Jim grew up in a working class, union family in western Pennsylvania—his father was a railroad worker and his mother was a nurse. He was the first in his family to graduate from college and paid his own way through school by working a wide range of jobs, including as a truck driver, a mechanic and on a road crew. In 1980 he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.After graduating college, Jim became a Certified Public Accountant and went to work for Grant Thornton in Pittsburgh, specializing in their health care accounting practice. In 1983, Jim left Pittsburgh for Wadsworth, Ohio, where he founded LTC Management Services, a company that owned, operated and managed nursing facilities throughout the region. Jim also founded a CPA firm in 1989, along with several other business ventures. Throughout his 30-year business career Jim owned and operated over 60 entities, created more than 1,500 jobs and employed over 3,000 people.
He spent five years as a volunteer firefighter in Wadsworth, served on the city’s Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, and was later elected to two terms as President of the City Council. In 2004, Jim was elected Mayor of Wadsworth, where he successfully balanced the city’s $80 million dollar budget and converted a multi-million dollar deficit into a surplus, without raising taxes.
Jim Renacci was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November of 2010, representing the 16th district of Ohio. In 2017, Jim announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio in the 2018 election; in January of 2018 Jim exited the governor’s race and announced his run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator.
Jim completed his final term in Congress in January 2019 and that same month launched the non-profit Ohio’s Future Foundation, a policy and action-oriented organization of which he is the founder and chairman.
Outside of his work in the business world and public service, Jim and his wife Tina have raised three children and currently reside in Wadsworth, Ohio. Jim is a faithful member of his local Parish and has ushered in Mass for over twenty years.