On February 25, 2008, Culliver endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for president, saying, "If we are going to make a better future for America, we need a leader who isn't invested in the political food fights of the past."[REF] .
On November 8, 2011, Culliver was succeeded in the Mansfield mayoral election by Timothy Theaker, the first Republican to be elected by the people of Mansfield, Ohio to serve as mayor since Edward Meehan, who served as mayor of Mansfield from 1981 to 1991 [REF].