Mark D. Wagoner, Jr. is an American politician, who is a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate

The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

, representing all of Wood and Erie counties and portions of Ottawa and Lucas counties. Wagoner previously served in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

. He is serving as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Career

Wagoner is a lifetime resident of the Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

 area and graduated from Ottawa Hills High School

Ottawa Hills High School (Ohio)

Ottawa Hills High School is a public high school in the village of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, United States, just west of Toledo. It is the only high school in the Ottawa Hills Local Schools district. The school's mascot is the "Green Bears."-Students:...

. Wagoner obtained degrees from both Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 and the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 before practicing law in the Toledo area. He is a partner as Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick L.L.P.

With incumbent Lynn Olman

Lynn Olman

Lynn Olman is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the Toledo area.Public Service----Lynn served as a member and President of Maumee City Council for fifteen years...

 term limited and unable to run for a fifth term, Wagoner entered the race for the 46th District of the Ohio House of Representatives in 2004. He was unopposed in the primary election, and faced Nancy Patrick Greeley in the fall. He won the race easily. He was reelected to his seat in 2006.

Ohio Senate

Wagoner was originally mentioned as a potential successor to state Senator Randy Gardner

Randy Gardner (Ohio politician)

Randall L. Gardner is an American politician, currently a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 6th District since 2008. He formerly held the same seat from 1985 to 2000, and was a member of the Ohio Senate from 2001 to 2008...

 late in 2007. However, his move to the Ohio Senate was expedited when Congressman Paul Gillmor

Paul Gillmor

Paul Eugene Gillmor was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the U.S. Representative from the 5th congressional district of Ohio from 1989 until his death....

 unexpectedly died. This set off a set of legislative switches where Representative Bob Latta

Bob Latta

Robert Edward 'Bob' Latta is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, the second-largest in the state, includes most of Toledo's suburbs, including Fremont and Bowling Green....

 was elected to Gillmor's Congressional seat, allowing term-limited Senator Gardner to fill his former Ohio House seat. Therefore, with the 2nd Senate seat now vacant, Wagoner was appointed early to the seat he was seeking.

Wagoner faced two others in the 2008 primary election, but won with over 74% of the vote. He faced Democrat Jackie Brown in the general election, but again won easily.

Following his election to the Senate, Wagoner was elected Majority Whip by his colleagues. However, early in 2010, Wagoner resigned his post and was replaced by Senator Steve Buehrer

Steve Buehrer

Stephen P. Buehrer is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate who represented the 1st District, and was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Congress in the special election for Ohio's 5th congressional district to replace the late Paul Gillmor...

. Wagoner cited personal and professional problems as the reason for him leaving his post, but many cite his controversial speech in support of Governor Ted Strickland

Ted Strickland

Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....

's postponement of income tax cuts.

For the 129th General Assembly, Wagoner is serving on the committees of Rules and Reference; Judiciary-Civil Justice (as Chairman; and Judiciary-Criminal Justice. He also serves on the War of 1812
Bicentennial Commission. Wagoner has stated that he will not seek reelection in 2012.

External links

• The Ohio Senate: Senator Mark D. Wagoner Jr. (R-Ottawa Hills) official site
• Mark Wagoner Jr. Campaign Site
• Mark Wagoner (OH) at Project Vote Smart
• Follow the Money - Mark Wagoner
  • 2006 campaign contributions