Robert Sprague seeks Ohio secretary of state seat

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague is running for secretary of state in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Findlay Republican faces Democrat Allison Russo and Libertarian Tom Pruss, according to BallotReady election data.

Sprague said on his campaign website that he is running "to defend voters' rights and to run the most secure elections in Ohio history."

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 has held elected office in Ohio for roughly two decades. He served as Findlay city treasurer from 2004 to 2007 and Findlay city auditor from 2007 to 2011, according to BallotReady data and his Wikipedia biography.

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. Voters elected him in 2012, 2014 and 2016, according to his Wikipedia biography.

In the legislature, Sprague served on the House Finance and Financial Institutions Committees and the House Criminal Justice Committee. He chaired a House committee that traveled throughout Ohio to gather information on the opioid addiction crisis and chaired the House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.

He has served as state treasurer since 2019. In the private sector, Sprague worked as a management consultant at Ernst and Young and owned an investment firm, according to BallotReady profile data. He also founded his own consulting firm advising businesses internationally, according to his Wikipedia biography.

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

On the issues

The following positions are stated by the candidate through his campaign website and BallotReady responses.

Election security: Sprague said he wants Ohio to be a paper ballot state with "a verifiable, auditable paper trail from which voters can confirm their choices are accurate before their vote is tabulated." He said he would require a bipartisan panel of boards of elections officials to review all processes and chains-of-custody requirements after every election.

Drop boxes: Sprague said he would eliminate ballot drop boxes, calling them "outdated, unnecessary remnants from the Covid era" that are "vulnerable to ballot harvesting and fraud."

Voter roll maintenance: Sprague said he would work with credit bureaus and financial services companies to obtain real-time information to update and maintain voter registration rolls. He said he would file an annual report to the legislature detailing the secretary's voter registration maintenance procedures.

Citizenship verification: Sprague said he would work with the Trump administration to obtain federal citizenship data, with the goal of giving Ohio's boards of elections the ability to verify citizenship status when individuals attempt to register to vote. He also said he would work with the administration to share critical federal data with the states.

Civics education: Sprague said he plans to partner with Ramaswamy to launch a civics education initiative teaching Ohio students about their rights, their responsibilities and the Constitution.