Ohio's first female House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson remembered as a trailblazer and legend

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The late Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio’s first and only female House speaker, was remembered during a Statehouse memorial service Thursday for blazing trails for women with grit, grace and a guiding spirit. Dozens of the Republican women she had mentored wore red in her honor, splashing the packed atrium with her signature “power color.”

Davidson, who died Friday at 97, had been a force in state and national Republican politics for nearly 60 years. Besides her time as a powerful House speaker, she served as an adviser and campaign consultant to presidents and governors and as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

“Jo Ann fought for her place in politics at a time when politics was dominated by men,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told the crowd of current and former elected officials, journalists, party leaders, and politicos of several generations. “She made her place through grit, determination, hard work, tenacity, integrity and a belief in herself, and she wanted other women to believe in themselves, as well.”

"All of us have lost a true Ohio legend, a trailblazer, a leader, a role model, friend, deeply devoted public servant,” DeWine said.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce said she was among the many aspiring candidates whom Davidson nurtured. That was before she established the Jo Ann Davidson Ohio Leadership Institute, a Columbus-based training center for women in business and politics through which Davidson guided some 400 women.

“She lived by example, and that example included a unique ability to bring people together regardless of their politics," Pryce said. “In her way of thinking, there is power in collaboration and unity. That was my cup of tea. I always wanted to be exactly like her.”

Her granddaughter, Emily Enslen, said Davidson wasn't your typical grandmother.

“She arrived to my soccer games in a BMW convertible, she took golf carts around political conventions, she outpaced my entire family at Disney World, she got an iPhone before all of us grandkids and she brought many gifts and stories from interesting places,” Enslen said.

Before the service, Davidson lay in state for several hours in the Statehouse Rotunda, the only woman ever to do so. The honor has been bestowed on only 10 people in state history, including Abraham Lincoln. The last person to lie in state was former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn in 2016.

Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, a close friend, said Davidson was a member of the Greatest Generation — with older brothers who fought in World War II — and their constant ribbing helped her develop her taste for competitive politics.

“She was tough, she was tactical, she was strategic, she loved a good fight and, more importantly than anything, she loved to win," Montgomery said.

Montgomery described Davidson's efforts in quelling disunity in the Ohio House as fearless and creative. Sometimes she offered a calming word, sometimes a stern warning, and sometimes she shot you “the look.”

President George W. Bush personally persuaded Davidson to co-chair the RNC, Montgomery said. Davidson headed his regional reelection effort in 2004 and helped him to a crucial Ohio victory over Democrat John Kerry to win the White House. She also ran the successful 2002 campaign of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and served as a close adviser to then-Gov. John Kasich, both Republicans.

Both Kasich and Taft served as honorary pallbearers at Thursday's service. Nancy Hollister, a former state representative and lieutenant governor who served briefly as Ohio's only female governor, also attended, as did first lady Fran DeWine, former first lady Hope Taft, and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and his wife, Tina.

Montgomery recalled how Davidson's life in politics began in 1965, when she ran and lost a race for the all-male Reynoldsburg City Council. She regrouped, worked hard and won the seat two years later, spending the next 10 years in the role.

In 1980, she was appointed to the Ohio House, where she would build a reputation over 20 years for hard work, team-building and smarts. Fellow lawmakers elected her the first female speaker in 1994. She led the chamber until retiring due to term limits in 2001.

Alongside her legislative service, she rose to become vice president of special programs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, earning herself a corner office. At one point, Montgomery said, the chamber's attorney suggested he, not she, should have the office — but the female secretarial staff told her it was as important to them as it was to her. So she kept it.

Mourners stand for the beginning of the funeral for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson in the Atrium of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery talks to fellow mourners in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse before the funeral for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Ohio governor Mike DeWine, left, and his wife Fran pass the the casket for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson as it lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

A mourner pauses at the casket for former Ohio speaker of the house Jo Ann Davidson as it lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Sate House in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon).

Ohio governor Mike DeWine, left, and his wife Fran pause at the casket for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson as it lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

The casket for former Ohio speaker of the House Jo Ann Davidson lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Former Ohio governor Bob Taft pauses at the casket for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson as it lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol carry the casket for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson into the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse for her funeral in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Ohio governor Mike DeWine, right, and his wife Fran watch a slide shoe honoring former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson as her casket lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery pauses at the casket for former Ohio House speaker Jo Ann Davidson as it lie in state in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

FILE - Jo Ann Davidson, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)