Election 2026

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Candidate record

Don Kissick

Holds no public office. His campaign says he served six years in the U.S. Navy. Campaign affiliation: Libertarian.

Voter guide

Background, stated goals, record, and money

Goals come from the campaign's own platform. Record lines are official actions.

How this guide is built

Background comes from official records, and from the campaign's own biography where the bullet says so; goals are summarized from the campaign's own platform and stay attributed; the record lines are official actions with the government source attached; money is shown as filed, with the filings it covers in the note under the table, and is not evidence of why any position was taken.

Don Kissick

Background

  • The Libertarian nominee. Holds no public office.
  • His campaign says he served six years in the U.S. Navy, with deployments in Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Southern Watch, and lives in Ottawa, Ohio.
  • Ran as a Libertarian for the U.S. House in 2010 and 2018 and for the U.S. Senate in 2024.
  • His running mate is James Mills, whom the campaign describes as a business owner and nonprofit leader.

What they say they want to do

  • End property taxes through the proposed amendment, with local funding based on consumption instead.
  • Limit or ban government use of automated license-plate cameras, and limit sharing of vehicle-location data.
  • Bar legislators from lobbying for five years after leaving office, and put state contracts in a public database.
  • Simpler licensing for small businesses, tradespeople and gig workers.
  • Less state control of the marijuana industry.

What the official record shows

He has not held public office, so there is no official record of his to list.

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Governor candidates file with the Ohio Secretary of State. We have not added those filings yet.

Issues in this record

Follow the evidence by issue.

Property taxesIncome taxesData centersEnergy billsSchoolsEthics and corruption

Evidence timeline

Dated records, with sources attached.

  1. race event

    Write-in tickets file

    Four write-in tickets file for governor by the August 24 deadline.

  2. race event

    Primary election

    Acton, Ramaswamy and Kissick win their party primaries for governor; Acton runs unopposed.

  3. race event

    Three tickets file

    Acton and Pepper, Ramaswamy and McColley, and Kissick and Mills file for governor and lieutenant governor.

See something wrong or incomplete? Report it for review.

Sources12 source records

How we use sources

  1. About Don & Jameshttps://donkissick.com/about-don-%26-james

    People for Don Kissick and James Mills · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. Biographies of Kissick and his running mate, James Mills. Neither describes a public office held.

    candidate statement

    For: Current role; Background, goals, record and campaign money

  2. Campaign financehttps://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/campaign-finance/

    Ohio Secretary of State · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Where Ohio's statewide candidates file their campaign finance reports. The page shows a security check to automated readers (HTTP 403), so it was not read by this desk; a person can open it in a browser.

    official election record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  3. Ohio Revised Code 3517.11https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3517.11

    Ohio Legislative Service Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign committees of candidates for statewide office file their finance statements with the Secretary of State.

    official legislative record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  4. Candidate list, November 3, 2026 general election (document)

    Cuyahoga County Board of Elections · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Lists three governor tickets, each filed February 4, 2026 and valid: Acton and Pepper (Democratic), Ramaswamy and McColley (Republican), Kissick and Mills (Libertarian). Four write-in tickets filed August 24, 2026. Not ballot order. sha256 5eaa1507f117fb441da88983f85e9495ae11e86c8c4d2670364773c70eb31df0. The Secretary of State's site shows a security check to automated readers, so a county list is used.

    official election record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money; Write-in tickets file; Primary election; Three tickets file

  5. Federal Elections 2010: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Page 116: Kissick, Donald Charles (LIB), Ohio's 4th district, 7,708 votes (3.77%) in the November 2, 2010 general election. sha256 dd0ce354af9d654c05bbf6fc69687be60507be6cf3c56b8575634ec5ef0ac428.

    official election record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  6. Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Kissick, Don (LIB), Ohio's 5th district, 7,393 votes (2.61%) in the 2018 general election. sha256 6d7b65418458f40cb4d301f04034e79a6938344097c6d28ec418d676af757ab2.

    official election record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  7. 2024 Congressional Candidates on the General Election Ballots (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The FEC's list of candidates on the November 5, 2024 ballot, from state election offices. Ohio, U.S. Senate: Kissick, Donald C. (LIB), with Brown and Moreno. The list is marked "Subject to Change". sha256 7945c56c933e5ee390bc26de081bb3e58d20a9f958400fbae3fcb49ff5dfd997.

    official election record

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  8. Candidate overview: Kissick, Donald Charles (H0OH04077)https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H0OH04077/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Registered as a Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House from Ohio: the 4th district in 2010 and the 5th in 2018. The FEC's results reports show he was on the ballot both times.

    fec filing

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  9. Candidate overview: Kissick, Donald C. (S4OH00259)https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S4OH00259/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Registered as a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio, 2024 election.

    fec filing

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  10. On the Issueshttps://donkissick.com/on-the-issues

    People for Don Kissick and James Mills · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. Headings: data centers, license-plate cameras, property taxes, corruption, economic affordability, personal dignity. The site's press releases page carried no releases when read.

    candidate statement

    For: Background, goals, record and campaign money

  11. 2026 election schedulehttps://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/getmedia/5a24ba93-6eaa-4cfe-ad8c-77c5aed0e496/2026-Election-Schedule-with-Candidate-Requirements-6

    Franklin County Board of Elections · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The write-in filing deadline for the November 3 general election is 4:00 p.m., August 24, 2026. Revised May 28, 2026. sha256 dfeb41450e364f9f291a2a2ae332a3762c5da0475cad43cb9ee6d69ee13507ed.

    official election record

    For: Write-in tickets file

  12. Official results, May 5, 2026 primary, Franklin County onlyhttps://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/getmedia/8f366b7c-bc97-4f5c-8d15-659b0e35283d/Franklin-s-Official-Canvass-Summary-with-Group-Detail

    Franklin County Board of Elections · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Franklin County's official count, not the statewide total. Governor: Acton 118,223, unopposed; Ramaswamy 40,190, Casey Putsch 7,236, a withdrawn ticket 2,262; Kissick 736, write-ins 140. The Secretary of State's statewide results show a security check to automated readers. sha256 74e32aede45c396fa30bf33aa60dc23886fd8d4c3a92f379488a49ed62ccdb73.

    official election record

    For: Primary election