State Senator Tom Niehaus represents the 14th Senate District of Ohio, including Adams, Brown, Clermont, Scioto and a portion of Lawrence County.. His legislative career began in 2001, when he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. In November, 2008, he was elected to his second term in the Ohio Senate. He has quickly risen through the ranks, as demonstrated by his service on the influential Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee, his appointment as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Government Oversight and by his unanimous election to President Pro Tempore – the number two post in the 33-member chamber. His committee assignments also include the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, Education, Environment and Natural Resources, Reference and Rules committees.

Good politicians learn quickly that you never “pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrel.” When Tom Niehaus was first elected to the Ohio General Assembly, he was ahead of the curve because prior to entering public service, he made his career in the newspaper business. Tom spent 10 years with Harte Hanks Communications, North America’s largest owner, operator and distributor of community shopper newspapers and 15 years (10 as an editor/publisher) with Community Press, a network of 27 community newspapers serving the Greater Cincinnati area.

Despite his newspaper background, Niehaus has earned a reputation around Capitol Square as more of a policy workhorse than a publicity hound. A 2007 “Rating the Legislators” article in Columbus Monthly magazine put it, “Some try to accumulate power by talking; Niehaus does it by listening.” In fact, in the opinion of the 100 Capitol Square insiders who rated Ohio’s current legislative crop, Tom earned praise as the “Best Listener,” and ranked as one of the top ten “Most Effective” legislators currently serving at the Statehouse.

A fiscal conservative, Tom Niehaus has been named a “Watchdog of the Treasury” three times and has worked to keep taxes low and to make government more efficient. He has demonstrated his wide legislative range through his leadership on improving the delivery of human services and strengthening consumer protection laws. For example, Tom has become the Republican Senate Caucus’ point man on Medicaid issues; has been the primary sponsor of priority bills designed to reform the state’s foster care system, and crafted a comprehensive identity theft bill that offers new protections for all Ohioans.

Tom and his wife, Emily, live on a farm in New Richmond (Clermont County). They have three children and welcome frequent visits by their six grandchildren which include family camping trips whenever possible. When not in Columbus casting votes on behalf of his constituents, Tom remains extremely active in his local community. He is proud to have founded and chaired both the Clermont County Excellence in Education Committee and the Clermont County Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tom is a graduate of Xavier University, where he earned his MBA and The Ohio State University, where he earned his Bachelor’s in Journalism.

The Ohio Statehouse

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 466-8082

SD14@senate.state.oh.us