ICYMI: Meet the Ohio Lobbyist Running Against Lobbyists

ICYMI: Meet the Ohio Lobbyist Running Against Lobbyists

September 23, 2025

Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, new reporting from Mother Jones highlighted Republican OH-13 candidate Kevin Coughlin's long career as a special interest lobbyist. On the campaign trail, Coughlin claimed he'll work for Ohioans instead of lobbyists, but failed to mention his long career as a lobbyist.

"If Coughlin can't even be honest about his career as a lobbyist, clearly any claims of putting Ohioans first are just empty promises," said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. "OH-13 voters won't cast a ballot for an insider who is only looking out for his special interest buddies while leaving working families behind."

READ MORE about the insider lobbying gig Coughlin is desperate to hide:

• Former Ohio state Sen. Kevin Coughlin-a self-described "husband, father, [and] small business owner"-is running to be the Republican nominee for Ohio's 13th Congressional District seat in the 2026 midterms. He promises to "put Ohio workers and their families first," according to his campaign website. "Never politicians, lobbyists, or special interests."

• What Coughlin doesn't say is that the "small business" he touts was, in fact, a lobbying firm. Indeed, for all his disparagement of lobbyists, Coughlin himself was registered as one in the state of Ohio from at least January 2012 to December 2016. His clients ranged from companies in the health care industry-Dentaquest, Internal Medicine Specialists Inc., and Rocky Mountain Dental Association-to the National Real Estate Investors Association and Solar Planet.

• But if Coughlin is pitching himself in this potentially competitive matchup as the candidate best prepared to fight lobbyists and their corporate interests, it may be because he knows the profession from the inside.

• Coughlin was appointed to the state Senate in 2001 and served until he was term-limited in 2010. He served as chair of the Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee and introduced multiple bills related to health care. One sought to prevent Ohio's government from enforcing the federal Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.

• In August 2010, a couple of months before his term officially ended, Coughlin registered his new business, Lexington Strategic, with the state of Ohio. There, he would go on to lobby on behalf of multiple companies that had vested interests in Ohio health care and Medicaid policy-issues he worked closely on in the state Senate.

• And yet Coughlin, who did not return a request for comment, seems to be quite aware that politicians who bend to lobbyists may be politically vulnerable at the polls.

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