Josh Mandel

Joshua Aaron Mandel (born September 27, 1977) is an American far-right politician who served as the 48th treasurer of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the Ohio State Representative for the 17th district from 2007 to 2011. He was the unsuccessful Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2012 U.S. Senate election. In 2016, Mandel announced his intention to challenge Brown yet again in 2018, but later withdrew from the race. In 2022, he ran again for the Senate, but lost the primary nomination to author J. D. Vance. Early life and education Mandel was born to a Jewish family on September 27, 1977, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Rita (née Friedman) and Bruce Mandel. Mandel's maternal grandfather, Joe, is originally from Poland and is a Holocaust survivor, while his maternal grandmother, Fernanda, is originally from Italy and was hidden from the Nazis by Christian families during World War II. Mandel has a sister, Rachel. He attended Beachwood High School, where he was the quarterback of the football team. Mandel earned a bachelor's degree from the Ohio State University. At Ohio State, he served two terms as the undergraduate student government president. After graduating from Ohio State in 2000, he earned a Juris Doctor from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.