Ohio Republican will quit the House to lead university despite protests

Republican Rep. Bill Johnson announced Tuesday that he would resign from the House next year to become president of Youngstown State University, a move that will set off a special election to replace him in an Ohio seat that shifted from purple to dark red over the last decade. Donald Trump carried the 6th District, which is based in southeastern Ohio and the Youngstown area, 64-35 in 2020.

Johnson's new contract stipulates he'll begin his new job on March 15, and the Republican said he'd remain in the House "for several more months." However, anyone who wants to run for a full term has only until the Dec. 20 filing deadline to decide if they'll compete in the regularly scheduled March 19 primary.

Last week, the university's Board of Trustees unexpectedly announced that it had offered its top job to Johnson in an emergency meeting that it had called just two hours earlier. The congressman, who responded at the time that he was still considering whether to accept, does not appear to have even been publicly discussed as a potential candidate for the presidency before then. The Vindicator's David Skolnick adds that the board "failed to disclose why it considered the offer to Johnson an emergency when plans have been to have a president in place by mid-2024."