Tom Brinkman, a Mount Lookout resident and Republican, is running for Ohio House of Representatives District 26 in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

He faces Democrat Ashley Bryant Bailey.

Brinkman is a former state representative who served two separate stints in the Ohio legislature.

Candidate information

  • Party: Republican
  • Residence: Mount Lookout, Cincinnati
  • Born: Dec. 6, 1957
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in history and political science, George Washington University, 1979; Xavier High School, 1974

Experience and public service

Brinkman served as a state representative in the Ohio General Assembly from 2001 to 2008, according to BallotReady. He returned to the legislature and represented Ohio House District 27 from 2015 through 2022, according to his Wikipedia entry.

In 1999, Brinkman founded the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, known as COAST, which actively opposes tax levies in southwestern Ohio, according to Wikipedia.

Before entering the legislature, Brinkman worked as a sales manager at Metroweb Corp. from 1977 to 1999, according to BallotReady. He interned in the office of U.S. Sen. Bob Dole from 1977 to 1979, according to Wikipedia. He has worked as a registered representative at New York Life Insurance Company since 2009, according to BallotReady.

Brinkman has received several awards during his legislative career, including Mt. Lookout Civic Club Man of the Year in 2008, Most Principled Legislator twice and the Watchdog of the Treasury Award three times, according to the Federalist Society.

Endorsements

The following endorsements were claimed by the endorsing organizations, according to BallotReady:

  • Hamilton County Republican Party
  • Cincinnati Right to Life
  • Cincinnati Right to Life Political Action Committee

This profile was compiled from publicly available candidate information, election data and organizational endorsements reviewed by our newsroom. The Hyde Park-Oakley Record did not interview the candidate for this profile. No policy questionnaire responses were available at the time of publication.