Jim Renacci

James B. Renacci (/rɪˈneɪsi/ rih-NAY-see; born December 3, 1958) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 16th congressional district from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he is a former city council president and two-term Mayor of Wadsworth, Ohio.[1][2] In 2018, Renacci was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.[3] On June 25, 2020, Renacci announced that he had been drafted to serve as the Chairman of the Medina County GOP.[4]

Jim Renacci
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 16th district
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	John Boccieri
Succeeded by	Anthony Gonzalez
Mayor of Wadsworth
In office 2004–2008
Preceded by	Caesar Carrino
Succeeded by	Robin Laubaugh
Personal details
Born	December 3, 1958 Monongahela, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Tina
Children	3
Education	Indiana University of Pennsylvania (BS)

Early life and education

James Renacci was born December 3, 1958, in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna Marie (Sasko), a nurse, and Evo Renacci, a railroad worker.[5][6] Renacci earned a degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and became a Certified Public Accountant and financial advisor.[7]

Business career

In 2003, Renacci formed the LTC Companies group, a financial consulting service that had partial ownership of three Harley-Davidson dealerships in Columbus, the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus, and Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet in Wadsworth.

Renacci has been involved with real estate, automobile dealerships, nursing homes, and other businesses. He has made use of the legal system during his business career, including initiating legal proceedings against former business partners, companies, and the state of Ohio. He has also been sued, including for the wrongful death of a patient in one of the nursing homes he owns. That case was settled out of court.[8]

• Renacci became a partner and managing board member of the former Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers. The team finished the 2007 season as the AFL National Conference Champions, reaching the 2007 AFL World Championship Game - ArenaBowl XXI, with Renacci as President and General Manager.[9]

ArenaBowl XXI aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC), with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic (Mike & Mike) announcing the game.

Renacci also served as AFL Executive Committee Vice Chairman and is a partial owner of the Lancaster JetHawks, a minor league baseball team.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Renacci announced on August 24, 2009, that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio's 16th district,[10][11] officially filing on January 11, 2010.[12] Renacci ran as a "Contender" of the National Republican Congressional Committee in its "Young Guns" program.[13] Renacci defeated Democratic incumbent John Boccieri by 52% to 41% with 7% of the vote going to Libertarian candidate Jeffrey Blevins.

2012

The Plain Dealer reported in September 2011 that the new district map of Ohio would place Representative Betty Sutton in "a Republican leaning district that's being constructed to favor Renacci."[14] In December, Sutton filed to run against Renacci.[15] Later that month, Roll Call reported that a poll taken at least two months earlier showed the two candidates "neck and neck at 45 percent."[16] The race was included on the Washington Post's list of top 10 House races to watch in 2012.[17] Renacci defeated Sutton by a 52% to 48% margin on election day.[18]

In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated campaign contributions made by employees of an Ohio-based direct marketing corporation, Suarez Corporation Industries, to the campaigns of Renacci and Josh Mandel. Renacci's campaign returned all of the donations. The owner of the company was later only found guilty of witness tampering in the case and served time in prison.[19][20][21][22]

Tenure

Renacci was ranked the 46th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the third most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).[23]

He is a member of the Republican Study Committee and Republican Main Street Partnership.[24]

Committee assignments

• House Ways and Means Committee[25]
  • Subcommittee on Tax Policy
  • Subcommittee on Social Security[26]
• United States House Budget Committee

In the 112th Congress, Renacci served on the Committee on Financial Services, as vice chair of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, and a member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.[27]

Caucus memberships

Renacci has been a member of the following caucuses:

• Republican Study Committee[28]
• Congressional Coal Caucus
• Congressional Steel Caucus
• Congressional CPA Caucus
• NorthEast-MidWest Coalition
• General Aviation Caucus
• Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Caucus
• Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus (113th Congress)[25][27]

2018 elections

Gubernatorial

In January 2017, several news outlets reported that Renacci was considering running for Governor of Ohio in 2018.[29][30] Politico reported that "as a wealthy auto dealer prior to being elected to Congress, Renacci would potentially be able to self-fund a statewide bid."[30] On March 21, 2017, Renacci announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio in 2018. He dropped out of the governor's race in January 2018 in order to run for U.S. Senate.[31]

U.S. Senate

In January 2018, Renacci announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.[31] On May 8, 2018, he won the Republican primary, becoming the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.[3] In his campaign, Renacci was endorsed by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.[32][33] Renacci was defeated by incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in the November 6, 2018, general election.[34] Brown received 53% of the vote, while Renacci received 47%.[35]

Post Congressional Career

As of 2019, Renacci is the Chairman of Ohio's Future Foundation, which he founded after losing the 2018 U.S. Senate election to Brown.

On June 25, 2020, Renacci announced that he had been drafted to serve as the Chairman of the Medina County GOP.[36]

Personal life

In 2012, The Christian Science Monitor included Renacci in its list of the 10 richest members of Congress, estimating his net worth at $36.67 million.[37]

In June 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state of Ohio must refund $359,822 that Renacci and his wife had paid in penalties in a dispute over their 2000 taxes. The court's opinion stated that the Ohio tax commissioner had abused his discretion by penalizing the Renaccis because the couple had reasonably believed they did not owe taxes on profits from an entity that the state later determined was subject to taxation. The Renacci's had relied on an earlier legal interpretation in delaying tax payments.[38][39]

Electoral history

Election results[40]
Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
2010	U.S. House of Representatives	General		Jim Renacci	Republican	114,652	52%		John Boccieri	Democratic	90,833	41%		Jeffrey Blevins	Libertarian	14,585	7%
2012	U.S. House of Representatives	General		Jim Renacci	Republican	185,167	52%		Betty Sutton	Democratic	170,604	48%
2014	U.S. House of Representatives	General		Jim Renacci	Republican	130,463	64%		Pete Crossland	Democratic	74,158	36%
2016	U.S. House of Representatives	General		Jim Renacci	Republican	221,495	65%		Keith Mundy	Democratic	117,296	35%
2018	United States Senate	General		Jim Renacci	Republican	2,011,832	46.79%		Sherrod Brown	Democratic	2,286,730	53.19%

References

1. "Rep. Jim Renacci (member bio)". Legistorm.com (subscription service). Retrieved August 27, 2013.
2. "Cleveland.com: The Cost of Abuse". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
3. "Renacci wins Ohio GOP Senate primary". POLITICO. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
4. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, retrieved June 25, 2020
5. "Evo Renacci Obituary - Donora, Pennsylvania | Legacy.com".
6. "Renacci sweeps to victory over Boccieri". The Independent.
7. "RENACCI, Jim - Biographical Information". congress.gov. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
8. Hunt, Kasie (September 2, 2010). "Renacci: Serial litigant?". Politico. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
9. "Jim Renacci, Partner, Managing Board Member, President and General Manager". Columbus Destroyers. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
10. "Renacci In The Running". Akron News Now. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
11. "Wadsworth businessman seeking 16th Congressional District seat on GOP side". Alliance Publishing Co, LLC. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
12. "Renacci files petitions for Congressional run". Akron News Now. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
13. "GOP calls Renacci "Contender"". Akron News Now. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
14. "Betty Sutton and Dennis Kucinich to be squeezed out in new congressional remap". The Plain Dealer. September 12, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
15. "Betty Sutton Running Against Freshman Republican in Member-Vs.-Member Race: Roll Call Politics". Roll Call. December 7, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
16. "Poll Shows Tight Race for Betty Sutton in Ohio". Roll Call. December 15, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
17. Blake, Aaron (July 11, 2011). "The top 10 battled between Members of Congress in 2012". Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
18. Jaffe, Alexandra (November 7, 2012). "GOP Rep. Renacci wins in incumbent-on-incumbent match-up in Ohio". The Hill.
19. Cook, Tony (May 21, 2012). "Campaign donations prompt FBI probe". Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
20. MacGillis, Alec (May 18, 2012). "The Battleground". The New Republic. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
21. Wang, Robert (July 23, 2012). "Renacci returns donations from Suarez employees". Canton Repository. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
22. Heisig, Eric (July 22, 2015). "Appeals court upholds felony conviction for Ben Suarez in campaign-finance case". Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
23. The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index (PDF), The Lugar Center, March 7, 2016, retrieved April 30, 2017
24. "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
25. "Congressman Jim Renacci : Committees and Caucuses". Official website. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
26. "James Renacci, U.S. Representative for Ohio's 16th Congressional District - GovTrack.us". GOvTrack.us. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
27. "Congressman Jim Renacci : Committees and Caucuses". Official website. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
28. "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
29. Gomez, Henry J. (January 19, 2017). "Jim Renacci, eyeing bid for Ohio governor, to launch statewide ad buy during inauguration". cleveland.com. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
30. Isenstadt, Alex (December 21, 2016). "Rep. Renacci eyes Ohio gubernatorial bid". POLITICO. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
31. Shesgreen, Deirdre; Balmert, Jessie (January 10, 2010). "U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci to leave governor's race for U.S. Senate". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
32. ".@JimRenacci has worked so hard on Tax Reductions, Illegal Immigration, the Border and Crime. I need Jim very badly to help our agenda and to keep MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He will be a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Ohio, and has my full endorsement!". Twitter. April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
33. Mike Pence. "Congrats to my friend @JimRenacci on his #OHSen primary win tonight. I was for Jim Renacci before it was cool – back when we served together in the House. @RealDonaldTrump and I are with you & look forward to working with you in the US Senate. #MAGA". Twitter.
34. Tobias, Andrew (November 6, 2018). "Sherrod Brown cruises to re-election over Jim Renacci in Ohio's U.S. Senate race". Cleveland.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
35. "Ohio Election Results". New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
36. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, retrieved June 25, 2020
37. "Who are the 10 richest members of Congress?". Christian Science Monitor. October 25, 2012. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
38. Eaton, Sabrina (June 15, 2016). "U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci wins back almost $360,000 in Ohio Supreme Court tax case". Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
39. "Court: Ohio must refund nearly $360,000 tax penalty to Rep. Jim Renacci, wife". Ohio.com. June 15, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
40. "Election Results". Ohio Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2014.

External links

• Jim Renacci at Curlie
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress