John Milan Ashbrook (September 21, 1928 – April 24, 1982) was an American politician and newspaper publisher. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from 1961 until his death.^[1] Ashbrook was associated with the New Right. He ran against President Richard Nixon in the 1972 Republican Party presidential primaries, attempting to appeal to voters who believed Nixon was insufficiently conservative, but he failed to win any statewide contests. At the time of his death, he was running for U.S. Senate in Ohio in the 1982 election.

John Milan Ashbrook was born on September 21, 1928, in Johnstown, Ohio to William A. Ashbrook, a newspaper editor, businessman, and U.S. representative, and Marie Swank. Ashbrook graduated from Harvard University in 1952 and later from Ohio State University's law school in 1955. In 1953, Ashbrook became the publisher of his father's newspaper, the Johnstown Independent.^[2] On July 3, 1948, he married Joan Needles and later had three children with her before they divorced in 1971. In 1974, he remarried to Jean Spencer.^[3]

He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1956, and served two terms. In 1960, the seat that his father had once held in the House of Representatives was vacated and Ashbrook ran for and won it.

In 1982, Ashbrook ran for U.S. Senate, seeking to challenge Democratic incumbent Howard Metzenbaum. Polling showed that he was the frontrunner in the Republican primary.^[12] However, on April 24, 1982, he suffered a gastric hemorrhage at the offices of The Johnstown Independent, and died at Licking Memorial Hospital in Newark, Ohio, aged 53.^[13][14] President Ronald Reagan memorialized him, saying: "John Ashbrook was a man of courage and principle. He served his constituents and his country with dedication and devotion, always working towards the betterment of his fellow man. His patriotism and deep belief in the greatness of America never wavered and his articulate and passionate calls for a return to old-fashioned American values earned him the respect of all who knew him."^[1]

Ashbrook's widow, Jean Spencer Ashbrook, was chosen in a special election to serve the remaining seven months of his congressional term.^[15]

The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University was named for Ashbrook in 1983.^[16] A periodic John M. Ashbrook Memorial Dinner at the center features leading conservative speakers from President Ronald Reagan (first dinner; dedication of the Center, in 1983)^[17] and Margaret Thatcher (1993) to Mitt Romney (April 2010) and John Boehner (June 2011).^[18]

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
• List of United States representatives from Ohio
• List of members of the House Un-American Activities Committee