Betty Montgomery
| Betty Montgomery | |
|---|---|
| 30th Ohio State Auditor | |
|
In office January 6, 2003 – January 2, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Petro |
| Succeeded by | Mary Taylor |
| 45th Ohio Attorney General | |
|
In office January 6, 1995 – January 5, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Lee Fisher |
| Succeeded by | Jim Petro |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 2nd district |
|
|
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Gillmor |
| Succeeded by | Tim Greenwood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 3, 1948 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
Bowling Green State University, University of Toledo College of Law |
Betty Montgomery (born April 3, 1948) is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, she formerly served as Ohio State Auditor and Ohio Attorney General.
Montgomery was elected Wood County Prosecutor in 1980. In 1988, she was elected to the Ohio Senate where she chaired the Criminal Justice Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Montgomery worked on passing Ohio's first living-will law.
In 1994 Montgomery was urged by Republican Party leaders to challenge Democrat Lee Fisher for the job of Ohio Attorney General. Montgomery was the first Republican attorney general in 24 years to hold the office. She faced an uphill battle against the very-popular Fisher. Montgomery campaigned on her record as a prosecutor. She narrowly defeated Fisher by a vote of 1,716,451 to 1,625,471. As Attorney General, Montgomery worked to increase funding for law enforcement and for more crime labs. She defeated Democrat Richard Cordray for re-election in 1998, earning more votes than any other Republican candidate.
By the end of 2001, Montgomery was term limited from being re-elected Attorney General. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Bennett urged Montgomery to run for the job of state auditor. She swapped offices with then Auditor Jim Petro, who was elected as attorney general. Montgomery defeated Democrat Helen Knipe Smith and became State Auditor in 2003. Montgomery was the top vote getter in the 1998 and 2002 state elections.
In 2006, Montgomery opted to run for Ohio Governor. During her campaign for governor, Montgomery challenged Ken Blackwell and Petro. After trailing both Blackwell and Petro in early polls, Montgomery dropped out of the governor's race to once again run for Attorney General. Her 2006 opponent in the general election was State Senator Marc Dann, who defeated Montgomery.
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