Louis "Lou" Gentile (born July 28, 1979) is an American politician formerly serving as the senator for the 30th District of the Ohio Senate. He was also previously a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving briefly in 2011 prior to his appointment to the Senate. His district is one of the largest in Ohio, stretching from Carrollton, Ohio to Athens, Ohio and encompassing much of the Ohio Valley. Gentile served as Assistant Minority Whip in the Ohio Senate. He is a Democrat. Gentile lost his 2016 Senate re-election bid to Frank Hoagland. Early life and education Gentile was born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio on the Ohio River. He attended Steubenville Catholic Central High School and subsequently West Virginia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Career 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. After Strickland won his election to become Governor of Ohio, Gentile was appointed Assistant Director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia in January 2007, where he served until 2010. In 2010, with incumbent Representative John Domenick unable to run again due to term limits, Gentile ran to replace him in the Ohio House. 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. Ohio Senate In late 2011, Senator Jason Wilson resigned from his seat in the Ohio Senate to become Director of the Governor'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. It 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 GOP's top target and the GOP spent over $1 million to defeat him. Gentile raised about $800,000. When Senator Joe Schiavoni was named Minority Leader in 2014,