Background
Gentile was born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio on the Ohio River.
Gentile was born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio on the Ohio River.
He attended Steubenville Catholic Central High School and subsequently West Virginia University.
His district is one of the largest in Ohio, stretching from Carrollton, Ohio all the way to Athens, Ohio and encompassing much of the Ohio Valley. Gentile currently serves as Assistant Minority Whip in the He is a Democrat. After graduation from college, Gentile returned home to Jefferson County and joined the Ted Strickland for Congress campaign as field director
He continued his service with Congressman Strickland by serving as his representative to constituents in Jefferson, Belmont, Noble and Monroe counties.
In 2010, with incumbent Representative John Domenick unable to run again due to term limits, Gentile ran to replace him in the Ohio House. In late 2011, Senator Jason Wilson resigned from his seat in the to take become Director of the Governor" General’ s Office of Appalachia under Ohio Governor John Kasich.
As a result, Senate Democrats were required to appoint a successor to the seat. Gentile was the Senate Democrats" top pick to fill the position.
lieutenant was announced in early December that Gentile had been chosen for Senator Wilson"s seat.
He was sworn into office on December 15, 2011. Gentile was elected to a full term in the Senate in 2012, defeating Republican Shane Thompson 53% to 47%. This was a significant victory for Gentile, as he had been the Grand Old Party"s top target and the Grand Old Party spent over $1 million to defeat him.
Gentile raised about $800,000.
Committee assignments
Committee on Rules.
After Strickland won his election to become Governor of Ohio, Gentile was appointed Assistant Director of the Governor' General’ s Office of Appalachia in January 2007, where he served until 2010. He faced four others in the primary election and received 52.41% of the electorate to win the nomination. Gentile faced Republican Mark Clark in the general election, and won with 66.25% of the vote.
He was previously a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving briefly in 2011 prior to his appointment to the Senate. When Senator Joe Schiavoni was named Minority Leader in 2014, Gentile was named as a member of his leadership team, serving as Assistant Minority Whip.
