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Robert E. Latta

U.S. House · OH-5 · Republicans · since 2025

also

Candidate for U.S. House · OH-5

Target Robert

Biography

Overview

Robert E. Latta is a Republican U.S. House representative from Ohio's 5th congressional district, currently serving his 10th term since 2007. Born April 18, 1956, in Bluffton, Ohio, Latta holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bowling Green State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo College of Law. Before his time in Congress, he served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and previously served as a Wood County Commissioner and in the Ohio Senate. He is known for his focus on energy policy and telecommunications regulation.

Career

Latta has sponsored 14 recent bills across energy, communications, and healthcare areas. Notable legislative initiatives include the SECURE Grid Act, SELF DRIVE Act, and Nuclear REFUEL Act, reflecting his emphasis on energy security and modernization. In his tenure, he has worked on reducing regulatory burdens and authored the 2014 bill directing the FCC to allow digital display of device information. He has not sponsored major legislation that became law based on the provided information, though he actively champions bills in committee.

Prior political experience

Latta was first elected to Congress in a special general election on December 11, 2007, defeating Democratic nominee Robin Weirauch 57% to 43%, following his victory in the special primary. This came after Congressman Paul Gillmor's sudden death in September 2007. Prior to 2007, Latta had run for the seat in 1988 but lost the Republican primary by 27 votes to Paul Gillmor. Subsequent general elections show: 2010 victory over Democrat Caleb Finkenbiner and Libertarian Brian L. Smith; 2012 victory over Democrat Angela Zimmann and Libertarian Eric Eberly. In 2012, he received endorsements from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, NRA Political Victory Fund, and National Right to Life.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress+0.508

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
+0.288
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 347 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
10thU.S. House OH-52025–presentIn progressRobert E. Latta—
9thU.S. House OH-52023–2025Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
8thU.S. House OH-52021–2023Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
7thU.S. House OH-52019–2021Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
6thU.S. House OH-52017–2019Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
5thU.S. House OH-52015–2017Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
4thU.S. House OH-52013–2015Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
3rdU.S. House OH-52011–2013Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
2ndU.S. House OH-52009–2011Term endedRobert E. LattaRobert E. Latta
1stU.S. House OH-52007–2009Term ended—Robert E. Latta

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
——Pending——