37 Facts About Frank LaRose

Frank LaRose was born on April 18,1979 and is an American politician who has served as the 51st secretary of state of Ohio since January 2019.

Frank LaRose was a candidate for the US Senate in the 2024 election, challenging incumbent senator Sherrod Brown.

Frank LaRose's grandfather started the House of LaRose, a beverage bottling and distribution company in Akron, Ohio, where Frank worked growing up.

Frank LaRose has four siblings and worked on the family farm during his childhood.

Frank LaRose subsequently enlisted in the United States Army in 1998, serving in the 101st Airborne Division and later, the US Special Forces as a green beret.

Frank LaRose received the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.

Frank LaRose has said that his military service influenced his desire to protect elections and voters' rights.

Frank LaRose graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in consumer affairs and a minor in business administration.

Frank LaRose had previously voted against Governor John Kasich's nomination of Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis to the state medical board in 2012.

Frank LaRose was chair of the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee; the Commerce and Workforce Committee; the State and Local Government Committee; the Public Safety, Local Government, and Veterans Affairs Committee; and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.

Frank LaRose voted for Senate Bill 5 which reduced collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Frank LaRose sponsored Senate Bill 238, which removed the so-called "golden week" period where a voter was permitted to both register to vote and cast a ballot.

Frank LaRose successfully advocated for funding the purchase of electronic poll books in the state operating budget.

Frank LaRose was named the 2015 Legislator of the Year by the Ohio Association of Election Officials due to his efforts to minimize gerrymandering, modernize Ohio's elections system, and increase campaign finance transparency in local elections.

Frank LaRose sponsored Senate Bill 63, which was signed into law by Governor John Kasich in 2016.

Frank LaRose authored legislation to update Ohio's campaign finance law by allowing campaign finance reports to be filed electronically with local boards of elections.

On May 17,2017, Frank LaRose announced that he would run for Ohio secretary of state in the 2018 election.

Early during the campaign, Frank LaRose indicated that he would continue enforcing the voter list maintenance state law, known as "purging", which removes voters from voter rolls if those voters had not voted for six consecutive years.

Later during the campaign, Frank LaRose said that he thought the process could be better.

In 2016, Frank LaRose opposed automatic voter registration, but said during the campaign that he supported automatic voter registration if it included an opt-out clause for those who do not wish to register.

Clyde called for the adoption of postal voting to replace early in-person voting; Frank LaRose supported the existing system which is a combination of early in-person voting and requesting absentee ballots.

In May 2021, Frank LaRose announced his bid for reelection in the 2022 Ohio secretary of state election.

The Columbus Dispatch reported in 2022 that Frank LaRose had "maintained a careful balance between champion of Ohio elections and skeptic of how other states conducted voting" since 2020.

Frank LaRose defeated state representative John Adams in the Republican primary held on May 3,2022.

On January 12,2019, Frank LaRose was sworn in to serve as Ohio's 51st secretary of state, a four-year term.

Frank LaRose was the "first Summit County resident elected Ohio secretary of state in about 166 years", according to Jim Simon, master of ceremonies of LaRose's swearing-in.

Frank LaRose promoted simplifying the voter roll maintenance, or "purging," process in May 2019.

Frank LaRose sought automated voter registration, stating that he was crafting an election reform bill on the issue.

Frank LaRose had focused on fixing issues with voter list maintenance, including, for the first time, publishing the names of voters who could be removed from the voter rolls for inactivity.

In December 2019, Frank LaRose recommended 77 non-citizens who voted and 18 voters who voted twice to the attorney general and county prosecutors.

Frank LaRose supported the passage of 2023 Ohio Issue 1, which would have made it substantially harder for voter-led initiatives to amend the Ohio State Constitution be proposed and approved.

In 2024, as chair of the Ballot Board, Frank LaRose was criticized for the ballot summary of a citizens initiative on redistricting, Issue 1.

On July 17,2023, Frank LaRose announced that he was running for US Senate, seeking to challenge Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2024 election.

At the beginning of his campaign, Frank LaRose polled first in the 2024 Republican primary field over challengers state senator Matt Dolan and businessman Bernie Moreno.

On July 24,2023, Frank LaRose endorsed former president Donald Trump in his campaign for re-election.

On February 6,2025, Frank LaRose announced that he was running for Ohio state auditor in 2026, seeking to succeed Keith Faber, who was term-limited.

Frank LaRose is a board member of the Ohio Historical Society, a junior vice commander of the Fairlawn Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the executive board for the Great Trail Council, Boy Scouts of America.