LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague was recently in Lima, where he discussed his campaign for Ohio Secretary of State in the 2026 election.
Sprague began his political career in Findlay and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2011. He was elected state treasurer in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Now term-limited, he said he hopes to continue serving Ohioans by running for secretary of state and is asking voters to trust him to protect the integrity of their vote.
“Trust is built by upholding the laws of the state of Ohio, and in the Ohio's constitution, it says that only American citizens can register to vote for Ohio elections. And we're going to move to a front end citizenship check,” Sprague said. “Secondly, we're going to make sure that we use all paper ballots in every county for every election in our state. That way you can trust but verify what the machines are telling us, because we will go back and count the paper.”
Sprague said Ohio already runs strong elections through bipartisan oversight at polling locations. Under his leadership, he said the state would add a secondary audit to ensure a bipartisan chain of custody in every precinct.
Sprague enters the 2026 Republican primary for secretary of state against retired Air Force intelligence officer Marcell Strbich. In a rare contested Democratic primary, Warren County oncologist Bryan Hambley will face state Rep. Allison Russo. The primary election is scheduled for May 5.
