# Niraj Antani

Niraj Jaimini Antani (born February 26, 1991) is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, he represented the 6th district in the Ohio State Senate from 2021 to 2024, covering the northern, eastern, and southern of Montgomery County. Prior to this, he served three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives as representative from the 42nd district.
Antani was the first Indian and Hindu American member of the Ohio State Senate. He did not run for reelection in 2024, and instead ran for Ohio's 2nd congressional district, where he lost the Republican primary.

## Early life and education

Antani was born to Indian immigrant parents 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. After that, he briefly attended the University of Dayton Law School before leaving to run for State Representative.

## 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." However, Antani won the general election 64.5% to 35.5% over Democrat Patrick Merris at the age of 23. Antani was sworn in to the Ohio House of Representatives to complete the remainder of Blair's term on December 2, 2014.
During the 2020 United States elections, Antani ran for Ohio State Senate in the 6th district. This district includes much of eastern Montgomery County, Ohio. Antani won the general election against Democratic Party candidate Mark Fogel with 53.17% of the vote.
In 2019, Antani co-sponsored legislation, along with 21 other House Republicans 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.
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.

### Committee assignments

During the 134th General Assembly, Antani was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees:
* (Vice Chair of) Health Committee
* Financial Institutions & Technology Committee
* Judiciary Committee
* Transportation Committee
On February 12, 2025, Antani suspended his three-week campaign for Ohio Secretary of State citing that the Ohio GOP was conspiring against him. A few hours later he announced his candidacy for Ohio State Treasurer citing an easier path to victory and his Indian heritage as credentials.

## 2024 congressional candidacy

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.

## Electoral history

Election results :
| Year | Office | Election | Votes for Antani | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % |
| 2014 | Ohio House of Representatives | General | 20,440 | 64.50% | Patrick Merris | Democratic | 11,248 | 35.50% |
| 2016 | Ohio House of Representatives | General | 33,997 | 63.03% | Patrick Merris | Democratic | 19,939 | 36.97% |
| 2018 | Ohio House of Representatives | General | 28,079 | 59.30% | Zach Dickerson | Democratic | 19,273 | 40.70% |
| 2020 | Ohio Senate | General | 99,096 | 53.2% | Mark Fogel | Democratic | 87,280 | 46.8% |
| 2024 | OH-02 | Primary | 1,736 | 1.69% | David Taylor | Republican | 26,102 | 25.4% |

## Controversies

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.

## Personal life

Outside of the Ohio Senate, Antani is a member of the National Rifle Association of America and Dayton Right to Life. 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.
Beginning in 2018, Antani started serving on the national board of the Republican State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project.
Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work on veterans issues.
He practices Hinduism.