Niraj Jaimini Antani (born February 26, 1991) is an American Republican Party politician who serves as a state senator representing the 6th district in the Ohio State Senate. He served three terms as Representative for the 42nd district of the Ohio House of Representatives.[1] His district, the 6th, is composed of northern, eastern, and southern Montgomery County.
Early life and education
Antani was born and raised in Miami Township. He lives in Miamisburg, Ohio.
Antani attended Miamisburg City Schools and graduated from Miamisburg High School in 2009. He went on to Ohio State University and earned his bachelor's degree in political science.[2] After that, he briefly attended the University of Dayton Law School before leaving to run for State Representative.[3]
Career
When state Representative Terry Blair died after winning the 2014 primary election for a fourth term, Antani was chosen by the Montgomery County Republican party to replace Blair on the ballot. It was a difficult win for Antani, who was at the time a political outsider, "It took four rounds for Niraj Antani of Miami Twp. to gain a majority of votes from the district’s GOP precinct captains."[3] However, Antani won the general election 64.5% to 35.5% over Democrat Patrick Merris at the age of 23.[4] Antani was sworn in to the Ohio House of Representatives to complete the remainder of Blair's term on December 2, 2014.[5]
In 2019, Antani co-sponsored legislation, along with 21 other House Republicans [7] that would restrict abortion in Ohio. Doctors who performed abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancy and other life-threatening conditions would be exempt from prosecution only if they "[took] all possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child, while preserving the life of the woman. Reimplantation of an ectopic pregnancy is not a recognized or medically feasible procedure.[8][9]
Antani 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.[10]
In 2024, Antani ran for Congress to fill Ohio's 2nd congressional district after Brad Wenstrup announced he would not seek re-election. In the Republican primary he came in 10th out of 11th place, earning only 1.69% of the vote, with David Taylor winning the primary election with 25.40% of the vote.
Committee assignments
During the 134th General Assembly, Antani was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees:[11]
On March 14, 2018, Antani made headlines by appearing to suggest that students who were over the age of 18 should be allowed to bring rifles to school in their cars. The following day, after substantial press, Niraj backtracked and said that he did a poor job of stating his position.[12]
Personal life
Outside of the Ohio Senate, Antani is a member of the National Rifle Association of America and Dayton Right to Life.[10] He was a member of the Rotary Club of Miamisburg, is the former President of the Miamisburg High School Alumni Association, and a former executive board member of the non-profit Dayton International Festival, Inc.
In 2015, Niraj was added to Forbes Magazine's list of the top "30 under 30" people in the U.S. for Law & Policy in 2015.[13]
Beginning in 2018, Antani started serving on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project.[14]
Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work on veterans issues.[10]
