State Sen. J. Kirk Schuring, the second-longest serving lawmaker in the Ohio Legislature who authored dozens of laws on issues ranging from health care to sports betting, has died. He was 71. He never lost an election for Ohio Senate or House.

Kirk Schuring, 72, died after a long battle with unspecified illness. According to a news release from the Senate, Schuring, who was reelected after running unopposed in 2022, took working phone calls from his hospital bed.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered to honor longtime state lawmaker J. Kirk Schuring, a Canton-area Republican.

Ohio and Stark County leaders are remembering state Sen. Kirk Schuring, who died at the age of 72. Schuring, a Republican from Jackson Township, was the second-longest serving member of the state Legislature. He also never lost an election.