The district consists of portions of Columbus, as well as Grove City, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, and Worthington in Franklin County.

With Representative E. J. Thomas unable to run for another term in the House, Hughes sought to replace him, along with fellow Republican Dave Robinson.

[3] Able to run for a final term, Hughes faced his toughest opposition yet in Democrat John Patrick Carney.

[6] While it had been rumored that Hughes would potentially seek the office of Franklin County Prosecutor if it were to become open, it did not.

After running unopposed in the Republican primary, he was defeated by Democrat Karen Phipps in the general election, winning only 41.5% of the vote.