Republican Ron Hood, first elected to the Ohio House at the age of 25 to represent parts of Mahoning County, died Saturday at 55.

“Ron was one of our success stories 30 years ago, being an elected Republican in an area dominated by Democrats,” said Mark Munroe, a former Mahoning County Republican Party chairman who served as a vice chairman during Hood’s six years representing the old 57th House District.

Munroe added of Hood: “While he was very conservative, he was also unconventional. Unlike most politicians, he avoided the press and focused on direct contact with his supporters, usually by direct mail, which proved to be a key to his success.”

In 1992, a year after he graduated from Ohio State University with dual majors in marketing and economics, Hood, who lived in Canfield at the time, ran for an open Ohio House seat, losing a close race to Democrat Francis Carr, a former Alliance mayor.

The district included parts of Mahoning, Stark and Carroll counties with Mahoning being its most-populous county.

Carr died April 23, 1993, less than four months into his term, with the Ohio House Democratic Caucus picking his wife, Judy, to fill out his term.

Hood beat Judy Carr in the 1994 election. Hood was just 25 years old when he was first elected.

Hood then defeated Sam “Buck” Matheny in both the 1996 and the 1998 elections, winning the latter by only 1.8%.

In the 2000 election, Democrat John Boccieri beat Hood by 3.8% in one of the most expensive state House races in Ohio that year. Boccieri was one of only two Democrats in 2000 to defeat a sitting Republican state House member.

In an endorsement for Boccieri, The Vindicator wrote that Hood not only refused to be interviewed by the newspaper, but also wouldn’t participate in candidate forums, return constituent calls or “carry the needs of all district citizens to Columbus.”

After losing to Boccieri, Hood moved to Pickaway County and reemerged as a political candidate in 2004, winning the race for the 91st Ohio House seat by 5.3% in a rural four-county district near Columbus.

During that time, he served with Boccieri. The two also served together in the Ohio House years later.

“There was a mutual respect for each other even though we didn’t agree on issues,” Boccieri said. “I’m saddened to hear about his passing. He was 55, which is my age, with a family. You never like to see someone leave us this early.”

Boccieri said Hood didn’t campaign one way and legislate another.

“You always knew where he stood on the issues,” Boccieri said. “He was true to his stripes, and you had to respect him for that. Even when there were amendments Republicans supported, if he didn’t agree with them, he voted against them. A lot of people legislate differently than they campaign. He wasn’t one of them.”

Hood then lost a state Senate race in 2006, and congressional races in 2008 and 2010 for two different districts.

Hood ran in 2012 for the 78th Ohio House seat in a six-county district, winning that election and serving four terms.

During those eight years in the Ohio House, Hood was known for his anti-abortion positions.

In 2018, Hood sponsored the “heartbeat bill,” which banned all abortions about six weeks into a pregnancy. A later, separate “heartbeat bill” was signed into law in 2019, but was stopped a few months later by a federal court. It is no longer enforceable after voters approved putting abortion rights into the Ohio Constitution in the November 2023 election.

Hood also sponsored a bill to ban on abortions in 2019.

Hood couldn’t run in 2020 for reelection to his Ohio House seat because of the state’s term-limits law.

Hood then unsuccessfully ran for other elected offices. He lost a 2020 Ohio State Board of Education race, a 2021 special congressional Republican primary, the 2022 primary for governor and a 2024 Republican primary for a congressional seat.

Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, wrote on X: “Ron Hood always advocated for limited government. He was the original author of SB255 (he and I originally sponsored the House version), which requires regular review of our occupational licenses to ensure we are not being overly restrictive.”

U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville, wrote on X: “I was saddened to learn of the passing of former state Rep. Ron Hood. I had the privilege of serving alongside Ron in the Ohio Statehouse and I always appreciated his unwavering commitment to his principles and to the people of” his district.