Robert Sprague seeks Ohio secretary of state seat

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague is running for secretary of state as a Republican in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Sprague, who has held statewide office since 2019, said on his campaign website that he is running to "defend voters' rights and to run the most secure elections in Ohio history." He faces Democrat Allison Russo and Libertarian Tom Pruss, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

Party: Republican
Residence: Findlay, Ohio
Born: April 18, 1973, in Findlay
Family: Married to Amanda Sprague; five children
Education: High school diploma, Findlay High School; bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Duke University; master of business administration with an emphasis in finance, University of North Carolina

Experience and public service

Sprague served as Findlay city treasurer from 2004 to 2007 and Findlay city auditor from 2007 to 2011, according to BallotReady. He was appointed to Ohio House of Representatives District 83 in February 2011 to fill a vacancy created when Cliff Hite was appointed to the Ohio Senate. He won three full terms.

In the legislature, Sprague served on the House Finance and Financial Institutions Committees and the House Criminal Justice Committee, according to his Wikipedia biography. He chaired a House committee that traveled the state to gather information on the opioid addiction crisis.

Sprague has served as Ohio treasurer since 2019. In the private sector, he worked as a management consultant at Ernst and Young, founded his own consulting firm and owned an investment firm, according to BallotReady.

Sprague announced a run for governor on Jan. 18, 2025. He withdrew on Feb. 5, 2025, choosing instead to run for secretary of state and endorsing Vivek Ramaswamy in the gubernatorial race.

On the issues

Election security: Sprague said on his campaign website that he would eliminate ballot drop boxes, calling them "outdated, unnecessary remnants from the Covid era" that are "vulnerable to ballot harvesting and fraud." He said he would require paper ballots statewide with a verifiable, auditable paper trail and require a bipartisan panel of board of elections officials to review processes after every election.

Voter registration: Sprague said he would work with credit bureaus and financial services companies to obtain real-time information to update voter registration rolls. He said he would work with the Trump administration to share federal citizenship data so boards of elections can verify citizenship when individuals register to vote. He said he would file an annual report to the legislature on voter registration maintenance.

Civics education: Sprague said he plans to partner with Vivek Ramaswamy on a civics education initiative focused on teaching young Ohioans about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Economy and finance: As treasurer, Sprague said he would not make investment decisions based on environmental, social and governance factors, calling that consistent with the office's fiduciary responsibilities. That position reflects his current office, not a secretary of state policy.

As treasurer

Sprague said he oversaw significant growth of the STABLE Account program, which provides savings and investment accounts for individuals living with disabilities. Participation more than doubled from January 2019 through December 2020, according to a Rotary Club of Canton profile. He also said he oversaw the development of Family Forward, through which Ohioans seeking to adopt may qualify for reduced-interest loans up to $50,000. Sprague also launched ResultsOHIO, a program to evaluate pay-for-success programs aimed at social and public health challenges, according to the Rotary Club profile.