Introduction
Donald "Don" Manning (born May 1, 1965) is a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 59th district since 2019.A Republican, Manning's district includes suburban Youngstown as well as rural Mahoning County.Manning previously served in the United States Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal. He also worked in the criminal justice system and served on the New Middletown city council.
Manning previously ran in 2016, and lost to incumbent John Boccieri. In 2018 Boccieri vacated the seat to run for the Ohio Senate, and Manning ran for the now open seat.Manning defeated Democrat Eric Ungaro, 50.35% to 49.65%.
Positions On Issues
Medical Freedom
As a candidate, Manning was interviewed by Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, expressing his strong support of their views that vaccinations should not be mandated by any government entity, saying that "any time we have an opportunity to keep the Government out of our lives, I'm on board." Manning received the group's Verified Candidate designation for his views.
Two months after taking office as State Representative, Manning introduced legislation (House Bill 132) that would require school officials to provide the legal exemptions as well as the state mandated vaccination requirements.