COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The newly elected Ohio Senate president will be sworn into office from his home Monday after contracting COVID-19 over the holidays.
Senate President Matt Huffman experienced mild symptoms before the new year and is doing well, spokesperson John Fortney said.
Huffman, a Republican from Lima, joins a list of more than a dozen Ohio lawmakers who have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began in March.
Huffman was chosen to succeed former Senate President Larry Obhof for the 134th General Assembly following a session filled with pandemic-related hurdles, a federal bribery scheme and infighting within the majority party.
Fortney said Huffman will return to the Statehouse after following CDC quarantine guidelines and Senate policy.
The Ohio Statehouse has become the scene of a partisan divide over mask-wearing in recent months, with Republicans continuing to push down Democrats’ motions to require all statehouse staff to wear masks while in session and committees.
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Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.