“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are.”

— Maya Angelou

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

— Oscar Wilde

Believe it or not, both of the above quotes can be applied to former state Rep. Elliot Forhan, an attorney and Democrat candidate for Ohio attorney general.

If Forhan’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he makes news, often for the wrong reasons. Forhan served one term in the Ohio House, representing the state’s 21st District, after a decisive victory over Republican opponent Kelly Powell in November 2023. The district includes Beachwood, Euclid Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, South Euclid and a portion of Cleveland.

It didn’t take long for Forhan to make waves — and enemies — in Columbus. In June 2023, he allegedly showed up unannounced at the home of fellow state Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Ohio 22) to discuss complaints filed against him with state Democratic leaders by northeastern Ohio labor groups.

Brent called the visit “inappropriate” and “upsetting.” She later filed a civil protection order against Forhan, whose colleagues removed him as a ranking member of the House Government Oversight Committee.

But wait. There’s more. A few months later, in November 2023, House Minority Leader Allison Russo stripped Forhan of his committee assignments and access to House Democratic caucus staff for a “continued pattern of harassment, hostility and intimidation of colleagues and staff.” That move came after a confrontation with state Rep. Munira Abdullahi over a video Forhan posted after caucus staff requested him to remove an Israeli flag he had placed outside his office door.

A few days later, Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens announced he would suspend Forhan’s badge access to the Statehouse and the Vern Riffe Center, which houses the offices of state representatives. Attorney General Dave Yost then appointed a special counsel — at Stephens’ request — to investigate Forhan’s behavior. Yost eventually found that the Legislature’s punishment was appropriate.

Forhan’s self-inflicted wounds did not go unnoticed in his district, where he finished third in a three-way Democratic primary — with 12% of the vote — in March 2024, bringing his tumultuous term to an end.

But that’s not the end of the story. Forhan announced in February 2025 that he planned to run for Ohio attorney general. By September, he was back in the news. Five days after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated, Forhan posted an image on his Facebook page reading, “F– Charlie Kirk.”

Once again, people in Ohio were talking about Elliot Forhan, which — if you haven’t guessed already — always seems to be the point. We could add P.T. Barnum’s adage — “There is no such thing as bad publicity” — to describe Forhan’s approach to politicking.

But maybe now there is. Forhan dropped a video last week, promising “I am going to kill Donald Trump.” The attention-grabbing opener was his vile way of telling Ohio voters that, if elected, he plans to try President Trump for treason and seek capital punishment.

Forhan got what he wanted — the obligatory attention and outrage from conservatives in Ohio and around the country. Calls for him to drop out of the race had already begun last fall and are only intensifying.

Enough is enough. Elliot Forhan began to show everyone who he is almost three years ago. We believed him then and still do now. He wasn’t fit to serve in the Ohio House and certainly lacks the temperament to be attorney general.

If Forhan doesn’t have the good sense to leave the race, Ohio voters should follow the lead of the 21st District, which elected him in 2022 and two years later corrected what was clearly a mistake.