Morgan Harper, 38, a consumer protection attorney and community organizer born and raised in Ohio, entered the Ohio senate race challenging republican Tim Ryan for the seat on Wednesday. She brings a progressive approach to an environment dominated by republicans. The current seat holder being Rob Portman, who has had the position since he was elected in 2010.
Harper’s entrance in the senate race comes after she unsuccessfully ran in 2020 against U.S. representative Joyce Beatty in Ohio’s 3rd congressional district. At that time, Harper’s campaign was backed by Justice Democrats, who have also backed other progressive canidates in the past like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nina Turner. Although Harper lost against Beatty, as a relatively new face in politics, she proved to be a worthy opponent by winning almost one third of the vote. Beatty endorsed Harper’s senate challenger, Tim Ryan, earlier this month.
In between her two compaigns Harper stayed active within the Ohio political sphere by supporting Nina Turner in Ohio special house election for a Clevland-area house seat.
During her senate campaign, Harper vocalized that she aims to mobilize voters who are frequently underrepresented and overlooked in addition to addressing housing, climate change, and abortion access issues. She has stated that her interest in politics stemmed from watching her mother struggle with finances during her early childhood.
