The district incumbent, state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., is term-limited and running as a state senator in Ohio’s 5th district.
Mark Campbell, a Huber Heights city council member, is running for the 39th House District seat unopposed as a Republican. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Campbell in the November election.
Daquan Neal
Neal, 30, most recently worked for the Ohio House of Representatives but left the job to campaign for office.
“Watching what’s been happening on a federal level, on a national scale, has really lit a fire within me to say we can do better than this,” Neal said.
Neal said he grew up moving around Ohio, graduating from Miami Trace High School. He then graduated from Central State University with degrees in psychology and political science.
While at Central State, Neal worked for Amazon, the Staples warehouse and had an internship with the Ohio Senate, he said.
If elected, Neal’s top priorities would be affordability, including making property taxes and utility bills more affordable; educating students, particularly with basic, essential life skills; and representation, including making himself available to constituents.
“That’s a really big priority to me, is just remaining visible and remaining present,” he said.
Neal said he “actually very much dislikes being called a politician” and said he is “not here advocating for politics as usual.”
“People want to vote for something bold,” Neal said. “They want something that means progressive change.”
He said he thinks he can flip the district blue.
“I do identify as a progressive, but that doesn’t mean I’m your opponent,” Neal said. “I want to come and have a conversation with you about why our kids deserve to have meals every time they go to school.”
Mike Stevens
Stevens, 67, is a former Clayton mayor. He retired from the Dayton Daily News as circulation manager and has since been a member of planning commission, a council member and mayor.
Stevens holds a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Wright State University.
His top three priorities are: solving tough problems for public schools; safety and security for residents, including ensuring that police and fire have the right tools and infrastructure; and improving the local economy, including ensuring that more than warehouse jobs come to Ohio.
“I’d like to see us try to bring in some higher paying jobs and companies to settle up here,” Stevens said. “We have a lot of green space up here that could be new builds.”
Collaboration is key for Stevens, who said he worked closely with others in the area as Clayton mayor on local projects.
He said he thinks people in the district are tired of the way Republicans have run the state, so he believes the district can be flipped.
“I have to say I think I’m the candidate for the job,” he said.
Stevens said he has been a registered Democrat, voted in every election as an adult and said he thinks his voting record as a councilman and mayor of Clayton is consistent.
“I’m not a flip flopper,” he said. “The voters up here, the residents up here in Clayton know exactly what they’re getting from me.”
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