Cincy Reporter

Sec. of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio), who is running for U.S. Senate, has promised to curb the loss of Ohio farmland to foreign investors. Many international companies and countries have purchased American farmland, which rarely ever makes it back into American ownership. 

“Transactions benefitting the Chinese Communist Party are a threat we cannot ignore. Biden and Brown have failed us and have not forcefully defended America from invasion or taken needed actions to protect our strategic interests. In the United States Senate, I will work to combat the CCP’s growing influence, protect Ohio farmers and help America reestablish our national security.”

A 2019 article from the Ohio Farm Bureau announced about half a million acres of Ohio farmland were owned by international entities. With no federal restrictions on foreign purchases of farmland, states have to regulate their rules and land. 

According to a Cincinnati Enquirer article, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been purchasing U.S. farmland at an increasing rate, over 25 times increased over the last ten years. The proposed PASS Act would require additional reviews of foreign purchases of American farmland. 

LaRose is running in Ohio’s March 19, 2024 Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The winner will challenge Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is running for his fourth term.

His opponents are State Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chardon) and former auto dealer Bernie Moreno of Westlake.

LaRose represented Summit County in the Ohio State Senate (2011-2018) before being elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2019. He previously served in the U.S. Army, where he was a member of U.S. Special Forces as a Green Beret, and earned a B.S. from the Ohio State University.

An Akron native, LaRose, 44, lives in Columbus with his wife and three daughters.