxpayers subsidize corporations whose employees still qualify for public assistance.
We can debate the exact number and how to phase it in. What should not be up for debate is whether someone who works deserves to live above the poverty line.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
The housing crisis did not happen by accident. We have treated housing like a speculative asset instead of a basic foundation of stability. Corporations and private equity firms buy up single family homes in bulk. Zoning laws lock entire neighborhoods into artificial scarcity. Wages lag while rent climbs. And working families are told to just “budget better” or "earn more" while half their income disappears into a landlord’s account.
Ending the housing crisis starts with building more homes. Reform exclusionary zoning so duplexes and small multifamily units can exist in places that outlaw them. Incentivize first time homeownership instead of luxury developments only investors can afford. Crack down on large institutional buyers distorting local markets. And make it easier for first time buyers to compete without getting steamrolled by cash offers.
Housing is stability. It is where kids do homework. It is where families build wealth. It is where small businesses are rooted. If we want strong communities and a functioning middle class, people need a place to live that does not feel like the Sword of Damocles.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
Your child's future success should not depend on your ZIP code. A child in a rural district in Ohio should not get fewer opportunities than a child in a wealthy suburb simply because property values are different. We built a system that ties school funding to local wealth, and then we act surprised when the outcomes mirror inequality. It is not accidental. It is structural.
Education is infrastructure. We do not tell some towns they get paved roads and others they get gravel because their houses cost less. We should not do that with classrooms either.
We have to fund schools based on students’ needs, not neighborhood tax bases. That means fully funding special education, investing in early childhood programs, paying teachers like the professionals they are, and making sure rural and working class districts are not forced to run perpetual levies just to keep the lights on.
Public schools are where most kids learn, eat, build friendships, and figure out who they are. Treating them like a line item to be trimmed weakens the entire country.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
Unions built the American middle class. The weekend, overtime pay, workplace safety standards, child labor laws - none of that was handed down out of corporate generosity. Organized workers forced the country to recognize that labor is not disposable and that safety and dignity on the job matters.
Over the last few decades, union power has been chipped away while executive compensation exploded. When workers cannot negotiate, wages stagnate, benefits erode, and jobs become more precarious. Strengthening and protecting unions means defending the right to organize without retaliation, passing real penalties for companies that break labor laws, and repealing policies that weaken collective bargaining.
A strong labor movement does not hurt the economy. It stabilizes it. When workers have a voice, they earn more, spend more, and build communities that last.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
Social Security is not a handout. It is an earned benefit that working people pay into every single paycheck. My grandmother lived on Social Security for the last decade of her life, and even then it was tight. That check was stability, groceries, rent. It was dignity. When politicians talk about cutting it, they are talking about cutting into the lives of people who built this country.
If we want to defend and restore Social Security, the math is straightforward: uncap it. Right now, income above a certain dollar threshold is not taxed for Social Security. A nurse pays on every dollar she earns. A billionaire stops contributing once they clear the cap. You and I pay the same dollar amount as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. That makes no sense. Lifting or eliminating the cap would extend the program’s solvency and strengthen benefits without cutting a dime from retirees.
Social Security works. It has dramatically reduced senior poverty for generations. The problem is not the program. The problem is political cowardice to the donor class.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
Reducing energy costs means increasing supply while modernizing the grid and investing in efficiency. That includes domestic production, but it also includes scaling renewables that have no fuel cost once built. Wind and solar drive prices down over time because the input is free. Nuclear keeps baseload stable. Storage and grid upgrades prevent outages and price spikes. The goal is reliability and affordability while keeping our air and water clean.
We should also make it cheaper for families to lower their own bills. Home weatherization, efficient appliances, rooftop solar where it makes sense. Every kilowatt saved is money back in someone’s pocket. Energy policy should be about keeping the lights on at a price people can afford.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
Broadband is infrastructure. It is as essential as roads, electricity, and clean water. Expanding rural internet access means investing in fiber where it makes sense, supporting wireless and satellite where terrain demands it, and making sure federal dollars actually reach unserved communities instead of padding balance sheets. It also means accountability. Companies should not take public funds and then leave whole counties behind.
Rural communities are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair shot. Reliable high-speed internet lets a kid apply for college, lets a farmer access markets, lets a small-town entrepreneur compete with anyone. If we say we believe in opportunity, we have to wire the places that have been overlooked.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues
American farmers work harder than almost anyone in this country, and too many of them are getting squeezed from both sides. Input costs rise and commodity prices fluctuate. Meanwhile, a handful of massive corporations dominate seed, fertilizer, meatpacking, and distribution. When four companies control most of the market, that is not a free market.
Supporting American farmers means enforcing antitrust law and breaking up monopolies that choke competition. It means strengthening the Packers and Stockyards Act, increasing transparency in pricing, and making sure independent producers can actually get fair contracts.
We should also invest in local processing capacity, conservation programs that actually reward stewardship, and rural infrastructure that keeps farms viable for the next generation.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · christianforohio.com/issues