Kyle Koehler
Kyle Koehler (born October 5, 1961) is the Representative for the 79th district of the Ohio House of Representatives. Koehler (pronounced "kay-ler") was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio, attended Springfield's Catholic Central High School and then Wright State University. He and his family own a small business in Springfield.[1] In 2014, Koehler opted to make his first run for elected office, and decided to run for the Ohio House of Representatives to replace Ross McGregor who was term-limited. He faced Democrat Darryl Jackson in a competitive seat.[2] Koehler went on to defeat Jackson 61%-39%.[3]
Kyle Koehler | |
---|---|
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 79th district | |
Assumed office January 5, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Ross McGregor |
Personal details | |
Born | Springfield, Ohio, U.S. | October 5, 1961
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Dr. Kathrin Koehler Psy.D |
Children | 5 |
Residence | Springfield, Ohio, U.S. |
Alma mater | Wright State University |
Profession | Software/Mechanical Engineer |
In 2016, Koehler faced a challenge from Democrat Alex Wendt. Koehler won re-election in another 61%-39% victory.[4]
In 2018, Koehler faced a challenge from Democrat Amanda Finfrock.[5] Koehler won the 2018 general election by 19% in a 59.5%-40.5% victory.[6]
In 2020, Koehler faced a Cynthia Richards in his last campaign for State Representative (due to term-limits).[7] Koehler won the 2020 general election by 26% in a 63.1%-36.9% victory.[8]
Koehler won each of his general elections in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 by margins of 22%, 22%, 19% and 26% points respectively in a district that is considered a 50-50 district for Presidential Elections.
As the 133rd General Assembly began in 2019, Representative Koehler was named Chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.
Career
Kyle Koehler received his bachelor's degree from Wright State University in computer science. He spent seven years leading teams developing classified software surrounding signal analysis and data acquisition for government contractors.[9]
Along with his duties in the House, Koehler is Vice President of K.K. Tool Co. Inc.
Marriage and family life
Kyle Koehler married Kathrin (Eimer) Koehler in July 1988. Kathrin Koehler, who is a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio, worked as an independent counselor until taking a break to home educate their five children starting in 1999.
The Koehlers have five children.
Payday Lending
Representative Koehler, along with Rep. Mike Ashford (D), spent the 132nd General Assembly fighting to bring reform to the payday lending industry in Ohio. Fighting for well over 13 months for movement on House Bill 123, Koehler successfully moved the bill out of Government Accountability and Oversight in April 2018. The Ohio House passed the bill on June 7 with a 71-17 bipartisan vote.
The bill spent four weeks in the Ohio Senate, where Senate Finance Chair, Scott Oelslager introduced Substitute House Bill 123. The Substitute House Bill, kept the structure of the original bill introduced by Reps Koehler and Ashford; but made adjustments to the fees and loan limits. Senate Finance and the full Senate passed SUB HB123 on July 10.[10]
The Ohio House concurred on the Senate changes on July 24 after a furious floor debate. Governor John Kasich signed the bill six days later on July 30.[11][12]
Committees
Rep. Koehler has been named Chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee for the 133rd General Assembly. This will be his third term serving on this committee. He is also returning for his third term to the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee (formerly the Education Committee). For the 2nd term in a row, Chairman Koehler will also serve on the Federalism Committee which saw a number of gun rights/regulation bills in the 132nd General Assembly.
In the 132nd General Assembly, Koehler served as Vice-Chair of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as on Education & Career Readiness. He was assigned to the newly formed Federalism & Interstate Relations Committee that focused on State's Rights issues including a number of gun bills.
In his first term in the 131st General Assembly, Representative Koehler served on the following committees: Agriculture and Rural Development, Economic & Workforce Development, and Education.
Koehler served on the Straight-A-Fund Governing Board as one of three appointed legislators on the eight member board.
Representative Koehler was appointed to the 21 member board of the Ohio Family Stability Commission.
As the Chair of the Ohio House Agriculture Committee, Koehler also was automatically appointed to the Ohio Expo Commission.
Electoral History
Primary Election Results[13] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Office | Election | Subject | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | |||||||||
2014 | State Representative | Primary | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 6,221 | 53.7% | Argeri Lagos | Republican | 4,179 | 36.1% | Rick Chimento | Republican | 1,185 | 10.2% |
General Election Results[14] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Office | Election | Subject | Party | Votes | % | Subject | Party | Votes | % | |||||||||||||
2012 | County Commissioner | General | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 30,246 | 49.79% | David Hartley | Democratic | 30,505 | 50.21% | |||||||||||||
2014 | State Representative | General | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 19,157 | 60.7% | Darrell Jackson | Democratic | 12,388 | 39.3% | |||||||||||||
2016 | State Representative | General | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 29,687 | 60.53% | Alex Wendt | Democratic | 19,360 | 39.47% | |||||||||||||
2018 | State Representative | General | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 23,387 | 59.4% | Amanda Finfrock | Democratic | 16,016 | 40.6% | |||||||||||||
2020 | State Representative | General | Kyle Koehler | Republican | 32,705 | 63.1% | Cynthia Richards | Democratic | 19,127 | 36.9% |
References
- "About Kyle". Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- "Koehler, Jackson vie for Statehouse seat". Dayton Daily News. Dayton. 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- "Koehler wins Ohio House seat". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- "Republicans sweep Clark County Statehouse races". Dayton Daily News. Dayton. 2016-11-08.
- "Secretive ads accuse Springfield lawmaker of not doing job". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2018-10-06.
- "Kyle Koehler wins third term by large margin". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2018-11-07.
- "Political newcomer faces off against seasoned incumbent in race for Ohio House 79 seat". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2018-10-06.
- "Incumbent Koehler presumed winner in Ohio House race". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2018-11-07.
- "About Kyle". Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- "Springfield lawmaker on progress of payday lending reform he sponsored: 'I am very pleased'". Springfield News Sun. Springfield. 2018-07-11.
- "Ohio legislative Republicans, with minor exceptions, finally stand up to the payday lobby". Cleveland.com. Cleveland. 2018-07-14.
- "Gov. John Kasich signs payday loan reforms into law". Dayton Daily News. Dayton. 2018-07-30.
- "Elections". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- "Elections". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2019.