Jennifer Gross

Jennifer Lynn Sherwood Gross (born June 7, 1964) is an American politician and former nurse serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 45th district. Elected in 2020, she took office in 2021. During her tenure in the state House, she has been a leading supporter of anti-vaccine legislation. Her voting record has shown a general tendency towards big government.

Vote on expulsion of Larry Householder

On June 16, 2021, the Ohio House of Representatives voted to expel former Speaker Larry Householder following his indictment in the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal, which centered on the passage of House Bill 6. The resolution to expel Householder passed by an overwhelming margin, though a small number of lawmakers voted against removing him from office.

According to reporting by the Dayton Daily News, Jennifer Gross, a Republican representing West Chester Township, was among the legislators who voted against expulsion. The newspaper also reported that Gross stated that Householder “should have stayed in office.”

Career Gross served as a United States Air Force lieutenant colonel and worked as a nurse practitioner with IMA, Inc. She spent 21 years in military service, nine of those years active and 12 in reserve. Gross is a nurse practitioner. When Ohio shut down for the pandemic in spring of 2020, Gross filed for unemployment. Afterwards, she was hired to perform COVID-19 tests. Afterwards, she was part of an Eli Lilly study on monoclonal antibodies.

Anti-vaccination legislation In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Idaho, Gross was the primary sponsor of an anti-vaccine bill that would prohibit employers (both public and private) from requiring workers to receive vaccinations (for any disease). The bill would also repeal a state law that requires college students to disclose whether they received the hepatitis B vaccine and meningococcal meningitis vaccine. Gross described the bill as "a freedom bill" and "not a scientific bill"

When introducing the legislation in May 2021, Gross attracted controversy when she described businesses requiring vaccination as "eerily similar" to the Holocaust and Nazis forcing Jews to wear identifying badges, and likened the vaccine to Nazi human experimentation. to testify an "expert witness" to the Ohio House Health Committee. At the conspiracy theory-filled hearing, claiming the vaccinated "can put a key on their forehead, it sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick, because now we think there's a metal piece to that." Gross's legislation was also opposed by Democrats; for example, Representative Beth Liston said that the legislation was "a dangerous bill that will lead to death" and, if enacted, would lead to "worsening measles outbreaks, meningitis in the dorms, and children once again suffering from polio."

In June 2021, the Ohio House Health Committee lacked the votes to advance Gross' bill. Gross discussed the measure with Speaker Bob Cupp and said she planned to introduce amendments. In the messages, Gross and Lipps closely coordinate, but at times Lipps appeared frustrated, accusing Gross of failing to control rumors circulating among anti-vaccination activists and of coordinating with Candice Keller, a far-right Republican who has promoted anti-vaccine disinformation and threatened to generate a primary challenger to Lipps. She added, without evidence, that the result was "foreign election interference, and it will not stand."

Weather

In October 2024, Gross promoted the theory that the government can control the weather and the Biden administration is directing storms to Republican areas.

Witchcraft On December 1, 2022, Gross invited a local "associate pastor" to cast out witchcraft from the statehouse.

Dinosaurs

On February 15, 2025, when asked how long ago did dinosaurs roam the earth, Gross responded, “probably 2,000” years ago. She explained that she's a "young earth person."

Committee assignments As of June 2026, Gross serves on the following committees in the Ohio House.

Medicaid (chair) Community Revitalization Government Oversight Health

Personal life She lives in West Chester, Ohio. She has a husband and two sons.