Charlie Wilson (Ohio politician)

On February 21, 2013, Wilson suffered a stroke while vacationing in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was put into a medically induced coma. In early March, he entered a rehabilitation facility in Florida and had been "doing much better". On April 13, Wilson was admitted to a hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida after feeling ill. He died on April 14 of complications from the earlier stroke. He was 70.

The race for Ohio's 6th Congressional District was listed as one of the most competitive in the country. It was one of the 24 toss-up races in the New York Times 2012 House Race Ratings. Some of the major issues in the race were jobs and the economy, health care, and energy. On the issue of coal, Wilson told NPR that "We don't need to fire Obama and we don't need to stop the war on coal", in an interview on September 28, 2012.

On November 6, 2012, Wilson was defeated by Johnson 53% to 47% in the rematch of their 2010 race in a slightly more Republican-leaning district, drawn after the 2010 census. To date, this is the last time a Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the vote in the 6th.

In November 2011, Wilson filed to run a rematch against Johnson in the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.

Following the 2010 campaign, Wilson was criticized for giving his staff large bonuses with taxpayer money as he was ending his term. Congressman Wilson's staff payroll increased by 49.7% from the previous payroll quarter, indicating that his staff did indeed receive hefty taxpayer funded bonuses.

After entering office, Wilson joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and conservative congressional Democrats. Wilson was named Blue Dog of the Week on April 2, 2007. Wilson voted "Yes" on the Senate version of the health care bill.

Along with Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) and Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), Wilson introduced H.R.3090 in July 2007 to counteract a provision tucked away in the Iraq Spending Bill. The provision required that all Medicaid prescriptions be written on "tamper-resistant pads" effective October 1, 2007. The provision was put in place to combat Medicaid prescription fraud, but it may have unintended consequences. For example, the pads may not be widely available, nor is there a good definition of what they are. If pharmacists fill prescriptions that are not written on the special pads they risk not getting reimbursed through Medicaid.

In 2006, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Ted Strickland decided to retire to run for Governor of Ohio. Wilson decided to run for the open seat in Ohio's 6th congressional district. Ohio state law requires that a candidate for Congress submit 50 valid signatures from constituents in his district to qualify for a place on the primary ballot. When Wilson's signatures were verified by the Columbiana County Board of Elections, only 46 of the 93 signatures submitted could be verified as legal residents of the 6th district.

As such, for the Democratic primary on May 2, 2006, Charlie Wilson's name did not appear on the ballot. Wilson's campaign launched a massive effort, aided by the national party and organized labor, to 'write-in' Charlie Wilson's name in the primary. The campaign was successful, with Wilson winning 66% of the Democratic vote against two opponents. Wilson defeated Republican State Representative Chuck Blasdel 62–38%.

In 2004, he ran for the Ohio Senate when incumbent Democrat Greg DiDonato of the 30th District decided to retire after redistricting. In the Democratic primary, he defeated former State Representative Jerry Krupinski 67%–33%. He won the general election with 67% of the vote. When he decided to retire to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, his son Jason Wilson replaced him.

Wilson ran for Ohio's 99th House District in 1996. He defeated William L. Thomas in the Democratic primary 54%–46%. He won the general election and re-election in 1998 (50%), 2000 (68%), and 2002 (62%).

Charles A. Wilson Jr. (January 18, 1943 – April 14, 2013) was an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative for Ohio's 6th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives.

Wilson was born on January 18, 1943, in either Martins Ferry, Ohio or Dillonvale, Ohio. He was a graduate of Ohio University and the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science class of 1967. He was a small business owner and was president of Wilson Funeral Homes and Wilson Furniture Store.