On August 3, 2009 Garrison announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Ohio Secretary of State. Garrison withdrew from the Ohio Secretary of State race in January 2010. She resigned from the State House in November 2010 to take the position of Commissioner of the Ohio State Employment Relations Board. Her nomination, a recess appointment by outgoing Democratic Governor Ted Strickland, was rejected by the Republican-majority Ohio Senate less than a month later. She declared her candidacy for Ohio's 6th congressional district in the 2014 election on 12 July 2013.