James Mills, a financial services executive and Libertarian Party leader from Warren County, is running for Ohio lieutenant governor on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot alongside gubernatorial candidate Don Kissick. Hilliard voters will see the Kissick-Mills ticket on their ballots.

Mills said he entered politics because he was "tired of picking my poison, so I decided I wanted to be part of the antidote." He said Ohioans deserve leadership focused on affordability, transparency and practical solutions rather than party loyalty.

Candidate information

Office sought: Ohio Lieutenant Governor

Party: Libertarian

Running mate: Don Kissick

Education: Master of Business Administration from Xavier University; Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics with a minor in Spanish from the University of Cincinnati. Mills also holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation.

Family: Married with two children. Mills grew up in Cincinnati as one of five children, including two sets of twins.

Experience and public service

Mills is CEO and co-founder of Ironvest Financial Partners, where he works with individuals, families and businesses on financial planning, retirement and employee-benefit strategies. His career in financial services has included roles at Nationwide, Western & Southern, PNC and Brokerage Solutions.

Earlier in his career, Mills served through AmeriCorps, helping develop programs for a homeless shelter. He described that experience as having "a lasting impact on how I view service and the challenges facing people who are struggling financially."

Within the Libertarian Party of Ohio, Mills has served as vice chair and field development director. He currently serves as chair of the Warren County Libertarian Party. His questionnaire responses listed party leadership roles but no elected or appointed government positions.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Mills' responses to a candidate questionnaire.

Property taxes: Asked about his ticket's plan to lower property tax bills and the cost of living, Mills wrote that the goal is to completely eliminate property taxes on owner-occupied homes and family farms without defunding schools, police or fire. He said the ticket would begin with an approximate 25% reduction and continue phasing taxes out as replacement funding is identified. Mills called for a comprehensive review of Lottery education dollars, the General Revenue Fund, corporate subsidies and administrative spending to find inefficiencies. "Before telling homeowners Ohio cannot afford property-tax relief, we should open the books, identify waste and unnecessary spending, and make funding schools and essential local services the priority," he wrote.

Government transparency and ethics: Asked what is needed to prevent another scandal like the House Bill 6 bribery case, Mills wrote that he supports a publicly searchable database showing state contracts, lobbying activity, major expenditures, incentives and meetings involving public officials. He said he would strengthen Ohio's Sunshine Laws, limit the use of nondisclosure agreements in public business, require meaningful disclosure of conflicts of interest and increase transparency around political spending. "Ohio doesn't need another commission to tell us corruption exists," he wrote. "We need to make it harder to hide who is influencing government."

Role of lieutenant governor: Mills wrote that he and Kissick see the position as an active partnership, not a ceremonial one. His responsibilities would focus on small-business growth, economic development, government transparency and connecting the administration with communities across Ohio. He said voters should judge his success by measurable results: fewer barriers for small businesses, greater transparency in state spending and stronger local economic development.

What sets the ticket apart: Mills wrote that the biggest difference is that he and Kissick are not approaching government through a Republican or Democratic lens. He described himself as a business owner and financial professional, not a career politician. The ticket supports ending corporate welfare, reducing government bureaucracy and opposing warrantless mass surveillance, he wrote.

Immigration: Mills wrote that due process applies to everyone and that immigration enforcement should be civil, not militarized. He said those in the country illegally should have a straightforward path to citizenship and be required to show good-faith progress toward legal status. Deportation should only be part of the discussion after repeated, proven noncompliance, he wrote.

The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.