page_title: George Voinovich
section_title: Governor; 1991–98
hierarchical_section_title: George Voinovich / Governor; 1991–98
context_page_description: George Victor Voinovich was an American politician. He was the former United States Senator from the state of Ohio serving from 1999 to 2011. Voinovich was a member of the Republican Party. He lastly served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998. He was the 54th Mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.
context_section_description: In 1990, Voinovich was nominated by the Republicans to replace Governor Richard F. Celeste, a Democrat who could not run for a third term. He defeated Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr. easily in what was considered a close to faultless campaign.
  During his first four years he pulled Ohio out of a $1.5 billion deficit and was a national leader in welfare reform and removing unfunded mandates. In 1991 Voinovich served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association. 
  In 1994, Voinovich was re-elected to the governorship, defeating Democrat Robert L. Burch Jr. in a massive landslide.
  Voinovich did many things in his second term. In 1995 he was named Public Official of the Year by the National Journal. He was thanked with giving leadership in creating a public voucher plan to improve student achievement by using public funds to pay tuition at church affiliated schools. When the state legislature wanted to close Central State University, Ohio's only historically black state supported college, Voinovich stepped in by appointing a new board and convincing John Garland to become president.
  In 1996, Voinovich was the first governor to endorse U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole's bid for the Republican Presidential nomination.  Later, Voinovich was among nine candidates as a potential vice presidential running mates with Dole. Voinovich said no to the offer to focus on running for senator.
  In 1998, he could not run for a third term as governor due to term limits, Voinovich set his eyes on the U.S. Senate seat being left by long-time incumbent Democrat John Glenn. He resigned as governor on December 31, 1998 to focus on his senate race.
caption: Voinovich as governor
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