Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is expected to announce on May 7 that he is resigning from office, ending a four-year run that made him the state’s top law enforcement official and setting off another opening in Ohio’s statewide lineup.
Gov. Mike DeWine must now appoint someone to serve for the rest of the year, with Republican nominee Keith Faber already in line to compete for the job in November. The winner of that election will take office in January.
Yost, who took over as attorney general in 2019, is leaving because he could not seek reelection in November under term limits. His planned run for governor collapsed after Ohio Republicans and President Donald Trump coalesced around entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, leaving him as the only sitting statewide Republican aside from DeWine who was not running for another office.
During his time as attorney general, Yost championed Ohio’s death penalty, brought state charges against former executives and public officials in the House Bill 6 bribery scandal, defended the state in lawsuits over abortion restrictions and the ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and pursued two former board members of the teachers’ pension system for alleged violations of their fiduciary duties. He came to the office after serving as state auditor and Delaware County prosecutor.
The timing matters because Yost’s exit creates the third vacancy for statewide office in two years. DeWine already appointed then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to the U.S. Senate after JD Vance became vice president, then tapped former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel to take Husted’s place. If DeWine chooses Faber, who is already state auditor, it could trigger another round of appointments and deepen the churn in Columbus.
The last elected Ohio attorney general to step down early was Democrat Marc Dann, who resigned in May 2008 after less than two years on the job. Yost’s departure is not just another reshuffle. It closes a chapter in Ohio politics and hands DeWine one more decision that could reshape the state government before the year ends.
