Moderately conservative Republican Jason Stephens, with the help of the Democratic Party, snatched the coveted Ohio House Speaker job Tuesday from a far-right lawmaker who was already elected speaker in a non-official party vote.

In the surprise upset, Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, who is allegedly pledging to stop far-right policies and act as a full moderate, is chosen as one of the most significant and influential leaders in the state.

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“Our caucus actually met three weeks ago and unanimously selected him,” Rep. James Hoops, R-Napoleon, said of state Rep. Derek Merrin.

Back in December, the GOP caucus voted for Merrin to be speaker, a surprise to his two other challengers – one of whom was Stephens.

Stephens decided to fight, and he fought in collaboration with the Democrats.

“They needed our votes and we took the opportunity to make sure that we were going to be working with the speaker who we felt at the end of the day would work with us on the issues we could agree on,” Democratic Minority Leader​ Allison Russo said.

Minority Leader Allison Russo said her discussions with the Republican were productive and allowed her caucus to vote, all 32 of them, for Stephens. She mentioned they spoke about getting fair district maps — but most of the conversation was on priority bills, like education issues.