| State Senator Niraj Antani is serving his first term in the Ohio Senate. He represents the 6th District, which covers most of Montgomery County. Having been first elected to the Ohio House at age 23, now age 29, he is the youngest currently serving member of the Senate. He is the first Indian American State Senator in Ohio history.
From 2014-2020, he served as the State Representative for the 42nd House District in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was the second Indian-American state elected official in Ohio history, and the first Indian-American Republican. While in the House, Antani served as Vice Chairman of the Rules and Reference Committee and as Vice Chairman of the Committee on Insurance, and as a member of the Committee on Health, Committee on Public Utilities, and Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.
During the Romney for President campaign in 2012, Antani worked for the Ohio State Director & Senior Adviser to the campaign. He has also worked for U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Washington, DC, as well as U.S. Congressman Mike Turner in his Dayton office.
Antani was named to Forbes Magazine's list of the top "30 Under 30" people in the United States for Law & Politics in 2015. As well, the conservative media organization Newsmax named him the 2nd most influential Republican in the nation under age 30. In addition, in 2013 he was named to the "Top 30 Conservatives Under Age 30 in the United States" list by Red Alert Politics. Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work helping veterans, as well as the Friend of Community Colleges Award by the Ohio Association of Community College and the Distinguished Government Service Award by the Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools for his work for the betterment of higher education for the middle class. Antani received the 2018 "Making a Difference" award from the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association for his work helping people with disabilities. He also was most recently awarded NFIB Ohio's 2020 Guardian of Small Business Award, which is awarded annually to one member of the Ohio House and one member of the Ohio Senate.
He earned a Bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University. Born and raised in Miami Township, Antani attended Miamisburg City Schools and is a graduate of Miamisburg High School. A strong conservative, Antani is a member of the NRA and volunteered for Dayton Right to Life. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Miamisburg, is the 2nd Vice President of the Miamisburg High School Alumni Association, and a former executive board member of the non-profit Dayton International Festival, Inc. He chaired the Ohio Republican Party Asian Pacific American Advisory Council and serves on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project. Antani has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, PBS NewsHour, CNBC, C-SPAN, and Chuck Todd's radio show. In addition, he has appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and in various NBC National News articles. |