Steve Stivers

Steven Ernst Stivers (born March 24, 1965) is an American businessman, soldier, and politician who represented Ohio in the United States Congress from 2011 to 2021. A lifelong Republican, he served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents in Ohio’s 15th congressional district. Stivers was born and grew up in Ripley, Ohio, the son of Carol Sue (née Pulliam) and Ernst Bambach Stivers. In his youth he became a recipient of the Eagle Scout Award, an early indication of his interest in public service and leadership.

Stivers attended The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international relations in 1989. While an undergraduate, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity, building networks that would later intersect with his professional and political life. He continued his education at Ohio State and received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1996, further strengthening his background in finance and management, which would become central to both his private-sector and public-sector careers.

Before entering elected office, Stivers worked extensively in the financial and political spheres. He spent seven years at Bank One, gaining experience in banking and corporate finance, and then three years at the Ohio Company, where he worked as a Series 7 licensed securities trader. In addition, he served two years as finance director for the Franklin County Republican Party and spent five years as a staff member in the Ohio Senate. These roles provided him with experience in both financial markets and the internal operations of state government, laying the groundwork for his later legislative career.

Parallel to his civilian career, Stivers has served in the Ohio Army National Guard since 1985, in the Logistics branch. Over the course of his military service he rose to the rank of major general and has served as the Assistant Adjutant General of the Ohio Army National Guard. While serving in the Ohio Senate, he was called to active duty in October 2004 and deployed to the Middle East. From 2004 until December 2005, he served as a battalion commander in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Djibouti during Operation Iraqi Freedom. For his accomplishments as a battalion commander, he was awarded the Bronze Star, underscoring his dual career as both a military officer and public official.

Stivers entered elective office at the state level in the early 2000s. In December 2002, Republican State Senator Priscilla Mead resigned after serving only about a year in the Ohio Senate. Following a recommendation by a Senate screening committee, Stivers was appointed by election of the Senate Republicans on January 4, 2003, to represent Ohio’s 15th Senate district. He won re-election in 2004 to a full Senate term with 58% of the vote and served in the Ohio Senate from January 9, 2003, until December 2008. During his tenure, he chaired the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, served as vice-chair of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, and sat on the Ways and Means Committee, the Judiciary Committee on Civil Justice, the Judiciary Committee for Criminal Justice, and the Controlling Board, giving him broad exposure to fiscal, regulatory, and legal policy.

In November 2007, Stivers announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio’s 15th congressional district, a seat then held by retiring Republican Representative Deborah Pryce. In the 2008 election he secured the Republican nomination and ran against Democratic Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, Libertarian candidate Mark Noble, and Independent Don Elijah Eckhart. After a closely contested race and an extended recount, Stivers lost by 2,311 votes and conceded on December 7, 2008. He ran again in 2010, winning the Republican primary with 82% of the vote. In the general election on November 2, 2010, he faced incumbent Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, Constitution Party nominee David Ryon, and Libertarian nominee William J. Kammerer. Kilroy conceded after Stivers prevailed by a margin of 54% to 42%, and he took office in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2011.

Stivers’s service in Congress, from 2011 to 2021, coincided with a period of significant political and economic change in the United States. Initially, he represented a relatively compact district that included all of Union and Madison counties and much of downtown and western Columbus. Following redistricting after the 2010 census, the 15th District was reshaped to include more rural and exurban areas south and west of Columbus, making it more favorable to Republican candidates. Stivers was repeatedly returned to office: in 2012 he defeated Democratic nominee Pat Lang, having been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, National Right to Life, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; in 2014 he defeated Democrat Scott Wharton with more than 66% of the vote; and in 2016 he again defeated Wharton, winning 66.2% (222,847 votes) to Wharton’s 33.8% (113,960 votes). During this decade in the House, he was a member of the Republican Party’s conference and, beginning in 2017, served as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, playing a key role in his party’s national campaign strategy. Throughout his six terms, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Ohio constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Stivers’s congressional tenure concluded in 2021. On May 16, 2021, he resigned his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to become president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, returning to a leadership role in the business community while maintaining his long-standing engagement with economic and public policy issues. His later life thus reflects a continuation of the themes that have marked his career: service in elective office, leadership in the private sector, and ongoing commitment to the Ohio Army National Guard as a major general and Assistant Adjutant General.