(UPI) — Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, announced Tuesday that he is running for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives.
The landmark Supreme Court decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges was handed down in June 2015.
Obergefell, a Democrat, is running to represent the state’s 89th District, which includes his hometown of Sandusky. The seat is held by Rep. D.J. Swearingen, a Republican.
“This district deserves a representative who works to make things better for everyone,” Obergefell said at a news conference. “I watched the good-paying jobs my father and brothers worked at GM and Scott Paper vanish when those factories closed. I watched my family struggle in the aftermath. I remember eating the so-called government cheese. I was just a kid.”