The cost of individual health insurance plans rose to $9,804 on average, while family coverage reached $28,303. Both represented a 5% increase over the last year.

Employees paid about $1,672 for individual coverage, while employers contributed $8,132. People with health insurance for a family of four paid $7,471, with employers providing $20,833.

The amount of money an employee pays toward an individual health insurance plan rose by $232, or 16%, from 2025 to 2026. The price an employee pays for a family health insurance policy increased by $621, or 9%, according to the survey. 

“We have been hearing a lot about Affordable Care Act and Medicaid cuts,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement. “Now add a 9% increase in what workers with employer coverage paid toward family premiums in 2026 to the reasons voters are so concerned about their health care costs.”

The national survey looked at the health insurance costs of more than 1,900 employers throughout the country who have at least 10 workers.

The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance plans has steadily gone up for the last 15 years, according to KFF’s data. In 2011, the cost of an individual plan totaled just under $5,500 and family plans cost $15,220 annually. 

The average deductible reached $1,995 for single coverage this year, meaning even with health insurance, most employees had to pay a couple thousand dollars out of pocket before their policies kicked in. That’s more than doubled since 2011 when the average annual deductible was $955.

The KFF survey found that 88% of workers with individual coverage had a deductible in 2026. 

What types of healthcare coverage people get with the various employer-sponsored health insurance plans varied considerably, sometimes based on the size of their company. 

Twenty-seven percent of employers with more than 200 employees, called large firms in the KFF survey, covered the costs of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. 

But that fluctuated, with 24% of companies between 200 and 999 workers covering IVF, 38% of companies between 1,000 and 4,999 employees providing coverage and 47% of companies with more than 5,000 workers offering a health insurance plan that covers IVF. 

Access to GLP-1 drugs, which can help people manage Type 2 diabetes and lower their weight, also varied based on the size of someone’s employer. Eighteen percent of large firms covered those drugs during 2026, though that was slightly lower than the 19% that covered it during 2025. 

The KFF survey showed that 40% of companies require people on GLP-1 drugs for weight loss to “meet with a dietitian, case manager, or therapist, or participate in a lifestyle program in order for the drug to be covered.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Trump began his October campaign road trip in GOP-friendly states, but has begun venturing into territory that’s deemed to have become perilous for Republicans.

The GOP is itching to maintain its narrow majority in the U.S. House and Senate, though elections forecasters are offering a far less optimistic outlook for Republicans, as Democrats remain favored to take back the House and more Senate races shift in the party’s favor. 

Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics on Tuesday moved nearly 30 House races toward Democrats.

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter shifted Senate races in Mississippi and South Carolina toward Democrats on Tuesday. But the elections forecaster also moved a Senate race in Minnesota toward Republicans. 

In the Palmetto State, where South Carolina GOP Sen. Darline Graham faces Democrat Annie Andrews, the Cook Political Report changed its race rating from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” 

Trump was scheduled to rally in Clemson, South Carolina, on Wednesday for Graham, who was appointed in July to serve out the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s term. 

Rush to early voting

More than 16 million Americans have already voted early in the midterm elections as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a tracker from the University of Florida Election Lab. 

Meanwhile, Trump continues to see dismal approval ratings amid the costly war in Iran and its impact at the gas pump. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas stood at $4.26, as of Oct. 21. One year ago, that price stood at about $3.05. 

New polling from The New York Times and CNN offers a snapshot of just how bleak Trump’s approval ratings are with less than two weeks to go until the midterms — hitting record lows in the pair of polls.

In a Times/Siena University national poll, only 36% of likely voters approved of Trump’s performance. Similarly, a CNN/SSRS poll found a 32% approval rating for the president.  

Trump road show

Here’s a closer look at Trump’s travel in the coming days, after recent stops in Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina: 

• The president will head to Sioux City, Iowa, for a rally on Thursday. The Hawkeye State features an open Senate race between Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek that the Cook Political Report has listed as a toss-up.

• Trump will then rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, where the Sunshine State’s Senate race is described as “solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report. Florida GOP Sen. Ashley Moody faces Democrat Angie Nixon. 

• Trump travels to Perry, Georgia, on Saturday for a rally. The Senate race in Georgia is listed as “likely Democrat” by the Cook Political Report. Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is vying for another term against Georgia GOP Rep. Mike Collins. 

• The president will then head north to rally Sunday in Port Huron, Michigan. Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are battling it out in an open Senate race the Cook Political Report has dubbed a toss-up. 

• On Monday, Trump will rally in Corinth, Mississippi. In the ruby red state, Mississippi GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is competing for another term against Democrat Scott Colom in a race that the Cook Political Report moved from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”

• On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Trump is set to hold rallies in both Waco and Lubbock, Texas. The Lone Star State features a pivotal Senate race between Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico that the Cook Political Report declares a toss-up. 

• Trump will then travel to Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, for a rally. The Buckeye State is also home to another toss-up Senate race listed by the Cook Political Report between Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted and Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown.  

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Scott Hartman faces a number of different charges related to allegations of sexual conduct with a minor, and one of the charges, misdemeanor grooming, didn’t exist before April 2025. Hartman has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Hartman, 49, was arrested by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Oct. 1, for “online sexual abuse of a minor,” according to a release from the office earlier this month.

According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation began in April of this year after a “teenage victim reported to school counselors that she had engaged in an online relationship with Hartman that included text messages and video calls involving video sex acts and the exchange of nude images and videos.”

The activities went on for six months before they were discovered, the sheriff’s office said, alleging Hartman attempted to meet the teenager for sex and “convinced the victim to delete any evidence and attempted to hide the fact that she was a minor.”

“Due to the nature of their conversations, one or more of his alleged social media accounts were shut down and reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Hartman was listed as a senior vice president and chief development officer for The Catholic Foundation.

The foundation’s president and CEO, Loren Brown, said Hartman had been fired and the foundation was cooperating with law enforcement.

“What Scott Hartman did is a violation of trust and stands in direct opposition to our mission and our Catholic faith,” Brown said in a statement.

Hartman was indicted on Oct. 13, charged with pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and other related felony offenses, along with tampering with evidence, and a misdemeanor grooming charge.

The grooming charge was part of a bill enacted in April 2025 to update sex offense statutes in the state of Ohio. Other provisions were updates to civil actions related to misconduct alleged to have happened years, even decades ago.

Former Ohio state Sen. Bill Seitz, a Republican from Cincinnati, co-sponsored Ohio House Bill 322, which came about partly because of Ohioans who wanted more consequences for those who fail to report alleged sexual abuse, and those who have groomed victims before committing any sexual acts. But it was a balancing act to make sure those attempting to help children didn’t see unintended consequences.

“The trick, obviously, is to differentiate between the casual, sympathetic arm around the shoulder for somebody who’s facing an adverse childhood experience — which is perfectly legal — and something that shows elements of a pattern going well beyond that,” Seitz told the Capital Journal.

It was that pattern and proving intent in the pattern that gave the bill appeal, he said.

The grooming statute under which Hartman is charged states that no person older than 18 years old can “engage in a pattern of conduct” with anyone younger than 16 years old and four years younger than the adult when “the pattern of conduct would cause a reasonable adult person to believe that the person is communicating with a minor” for the purposes of sexual activity or preparing a minor to engage in sexual activity, according to the law.

The charge is a misdemeanor, a low-level offense which typically does not carry a significant prison sentence, unless charged alongside felonies.

While Seitz didn’t comment on Hartman’s case specifically, he said having the law in place will help not only be able to charge offenders in current cases, but allow more civil action and deter more serious crimes.

“I do not think there will be a huge influx of cases, just because it will be somewhat difficult to prove, but (supporters of the bill) wanted something on the books that would enable this kind of conduct to be nipped in the bud before it became far more serious,” Seitz said.

Also included in the legislation was a longer statute of limitations for charging those required to report any information about potential sex abuse crimes who fail to do so.

H.B. 322 moved the statute of limitations from two year to four, something mothers who talked with Seitz about bringing up the bill wanted to see. The group was advocating for more punishment particularly for priests accused of abuse.

“That was a concern that these mothers had, too, that by the time they found out that some of the priests were acting badly, the time for any possible prosecution of others who might have known of the priests’ malevolent activity were off the hook because the statute of limitations had expired,” Seitz said.

A third component of the law that was important to Seitz was updating a law from the mid-2000s, giving individuals the right to use civil action in cases where statutes of limitation had expired.

In the law, if a court finds in a civil proceeding that there is enough evidence to prove an individual is a child sex offender, Seitz said the individual would be placed on a sex offender list.

While he doesn’t think the law passed last year will lead to an overabundance of legal cases, he believes times have changed enough to make the laws enough to target abuses that he hopes are becoming “a thing of the past.”

“I think people were very, very relaxed in their attitudes back in the 50s and 60s, and even into the 70s,” Seitz said. “But now, all of these organizations have adopted pretty stringent requirements for training and for making sure that they’re not letting the wrong kind of people around the kids.”

In Hartman’s case, a bond was set at $750,000, and he remains incarcerated as the court case continues.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The number of jobs in some sectors appears to be falling in the face of rising prices and interest rates. Meanwhile, people are leaving the labor force as the state ages, working-age immigrants are deported and wages fall relative to inflation.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services last week reported that the state’s employers shed 5,000 jobs last month, according to Policy Matters Ohio. Unemployment rose from 3.3% in August to 3.4%, and inflation rose from 3.4% to 3.7%.

Meanwhile, participation in the labor force continued a decline that started in June of 2025. By September, Ohio’s participation rate stood at 61.2% compared to 61.8% nationally, according to the Buckeye Institute.

The reasons for falling workforce participation can be complex.

The measure doesn’t consider people who have aged out of the workforce, only those who are of working age and able-bodied, but not looking for a job. Those people are not counted in the unemployment rate.

Policy Matters reported that Ohio’s working-age population grew by 4,000 in September, yet labor force participation fell.

Before employers began pulling back in recent weeks, more jobs seemed to be available. President Donald Trump’s mass deportations appeared to remove many of the 2 million foreign-born men who left the country over the past two years, and 80% of whom were employed.

However, many of their jobs were in sectors such as construction and agriculture that native-born workers can be reluctant to fill.

In any case, the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research in April found that large deportations hurt the labor force. Perhaps ironically, the study showed that they lead to drops in employment among native-born male workers.

Income inequality may also play a role.

Americans were already trapped in a post-pandemic affordability crisis when Trump began his second administration. Then he slapped high tariffs on most of the world and started a war with Iran, making it worse.

In a written statement Buckeye Institute Vice President of Policy Rea S. Hederman Jr. said inflation is making man Ohio workers poorer.

“While private-sector hiring was revised up from the August jobs report, September’s job losses kept private-sector employment flat over the past two months,” he said. “Ohio’s workers are struggling as inflation-adjusted wages have fallen over the last year.”

Ironically, people can become so financially stressed that they can’t afford to work. Things such as child care, transportation and even clothing can make it not financially worthwhile to take a poorly paid job.

Molly Bryden, a researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, said lawmakers need to take such workers into account as they try to address an economy that has so many struggling.

“Combined with inflation and lackluster growth, this should be an early-warning signal to lawmakers,” Bryden said in a written statement. “Federal and state lawmakers must re-prioritize and focus on worker supports to draw people back to the labor force, expand pathways to quality jobs with family-sustaining wages, and restore affordability through shared prosperity — rather than pushing ‘pro-business’ policies that leave working families behind.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Local property taxes are already the largest source of funding for most public schools across Ohio. Residential property owners are tapped out and plenty tired of schools coming to them hat in hand. But when district levies fail cash-strapped schools do without. Without staff. Without services. Without programs to enrich learning.

Multiple public school districts have been forced to lay off teachers, cut courses and extracurriculars. Classroom size has swelled to capacity. Teachers are overburdened.

Students get less than the optimum instruction they deserve. Educating the next generation of Ohioans should be the top priority of state leaders.

Yet Ohio has repeatedly scaled back its investment in the public school system that educates nearly 90% of the state’s K-12 students.

For almost 30 years the Republican-run legislature has shirked its constitutional duty to fund a “thorough and efficient system” of public schools and shifted the load of paying for local districts on to homeowners.

The state share of public school funding has fallen from a high of 47% in 1999 down to an estimated 35% in 2026 and 32.2% for 2027.

Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally (around 45th) in state K-12 revenue. Statehouse Republicans appear determined to put public schools out of business.

In the current state budget, legislators scrapped the final phase of a six-year, bipartisan school financing formula that was designed to more accurately reflect the genuine cost of educating students and the financial capacity of each community to support its schools.

The Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) marked a significant step toward correcting the decades-old disparity in school funding that was heavily dependent on local taxes.

But for the 2021 funding plan to be successful in fixing the long-broken, unconstitutional funding model for Ohio’s public schools it had to be sustained by future budget-writing lawmakers. It was not.

The biennial budget for 2026-2027, passed by Republican majorities in the General Assembly and signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, effectively abandoned and underfunded the FSFP by about $2.75 billion (compared to what the plan mandated) and provided just 5.7% of the state-level funding increase schools required based on the actual cost-based formula. 

Republican Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, who has done more to privatize public education in Ohio than anyone, called the proposal to fully fund the last two years of the Fair School Funding Plan a “fantasy” and claimed the state couldn’t afford it.

Too expensive, scoffed Huffman while simultaneously funneling massive amounts of public money — over $1 billion annually — into private, primarily Christian schools.

The state-paid tuition checks (with no strings attached) are called vouchers.

Unlike state funding for public schools, that comes with oversight and accountability of tax dollars spent, there is zero accounting for Huffman’s private school boondoggle that finances religious institutions at the cost of local schools most Ohio kids attend.

In the 2026 fiscal year alone, the total amount of public funds spent on Ohio’s five private school voucher programs was $1.173 billion.

Almost half of that money, $532.8 million, went to the Education Choice Expansion vouchers that Huffman made universally available to every affluent family in the state (regardless of income) whose children attend private schools.

Last week an Ohio appellate court concluded the EdChoice voucher program violated the clear language of the state constitution by effectively setting up a “competing system of uncommon schools that is not subject to the same obligations imposed on Ohio’s system of common schools.”

The Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals ruling, which affirmed a lower court’s decision in 2025, noted that participating non-public schools on the public dole receive taxpayer funding in a manner that operates at the “detriment of Ohio’s public schools, and, consequently, the children who depend on those public schools for instruction, support, and opportunities that shape their future.”

State Republicans shrugged off the expected ruling confident it will be overturned by the Republican-majority on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Huffman & Co happily handed Ohio property owners an even heavier public school funding burden this election cycle — with a slew of school levy issues on the ballot to counteract the legislature’s latest round of reduced state-level contributions to K-12 education — while adding more than a billion in taxpayer subsidies to the tab to bankroll diocesan schools.

Ohio’s 600-plus public school districts in the state can twist in a perpetual panic over funding shortfalls, negative cash balances, or severe deficits.

Private school lobbyists got their voucher hooks in the general revenue fund and, with powerful GOP backing, they’re not letting go. But Ohio voters may want a say in the matter especially as they’re filling out ballots over the next two weeks that promise bigger tax bills to keep their public schools afloat.

They may draw the line at subsidizing a “competing system” of parish schools when they’re already paying the lion’s share of one district’s operating budget.

Why not find out definitively what Ohioans think about funding Huffman’s exploding universal private school vouchers program — twice ruled unconstitutional — with an up or down statewide vote? Seems fair.

Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska did in 2024, and voters rejected the creation or expansion of private school vouchers in all three states.

Ohioans are paying billions to prop up private schools while their public schools go wanting. The issue belongs on a ballot for Ohio voters to decide themselves.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

If approved, PowerConneX 3 will become the seventh gas plant to power a data center in the New Albany business park. Together these seven gas plants total 1936 MW – roughly equivalent to the electricity demand of over 1.3 million homes.

These seven gas plants have the potential to emit 11.9 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution, 766 tons of fine particulate matter, and hundreds of tons each of other harmful pollutants such as nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and hazardous air pollutants each year – all next to populated areas of New Albany and Licking County. 

Serious health effects

Particularly harmful to human health is the fine particulate matter – less than 2.5 micrometers or 1/30th the width of a human hair.

This pollutant is breathed deep into the lungs, enters the bloodstream, and causes inflammation throughout the body.

Extensive scientific evidence shows that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with heart disease, stroke, respiratory illness, asthma, and premature death. 

A 2026 study of a 135 MW gas plant powering a data center in Virginia found that it could result in $53 million to $99 million in annual health-related damages due to missed work, missed school, hospitalizations, and 3.4 to 6.5 additional deaths per year in the impacted region.

The study was conducted by a Harvard-affiliated health scientist. 

The seven gas plants approved and proposed in New Albany have a combined power output 14 times larger than the gas plant studied in Virginia.

Most vulnerable are children whose lungs are still developing. Almost 13,300 children live within a five-mile radius of the business park where these seven gas plants will be operated.

Inefficient technology

One reason these gas plants powering data centers are so polluting is they are not using the best available technology. Most utility grade gas plants use combined cycle turbines, which generate electricity from the combusted gas in two different turbines. 

The gas plants in New Albany are using less efficient technology. This includes simple cycle turbines, which generate electricity in only a single stage, with the polluting exhaust and waste heat expelled out of a short stack at 800 degrees.

Even worse, the PowerConneX 3 gas plant will use 30 reciprocating internal combustion engines – like a gas car engine, only longer than a full-sized school bus and about as tall as a two-story house. Because this equipment is less efficient, it uses more gas to generate the same amount of electricity, resulting in more pollution.

Data centers are installing this more polluting equipment because it’s faster to procure and construct. But more pollution means accelerated climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions and worsened air quality due to pollutants like particulate matter.

That is not acceptable. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, July 2026 was the warmest month on record for the contiguous United States. This past July, the Columbus area set a record for the worst-ever air quality index since the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission began keeping records in 1999.

Accelerated process

Another issue is the Ohio Power Siting Board’s process for approving the gas plants powering data centers. Five plants in the New Albany business park have already been approved – three through the accelerated application process that included no public notice, no public hearing, and automatic approval – not even a formal vote by board members. 

For the two gas plants approved through the standard application process, the siting board held public hearings as required. But these two hearings, held in August and October of last year, each had only two to three individuals offer testimony. All such individuals were either oil and gas industry representatives or representatives from unions whose members would financially benefit from these projects.

While the first few gas plants in New Albany were approved quietly, word is now getting out, and area residents have had enough. More than 50 people packed a New Albany meeting room on October 6 for the most recent public hearing on the 500 MW NEO Power Generation Facility, the fourth gas plant planned to power Meta’s Prometheus data center, and the sixth gas plant proposed for the New Albany business park.

Five representatives from the oil and gas industry and unions spoke in favor of NEO, while 20 people passionately voiced their opposition to the project. The opposition included a few environmental advocates from other parts of the state, but the vast majority were residents of New Albany and surrounding communities. 

While data centers say they are creating jobs and contributing to our communities, no amount of economic benefits can outweigh the cost to the environment and the public’s health that will result from a massive build-out of inefficient, subpar natural gas technology. 

One need not be against data centers, AI, or natural gas power to oppose these gas plants. Rather, this is simply too much, too fast, and too polluting.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

In a swing of his own home town Cincinnati Wednesday, Vance touted dozens of indictments for food assistance fraud and pumped up Ohio’s GOP supporters at a campaign rally. But the comments on the ad garnered the most attention. The ad has drawn sharp criticism across the political spectrum.

“I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance told the campaign rally crowd.

“Politics is a tough business,” he added, “and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is: if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”

The attack ad controversy

In the ad, Acton’s mother Donna Arthur repeatedly calls Acton a liar. Acton was removed from Arthur’s custody in the late 1970s, after her husband Cledith Arthur was charged with raping Acton, who was 12 years old at the time. After being released on bond, the Arthurs fled the state.

Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign initially issued a statement insisting “Vivek wants the election to focus on how to solve (rising costs),” and called Acton a “serial fabulist” but didn’t take credit for the ad’s production. Later that day, Ramaswamy again said he would “love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues” but acknowledged his campaign produced the ad.

Ramaswamy’s campaign told Axios it plans to spend $4 million running it statewide.

Vivek Ramaswamy is not fit to lead. Watch our new ad. pic.twitter.com/EhWNMdFjjH

— Dr. Amy Acton (@amyactonoh) October 20, 2026

Acton’s campaign quickly released an ad featuring her younger brother Phil Stearns criticizing Ramaswamy for trying to score political points off the abuse they both suffered as children.

“Shame on Vivek,” he says, “It’s the contempt he has for Amy it’s the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead.”

In the Ramaswamy campaign’s initial statement and later speaking to reporters, he’s justified the ad by blaming Acton for refusing to debate him. Vance went a step further.

“People have called Vivek Ramaswamy a murderer in some of the advertisements ran against him,” Vance claimed at the food assistance fraud event.

It’s not clear to which advertisement Vance was referring, and an email to his press contact seeking clarification got no answer.

Ramaswamy’s campaign didn’t respond to similar requests either. But on social media, Ramaswamy shared two clips of Vance making the claim describing it as “hard facts” and “a strong message to Republicans & a strong reminder to everyone.”

Advertisements produced by Acton’s campaign, and by the Democratic Governors Association Super PAC backing her, criticize Ramaswamy’s tenure as a pharmaceutical executive for publicly lauding an Alzheimer’s drug that eventually proved ineffective. But Ohio Capital Journal was unable to identify any ads which suggest Ramaswamy is a murderer.

SNAP fraud

Wednesday morning, Vance joined several Department of Justice officials in Cincinnati to announce indictments against 40 people who have allegedly defrauded SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. Those defendants allegedly stole $42 million from the program.

The biggest share of that total came from charges against Jorag Yaseen and Rami Kanaan who allegedly stole $29.7 million from the program. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, they used stolen account information from Ohio and other states to run false transactions at their Illinois stores.

Vance, however focused on a case out of Atlanta against Merecedes Reshard New, who goes by Shawty Dred on social media. They brought out a tv to show a clip of Reshard with a private jet.

“You broke, mother——,” New says in the clip, “Get you a jet. Get you a jet.”

“The simple fact is,” Vance said, “this is a man that we have connected to $4.4 million dollars in fraud against the SNAP program. A guy who is quite literally taking food from the mouths of children, so that he can enrich himself.”

According to a DOJ press release, New was able to operate for six years and allegedly controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts. He was arrested last week.

“SNAP exists to help hungry children eat,” Vance said. “It does not exist to provide private jets to a guy like Shawty Dred.”

But while the administration is tackling fraud in the program it has also made significant changes that will lead to reduced payments, primarily in Ohio’s urban counties.

As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, states have to shoulder a greater share of the burden based on error rates.

In a July 2025 statement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins praised the changes for “tackl(ing) the fraud and waste that has run rampant” in the program.

Ohio lawmakers agreed to cover some of the shortfall, but the way they chose to divvy up the dollars leaves multi-million dollar shortfalls in Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton counties.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Absentee and early in-person voting started last week in the Nov. 3 election last week. As they have, a consortium of pro-democracy groups has positioned monitors at polling places, set up an election hotline and has lawyers and others waiting to be dispatched if problems arise.

At the same time, the NAACP announced plans to open a legal war room of its own on Oct. 24.

Many of the measures are routine, but fears are elevated this year.

President Donald Trump already tried to overturn an election he lost in 2020.

Behind in the polls, he’s again making false claims about election security. In May he would not rule out the possibility of sending federal agents to polling places — which many legal experts say is illegal.

In the face of that, volunteers are working to ensure normalcy in this year’s election.

“There’s a very robust election-protection effort,” said Mia Lewis of Common Cause Ohio.

She said her group, the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are training and have deployed poll monitors. 

The political parties have observers inside polling places where they observe what’s happening, but aren’t allowed to talk to voters. Nonpartisan monitors are outside polling places, where they answer nonpolitical questions and watch for problems.

“We answer people’s questions and make sure everything is going smoothly,” Lewis said. “Poll monitors are the eyes and ears on the ground of the Ohio election-protection system.”

The groups also have lawyers available if legal issues arise, and “peacekeepers” such as ministers and social workers to dispatch if things get tense, Lewis said.

And there’s a national election protection hotline — 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) operated by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. Anyone with questions or who sees potential problems can call.

“We have access to that on the back end, so if problems are reported we can try to solve them in real time,” Lewis said. “We try to spread the word about the hotline as much as we can before the election because the more people know about it, the more voters we can help, the more problems we can solve.”

The group operating the protection hotline can accommodate languages other than English.

So far, most of the problems the Ohio groups are hearing have to do with confusion about deadlines and absentee voting, Lewis said. She added that recent changes in the state haven’t helped.

The rights groups want all Ohio citizens to know that hundreds of volunteers have fanned out across the state and they should feel safe voting. Lewis said that’s especially true for citizens who were born outside the country or have foreign-sounding names.

“We definitely hope they aren’t discouraged from voting because they feel things are strange this year,” she said. “We really, really hope that doesn’t happen. We want folks to go out and vote and exercise their rights.”

Meanwhile, Ohio is among the 16 states the NAACP is including in its midterm war room, which will provide “a dedicated phone line, email addresses, and digital forms for voters to submit any cases of alleged voter intimidation, suppression, or issues while voting,” the group said in a written statement.

“The NAACP will respond to credible cases as they emerge to help ensure eligible voters can cast their ballots and have those ballots counted.”

The state-level hubs will launch by Oct. 24. They come after conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court have dramatically weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was intended to ensure all citizens have equal access to the ballot — and to representation in government.

“We cannot buy into the fear,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a written statement.

“Donald Trump wants us to be afraid, because he is a deeply unpopular president. He’s afraid of losing his grip on Congress, so he wants us to stay home and make it harder to vote. Real power belongs to the people, and the NAACP is ready to protect all voters when they go and cast their ballots.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Husted’s support extended from defending a $43.5 million tax break for Google in 2019 to promoting major data center projects as lieutenant governor under Gov. Mike DeWine. As recently as July 2025, he was still defending the tax incentives, arguing against eliminating them for new developments.

By the following year, Ohio’s Department of Taxation had revealed that its data center sales-tax exemption cost the state approximately $1.57 billion in 2025, more than 11 times the $135.8 million officials had projected. Husted subsequently reversed his position on awarding new exemptions, as the industry’s enormous electricity demands and government subsidies became major issues in his U.S. Senate race against Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Husted celebrated data centers as a ‘pipeline of jobs’

In an Aug. 23, 2021, interview on Columbus Morning News, Husted enthusiastically promoted Google’s expanding data center investments in central Ohio.

“It’s great to see that some of these data center investments are going to go south of Columbus,” Husted said, referring to developments extending toward Lancaster. “It just shows it’s a pipeline of jobs and economic growth that’s going to continue to happen in central Ohio.”

In another recording from the same interview, Husted argued that Ohio’s geographic position helped attract the industry.

“Let’s face it. What’s part of the reason that they’re here? Well, Ohio’s in the middle of the country. We’re between, you know, Chicago and New York, and we’re a great place for logistics.”

Husted had already demonstrated his willingness to defend the industry’s tax breaks. At Google’s November 2019 groundbreaking in New Albany, he defended a 15-year state sales-tax exemption estimated at $43.5 million for the company’s $600 million facility, which was expected to create approximately 50 jobs.

Husted argued that the economic benefits would outweigh the tax breaks and said requiring Google to pay sales taxes would have driven the company elsewhere.

“This will fuel the economy for many years in Ohio,” Husted said, predicting that Columbus would become the technology hub of the Midwest.

His advocacy continued as the DeWine-Husted administration promoted increasingly large technology investments, including Amazon Web Services’ $7.8 billion expansion announced in 2023.

In Erie County, a $10.2 million tax break for 18 promised jobs

The DeWine-Husted administration brought the same incentive strategy to Northwest Ohio.

On Sept. 25, 2023, DeWine and Husted announced state assistance for an Aligned Data Centers project in Perkins Township, Erie County. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 75% sales- and use-tax exemption lasting 15 years.

The estimated value of the tax exemption was $10.2 million. In exchange, the company committed to creating just 18 permanent jobs with approximately $1.6 million in annual payroll.

The agreement covered a proposed $202 million investment near Sandusky. The 18 positions were the company’s initial employment commitment, while the tax exemption was authorized to continue through 2038.

The Erie County deal provides a concrete example of the incentives promoted during Husted’s tenure: a tax exemption initially valued at more than $10 million for a development promising fewer than two dozen permanent jobs.

Tax breaks ballooned. Husted kept defending them.

An industry-backed economic study estimated that Ohio data centers received $2.5 billion in state and local tax incentives between 2017 and 2024. The report also estimated that the industry generated $5.21 billion in state and local tax revenue over that period, including modeled indirect economic effects.

But the cost of Ohio’s state sales-tax exemption continued climbing. According to figures released by the Ohio Department of Taxation, the exemption cost $554.9 million in 2024 and $1.57 billion in 2025. The 2025 figure exceeded the state’s forecast by more than $1.4 billion.

Husted continued backing the incentives even as lawmakers moved to restrict them. In July 2025, after DeWine vetoed a legislative attempt to curtail the exemptions, Husted defended preserving the tax break, arguing that ending it for future projects while existing developments continued benefiting would not create a “fair playing field.”

“If Ohio wants to be a leader, a leading edge tech state in the Midwest, having those kinds of investments in the state is important,” Husted said.

In May 2026, DeWine paused consideration of new data center tax-exemption applications. By late July, Husted had reversed his position on new statewide exemptions, after years of defending the incentives and promoting the projects they helped attract.

Husted has also begun promoting federal legislation intended to prevent electricity customers from shouldering data center infrastructure costs. But as TiffinOhio.net previously reported, his Ratepayer Protection Act would only require state regulators to consider protections similar to those technology giants fought in Ohio. It would not require states to impose them.

And Husted’s reversal does nothing to undo the tax agreements secured during the years he championed the industry. Ohio has stopped accepting new exemption applications for now, but previously approved agreements remain in place.

According to state development contracts obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau, Amazon, Meta and Google hold statewide data center tax agreements extending through at least 2055, 2056 and 2058, respectively.

Those companies can continue receiving tax benefits under the agreements for decades after the 2026 election, long after Husted’s years of defending the subsidies helped make Ohio a major destination for their investments.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The campaign acknowledged producing the video after it circulated online without identifying its sponsor. According to Axios, sources close to Ramaswamy said the commercial performed well in internal testing among persuadable voters, prompting a statewide advertising campaign that began Tuesday night. Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau separately confirmed the $4 million digital buy.

Ramaswamy campaign manager Jonathan Ewing defended the decision, telling Axios: “This is a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton. The people who know her best keep warning Ohioans about her.”

The campaign also confirmed that Acton’s mother was not paid to appear in the advertisement.

Attack features mother who defended Acton’s accused abuser

The minute-long commercial features Donna Arthur, Acton’s estranged biological mother, accusing her daughter of fabricating details about her childhood, including having lived in a tent. Arthur repeatedly calls Acton a liar, suggests she needs help and urges Ohioans not to elect her governor.

Absent from the video is the history behind their nearly five-decade estrangement. Acton has publicly described being sexually abused as a child by Arthur’s husband, Cledith Arthur, while her mother failed to protect her. Arthur supported her husband during the resulting criminal proceedings and remained married to him until his death in 2004.

Records obtained by the Associated Press confirm that Cledith Arthur was arrested in July 1978 and charged with raping Acton, then 12. A grand jury indicted him that September. He pleaded not guilty but subsequently failed to appear in court and remained a fugitive until at least 1981. The available records do not establish a conviction or the case’s final disposition.

Conservative publication National Review separately obtained documents corroborating the criminal proceedings, including a sworn statement from Acton’s biological father.

Acton’s account also predates her political career. In a detailed 2019 interview with The Youngstown Vindicator, she described childhood poverty, repeated moves, sexual abuse and spending a winter living in a tent outside Youngstown. Her younger brother has separately corroborated the family’s homelessness. The criminal records independently establish the proceedings involving her stepfather, rather than the family’s precise living arrangements.

Republicans denounce ad as Ramaswamy doubles down

The campaign’s decision to spend millions promoting the attack has drawn criticism from within Republican and conservative circles.

Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, a former Republican mayor of Findlay serving in Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration, publicly condemned the advertisement Tuesday. “There are lines we shouldn’t cross, and this is one of them,” she wrote, adding that political disagreements should not come at the expense of basic decency.

Meghan McCain called the commercial a “dastardly ad” that never should have been produced. Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham questioned how the campaign could expect the attack to succeed rather than backfire, while Republican strategist David Urban warned on CNN that voters could instead sympathize with Acton as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

At National Review, Kathryn Jean Lopez condemned the video as despicable and amoral, arguing that it should become a political disaster.

Other conservatives defended the attack. Donald Trump Jr. promoted the video on social media and encouraged Ohioans to watch it, while former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell also supported the commercial.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has sided with those defending the attack. Spokeswoman Connie Luck described Acton as a “serial fabulist” and continued questioning her honesty, while Ewing characterized the video as potentially decisive against the Democratic nominee.

Acton responds with ad featuring her brother

Acton responded Tuesday by accusing Ramaswamy of exploiting her estranged mother for political gain. She said she and her younger brother were removed from their mother’s custody after enduring neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse by Arthur’s husband.

Her brother, Philip Stearns, condemned the attack in a statement released by Acton’s campaign, saying their mother remained married to the man who sexually abused his sister even after the children were removed from the household.

Acton’s campaign also released a response advertisement titled “Abuse,” featuring Stearns describing how his older sister tried to protect him during their childhood.

“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” Stearns says. He directly condemns Ramaswamy for turning his sister’s childhood into campaign material.

The controversy comes two weeks before Ohio’s November 3 election. A Marist Poll released Tuesday found Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 43% among likely voters, with a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. The survey was conducted October 15-18, before the advertisement became public, and does not measure its effect.

Ramaswamy’s campaign says the video tested favorably with persuadable voters, but has not released the underlying results. Its $4 million investment will now put the attack before Ohio voters as the candidates enter the final days of the governor’s race, despite the documented abuse proceedings and the objections of prominent figures within his own party.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Every time I look at a screen, politicians and political operatives are showing a sickness of heart and mind that’s truly horrifying.

So-called “news influencers” fester like open wounds of viral rot on America’s body politic, poisoning the lifeblood of our Republic with sepsis, hallucinations, derangement of the senses.

Obscene amounts of money are being dumped into our elections by a Second Gilded Age Who’s Who of the most monstrously malfunctioning human egoists imaginable.

Races, deadlines, and the tools you need to cast your vote.

The most expensive elections in American history are bombarding Ohio families with the stupidest, most despicable campaign ads I’ve ever seen.

In Ohio, nobody can escape this stinking detritus vomited forth from the dark, depraved insides of political operatives and the “consultant” class.

They’ll spend three-quarters of a billion dollars torturing Ohioans with these ads this year, AdImpact projects.

It’s worse than that, though. The dark money special interests are getting a hell of a deal, you see.

To them, it’s only three-quarters of a billion, but on the back end, through regulatory capture, sweetheart lawmaking, government contracts, and a whole galaxy of other mechanisms, they’ll receive hundreds of billions in public goods and resources. It’s pennies on the dollar.

The public is reportedly very concerned about public corruption. They should be. I have not known an Ohio in my adult life without a staggering amount of public corruption.

Now that kind of public corruption is being normalized on the national level, with the most venomous, adolescent politics possible to go alongside it.

I’m aware that the world is full of pathological people. I just will never get used to the fact so many clearly broken, pathological people are put on political and public pedestals and worshipped, fawned over, and platformed, above the great mass of normal, good-hearted people.

I don’t really understand this morally and ethically barren hellscape era of American politics we are in, but I do know normal Ohioans pretty well.

Normal Ohioans are horrified and sick of the madness.

No decent, well-balanced person I know thinks things are going well — absolutely not in our political discourse, but also not in the general American or Ohio experience.

It seems glaringly obvious to normal Ohioans that the political class has abandoned representation of their constituents for the representation of themselves, their friends, and their preferred private and special interests.

Everywhere we turn, families get squeezed, at the grocery store, at the gas pump, for school supplies, for toiletries, for everything from a haircut to our healthcare.

I don’t think the 50-year relentless upward redistribution of wealth in America is doing the trick for Ohio families.

I think Ohio families feel that they’re getting ripped off. I think Ohio families are incredibly frustrated by it.

They turn one way, they get ripped off; they turn the other, they get ripped off again.

Here’s what frustrates me as a crusty old journalist of 20 years: This whole game is so old and so boring, and if only the people of this state and this country could realize the true power they have, they can still fix it. We can demand the best of our public servants and we do not have to settle for anything less.

We do it by standing up for ourselves. We do it by turning away from the screens and toward each other as human beings.

The screwheads and the depraved hucksters of political provocateurs, operatives, and influencers want us to dehumanize each other.

They want us to play in their game, but it’s a bloodsport — it costs human lives and robs humans of their humanity.

It robs the screwheads of their humanity too. Resentful over their lost heart, they try to drag the rest of us into losing ours.

They try to make Americans believe that other Americans are our enemies. They try to convince us that our neighbors want to destroy us, destroy our families, destroy our way of life, destroy the country.

This is all nonsense and demagoguery. Most people just want to live their lives decently and be left well enough alone.

They try to example us to be our worst selves, to narrow our minds, to live in paranoia and resentment, to shut out and reject and dominate and victimize other human beings.

This is a bunch of crap. Anybody who follows that mindset will find themselves and their lives, in time, as soulless and friendless and barren as the ancient texts and fables warned.

The solutions are simple and small but could cascade into something much larger, if humanity in 21st Century America is ever able to regain its grasp.

We stop providing a market for hate and start giving our attention to each other as full human beings, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, in our states, and in our country.

We be honest with ourselves, with each other, and about each other.

We demand honesty of those who seek to represent us in our self-government.

We demand honesty from those who demand our attention.

We demand a fair system to represent our interests and give us equal opportunity to earn our own way.

We recognize that every human being and every human life is different, and we give each other decency and grace.

We cooperate with each other in good faith to build extraordinary and beautiful things that benefit not only ourselves and our communities now but future generations, so they too may continue to cooperate and build extraordinary and beautiful things together.

We’ve gotten into this pit collectively. We can get out of it that way too.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

When confronted with records documenting the 1978 rape charge against Acton’s stepfather, Click acknowledged that the alleged abuse was bad but questioned its relevance, accusing the journalist who presented the evidence of a “bait and switch.”

The remarks came just two weeks after TiffinOhio.net published police records detailing a separate investigation into allegations that Click himself had physically and sexually abused a child connected to his former church. Those allegations were denied by both Click and the person identified as the alleged victim. Fremont police closed the case, and state investigators declined to pursue it further.

Click, a three-term Republican representing Seneca and Sandusky counties, made his comments as prominent conservatives, including a senior official in Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration, condemned a political attack video featuring Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur.

Responding to journalist Darrel Rowland, who had shared the video and described its contents as “sad,” Click wrote Tuesday morning:

“Agreed. Why would Amy lie about her upbringing. I sure hope she gets the help she needs. Her mother seems to care deeply about her wellbeing.”

Arthur’s appearance in the video has drawn intense scrutiny because she has been estranged from Acton for nearly five decades. Police and court records confirm that Arthur’s husband, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and indicted in 1978 on a charge of raping Acton when she was 12. Donna Arthur supported her husband during the proceedings and remained married to him until his death in 2004.

That history was not disclosed in the video, which portrays Arthur as a concerned mother accusing her daughter of dishonesty and urging Ohioans not to elect her governor.

Click nevertheless accepted the mother’s central allegation that Acton had lied about her childhood and suggested that Acton needed help. His response also echoed Arthur’s own claim that her daughter needed help, a claim made without substantiating evidence in the attack video.

Click accused journalist of ‘bait and switch’ when confronted with rape case

Click’s defense of Arthur prompted a direct challenge from Rowland, who pointed the Republican lawmaker toward reporting documenting the criminal case against Acton’s stepfather.

“Records confirm her mom’s husband was charged with raping Acton when she was 12…and skipped town,” Rowland wrote.

Click responded by questioning what the rape case had to do with Acton’s account of living in a tent during childhood.

“What does that have to do with a tent .? Of course that is bad. That wasn’t part of the discussion. Nice bait and switch Darell. You should be her press secretary.”

In the follow-up post, Click acknowledged the seriousness of the abuse allegations but continued defending his position that Acton’s account of living in a tent was a separate issue.

Yet the rape proceedings were directly relevant to the credibility of the person Click had just praised. Donna Arthur’s relationship with her daughter ended following the allegations against her husband, whom she supported during the proceedings. The attack video relies on her status as Acton’s mother while omitting the circumstances of their estrangement.

Acton’s childhood homelessness and sexual abuse were also described together in a detailed 2019 interview with The Youngstown Vindicator, published years before she entered electoral politics. Acton described spending a winter living in a tent outside Youngstown amid poverty, neglect and abuse that ultimately led to her removal from her mother’s custody.

Her younger brother, Philip Stearns, has separately corroborated the family’s experience of living in a tent and described the neglect, hunger and abuse they endured.

The criminal records do not independently establish where Acton lived during every portion of her childhood. They do establish that one of the most serious events she described — criminal proceedings against her stepfather over allegations of sexual abuse — occurred.

Click offered no evidence that Acton fabricated the account of living in a tent. Instead, after being presented with the rape charge against the man his preferred messenger had defended, he accused Rowland of changing the subject.

Click himself was investigated over separate child sex abuse allegations

Click’s decision to defend Arthur carries additional significance in Sandusky County, where his own history involving allegations of child sexual abuse has recently returned to public attention.

As TiffinOhio.net reported October 6, the Fremont Police Department investigated Click in fall 2025 after receiving an abuse referral from the Oregon Department of Human Services.

The September 29, 2025, referral originated with an unidentified third-party report alleging that Click and the father of an 18-year-old had physically and sexually abused the person when they were a child. The report identified Click as the person’s former pastor at Fremont Baptist Temple, where he had served for 19 years.

According to police records obtained by TiffinOhio.net, the referral alleged that the person had been beaten, starved and sexually assaulted by their father and Click.

Fremont Det. Sgt. Matthew Ranazzi located and interviewed the person identified as the alleged victim. The person denied the allegations, said they had never reported abuse by either man to anyone in Oregon and told police they did not remember Click doing anything to them.

Detectives contacted Click on October 1. Click denied ever physically or sexually abusing anyone and told police he did not remember the person named in the referral, although they “might have been a member of his church.”

The Fremont investigation was closed after the person’s denial. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which reviewed the referral because Click was a sitting state lawmaker, declined further investigation on October 8.

The allegations against Click were not substantiated by investigators, and no criminal charges resulted from the inquiry.

When journalist D.J. Byrnes of The Rooster later confronted Click about the investigation, Click repeatedly rejected the allegations, describing himself as having a clean conscience, “squeaky clean” and “ivory clean.”

Click also disputed the characterization of the person’s connection to Fremont Baptist Temple.

“Attended is not a member,” Click told Byrnes. “There’s a lot of people that come and go. I do not know them.”

Click’s previous investigation and the criminal proceedings involving Acton’s stepfather are separate matters, with sharply different evidentiary records. The allegations involving Click were denied by the person identified as the alleged victim and were not substantiated. In Acton’s case, police and court records document an arrest, grand jury indictment and subsequent flight from prosecution.

The significance of Click’s own history is not that it proves wrongdoing. It is that he has personally experienced public scrutiny over allegations of child sexual abuse, forcefully rejected accusations against himself and objected to how journalists have characterized his relationship with the person named in the police report.

On Tuesday, however, he publicly accepted an estranged mother’s attack on another person’s childhood history without presenting evidence supporting her accusations.

Click quietly left Fremont Baptist Temple months before abuse referral

Click’s relationship with Fremont Baptist Temple has itself been the subject of extensive TiffinOhio.net reporting.

Click says he stepped down as lead pastor at the end of March 2025 after 19 years, assuming the honorary title of pastor emeritus. But the leadership change was not publicly announced through any channel TiffinOhio.net identified at the time, and the church’s website continued listing him as pastor for nearly another year.

It was not until February 2026 that TiffinOhio.net first reported Click’s departure from the pulpit.

Click disputed the characterization of his departure as quiet, declaring on social media, “Actually, it was very public. You just missed it.” He did not identify a contemporaneous announcement when challenged to do so.

An October 6 TiffinOhio.net investigation subsequently established the sequence: Click says he stopped leading the church in March 2025; Oregon child welfare officials forwarded allegations involving him to Fremont police six months later; the investigation became public in November; and the church continued presenting him as pastor until after TiffinOhio.net reported the departure in February 2026.

No evidence reviewed by TiffinOhio.net establishes that Click left Fremont Baptist Temple because of the allegations that surfaced six months later. Click has said the transition allowed him to expand his traveling ministry and political activities.

Click’s years as a pastor remain central to his public identity. He has frequently framed his legislative work in terms of Christian principles, parental rights, family values and protecting children.

His record involving other lawmakers accused of misconduct has also drawn scrutiny. TiffinOhio.net previously reported that Click continued cosponsoring legislation with Republican Rep. Rodney Creech, who had been investigated following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor family member. Creech denied sexual wrongdoing and was not charged. A special prosecutor nevertheless described aspects of his admitted conduct as concerning and suspicious.

Click and Creech continued their legislative collaboration, including on a measure promoted as protecting children. The prior reporting found no public statement from Click calling for Creech’s resignation or directly addressing the special prosecutor’s findings.

Those separate episodes provide relevant context for Click’s latest remarks: a former pastor and state lawmaker who has publicly emphasized child protection, confronted abuse allegations involving himself and maintained working relationships with an accused colleague is now defending an estranged mother’s accusations against a woman whose childhood rape allegations resulted in documented criminal proceedings.

Records confirm Acton’s stepfather was arrested, indicted and fled prosecution

The documentary record of Acton’s childhood abuse allegations became clearer Tuesday when National Review and the Associated Press reported obtaining historical police and court documents.

National Review reported that Cledith Arthur, Donna Arthur’s husband, was charged with sexually abusing Acton when she was 12. The evidence included a sworn statement from Acton’s biological father, and Acton herself was called as a witness.

The Associated Press independently obtained police and court records showing that Arthur was arrested in July 1978, pleaded not guilty and was indicted by a grand jury that September.

According to the Ohio Public Media Statehouse News Bureau, authorities issued a warrant for Cledith Arthur’s arrest on October 26, 1978, after he failed to appear in court. Attempts to locate him continued in subsequent years.

The available records do not establish a conviction or the final disposition of the case, but they confirm that Acton’s childhood allegations led to criminal charges, an indictment and an outstanding warrant.

The Statehouse News Bureau also reported that Donna Arthur married Cledith Arthur in 1975, after he had been indicted for incest in an earlier case, and remained married to him until his death in Pennsylvania in 2004.

Donna Arthur acknowledged supporting her husband during the proceedings in a 2020 interview with the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue. She denied that her husband abused Acton and disputed her daughter’s childhood account, but acknowledged leaving town with him while the children remained in their father’s care.

The history makes Click’s portrayal of Arthur as a concerned mother particularly consequential. Her relationship with Acton did not end over an ordinary family disagreement. It ended amid criminal proceedings accusing Arthur’s husband of raping her daughter, proceedings during which Arthur supported her husband rather than Acton.

Other Republicans condemn the video Click defended

Click’s response also placed him at odds with prominent members of his own party and conservative commentators who condemned the attack.

Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, a former Findlay mayor serving in Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration, said the video crossed a line regardless of political affiliation.

“I don’t care what political party you belong to or which candidate you support. There are lines we shouldn’t cross, and this is one of them. We can disagree on plenty of things without losing our sense of decency.”

Mihalik shared criticism from Meghan McCain, the conservative commentator and daughter of the late Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain, who called the video a “dastardly ad” that should never have been produced.

Conservative columnist Tim Carney warned that the attack could damage Ramaswamy’s campaign, writing, “This ad could sink Vivek.” Republican strategist Liz Mair and commentator Mary Katharine Ham likewise questioned the political judgment behind using Acton’s estranged mother to discredit her.

National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez condemned the attack as despicable and amoral, arguing that it should become a political disaster.

Click, by contrast, praised the mother featured in the video, suggested Acton lied about her childhood and maintained his position after being confronted with the criminal case.

The video has circulated widely through conservative accounts supporting Ramaswamy, although its producer and funding source remain unidentified. Ramaswamy’s campaign has not established that it commissioned the recording. Its spokeswoman, Connie Luck, continued questioning Acton’s honesty Tuesday rather than disavowing the attack.

Acton’s brother defends her as Click faces reelection

Acton’s younger brother, Philip Stearns, responded Tuesday with a statement condemning the use of their estranged mother in the governor’s race.

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said.

“After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.”

Stearns described Ramaswamy as a “pathetic excuse for a man,” accusing him of exploiting his sister’s childhood trauma for political purposes.

The controversy now has a direct connection to northwest Ohio’s legislative election. Click, a three-term Republican from Vickery, faces Democratic challenger Aaron Jones in Ohio House District 88, which encompasses Seneca and Sandusky counties, on November 3.

Click’s Tuesday remarks were not an anonymous political attack or an allegation attributed to someone else. They were statements he published under his own name, followed by a second response after a journalist confronted him with the documented rape charge against Acton’s stepfather.

The records establish that Donna Arthur supported the husband charged with raping her daughter, that she remained married to him until his death, and that Acton’s account of the resulting family separation was publicly documented years before she entered politics.

They also establish that Click’s own abuse investigation was closed after the person identified as the alleged victim denied the accusations, and that Click himself denied wrongdoing.

Against that record, Click chose to describe Arthur as a mother who appeared to care deeply about Acton’s well-being. When presented with the rape case that preceded the family’s estrangement, he did not withdraw that characterization. He accused the journalist who raised it of a “bait and switch.”

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Now Acton’s younger brother is fighting back, accusing Ramaswamy of exploiting his sister’s childhood sexual abuse in a desperate attempt to damage her campaign just two weeks before Election Day.

Philip Stearns, Acton’s brother, issued a blistering statement Tuesday, October 20, after video circulated of their estranged mother, Donna Arthur, attacking Acton’s character and disputing her accounts of childhood abuse, poverty and homelessness.

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said.

“After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.”

Stearns went further in his condemnation of the Republican gubernatorial nominee.

“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”

The family’s history predates the current election by decades and was publicly described in a 2019 Youngstown Vindicator interview with Acton. Her mother subsequently acknowledged in a separate 2020 interview that she supported her husband during the proceedings involving her daughter’s rape accusation, borrowed money to hire an attorney and left town with him.

Arthur has denied that her husband sexually abused Acton. But her own account confirms that she sided with him during the allegations that ultimately separated her from both children. According to Stearns, she remained married to him until his death.

A mother who stood by her husband, not her children

The history behind Acton’s estrangement from her mother was extensively detailed on August 31, 2019, when then-Youngstown Vindicator editor Todd Franko published an interview with Acton, who was serving as Ohio’s health director under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

Acton described growing up amid poverty, neglect and instability in the Youngstown area, moving approximately 18 times during her first 12 years. She recalled living in a basement with bare walls, a sump pump, boxes and a bed. Her childhood was repeatedly disrupted by her mother’s relationships with different men, including an episode in which she and her younger brother, then approximately 8 and 5 years old, were placed alone on a bus from Nebraska to Ohio to live with relatives.

Her circumstances deteriorated further when her mother married a man Acton said had previously faced accusations of molestation. Acton told The Vindicator that the man sexually abused her between the ages of 9 and 12, eventually leading authorities to intervene.

During that period, Acton said, the family spent a winter living in a tent at a campground outside Youngstown. The Vindicator’s account was published more than seven years before the 2026 governor’s election.

“I was lucky that it got bad enough, because it got me out of there,” Acton told Franko.

Acton and her younger brother eventually went to live with their father and relatives, escaping the conditions she described in her mother’s household. Acton recalled that although money remained tight, they finally had stability, safety and enough food.

But one of the most consequential details in her account concerned her mother’s conduct after the allegations of sexual abuse emerged.

Acton described seeing her mother at the courthouse during the proceedings involving Arthur’s husband and attempting to give her a kiss.

“In the courthouse after they were charged, I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away. That was the last time I ever saw her.”

The Vindicator reported that Arthur and her husband subsequently left town while out on bond. Acton said she had neither seen nor heard from her mother since that courthouse encounter.

The precise criminal case history remains unresolved in the available published accounts. The Vindicator reported that charges had been filed, while a separate 2020 report by Operation Rescue said its search of Mahoning County court records found no criminal charges against Arthur or her husband. The underlying case records and final disposition have not been independently verified.

Whatever the ultimate outcome of those proceedings, Arthur’s own statements confirm that she supported her husband during her daughter’s accusations and left town with him.

In a June 3, 2020, interview with Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion advocacy organization that was attacking Acton’s leadership of Ohio’s health department, Arthur disputed her daughter’s account of being sexually abused and suggested that Acton’s biological father had influenced the allegations.

But the same interview acknowledged that Arthur went to court to support her husband, identified as Bud, when Acton accused him of rape. According to Operation Rescue’s account of the interview, Arthur borrowed $10,000 from her father, hired an attorney and moved away with her husband on the attorney’s advice while Acton and her brother remained in their father’s custody.

Arthur also disputed Acton’s description of their last courthouse encounter, maintaining that she had called to her daughter and that Acton turned away instead. Both accounts agree that the courthouse encounter was the last time mother and daughter saw one another.

Stearns’ statement Tuesday adds that Arthur remained married to Bud until he died.

That history is conspicuously absent from the political video now being circulated against Acton. The woman presented to Ohio voters as a mother exposing dishonesty in her daughter’s life is the same woman who, by her own admission, supported the husband her daughter accused of rape and left town with him after the accusations emerged.

Estranged mother reappears to attack daughter in governor’s race

The roughly one-minute video, which surfaced Monday night and circulated widely Tuesday, features Arthur speaking directly to the camera and accusing her daughter of dishonesty. The recording was published by Ohio political journalist D.J. Byrnes of The Rooster before spreading through conservative social media accounts.

Arthur introduces herself by describing her previous work with programs addressing sexual abuse, before launching into an attack on Acton’s credibility.

“My name is Donna Arthur, and I’m Amy Acton’s mother. I worked at Children and Family Service Association, building one of the first two sexual abuse programs in America.”

She then disputes her daughter’s description of growing up in poverty, specifically targeting Acton’s account of living in a tent during childhood.

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life.”

Arthur goes on to suggest that Acton needs help and is unfit to lead the state.

“My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” she says. “People can change, but first they have to tell the truth. And my daughter still isn’t doing that.”

She concludes by urging voters to reject her daughter.

“Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”

The video combines Arthur’s remarks with black-and-white photographs of Acton, an image of a tent in the woods and footage of the Democratic nominee speaking publicly. Messages displayed throughout include “LIES ARE BEING TOLD,” “DON’T VOTE FOR AMY ACTON” and “IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.”

The recording does not explain why Arthur and Acton have been estranged for decades, acknowledge the sexual abuse allegations against Arthur’s husband or mention her decision to support him during the proceedings.

Nor does the video provide independent evidence disproving Acton’s account of having lived in a tent. That account was already part of her publicly reported biography in 2019, years before she launched her campaign for governor.

Acton’s campaign and Stearns have accused Ramaswamy of involvement in the attack. The video has been promoted by conservative accounts supporting his candidacy, but the original producer and funding source have not been independently established, and there is no verified evidence identifying a direct role by Ramaswamy’s campaign in producing or paying for this particular recording.

The same mother attacked Acton’s childhood account in 2020

Arthur’s accusations against her daughter are not new. She made substantially similar claims in June 2020, during a period when Acton faced intense criticism from conservative activists over Ohio’s COVID-19 public health restrictions.

Operation Rescue’s 2020 article challenged Acton’s childhood biography and personal history, relying heavily on statements from Arthur, who denied that the family had experienced homelessness or food insecurity and disputed Acton’s account of moving approximately 18 times.

Arthur maintained that the family had lived in far fewer homes and that her children had always been fed and housed. She also denied that Bud sexually abused her daughter.

The organization used Arthur’s allegations as part of a broader attack on Acton’s fitness to serve as health director, criticizing her handling of abortion clinic licensing and pandemic restrictions.

In other words, the estranged mother’s accusations were already being used by conservative activists against Acton six years before the current governor’s race. The new video brings those allegations directly into the 2026 election, with Arthur herself urging voters to defeat her daughter.

What has not changed is the underlying family history. Arthur acknowledges standing by her husband in the face of her daughter’s rape accusation. Acton says the abuse and intervention by authorities led to her removal from the household. And her younger brother, who experienced the family’s separation alongside her, is now publicly defending her account.

Latest attack follows earlier efforts targeting Acton’s abuse history

The video also follows previous attacks by Ramaswamy and his political allies involving Acton’s childhood trauma and mental health history.

In April, Acton’s campaign condemned remarks by Ramaswamy concerning her experiences as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, accusing him of shaming survivors and demanding an apology.

In July, TiffinOhio.net reported that V-PAC, the billionaire-funded super PAC supporting Ramaswamy, had returned to Ohio television with an advertisement attacking Acton’s fitness to serve as governor using information from her 1994 medical licensure application.

The application disclosed that Acton had sought treatment related to emotional or mental health issues, addiction or alcohol problems, using a broadly worded question that did not separately identify which category applied. Acton’s campaign said the disclosure concerned therapy she received after surviving childhood sexual abuse.

The super PAC’s advertisement used that disclosure to suggest Acton was unfit to practice medicine or serve as governor. TiffinOhio.net’s examination found that the ad also misleadingly characterized her medical licensing evaluations.

“Vivek Ramaswamy is once again spreading lies about Dr. Acton and shaming her for being a survivor of childhood sexual assault,” Acton campaign manager Philip Stein said at the time.

Now, rather than focusing on medical records, pandemic policy or Acton’s qualifications, the latest attack uses her estranged mother to challenge the truthfulness of her childhood experiences themselves.

The controversy arrives amid a fiercely contested governor’s race in which Ramaswamy and allied Republican groups have deployed an enormous financial advantage. An Axios report Tuesday said Ramaswamy and allied groups had spent or reserved more than $97 million in television and radio advertising as of the previous week.

Despite that spending, a Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll released Friday showed Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 44%, a margin within the poll’s margin of error.

Stearns’ statement makes clear that Acton’s family views the latest attack as an exploitation of her childhood sexual abuse, not merely another dispute over campaign messaging. His defense directly challenges the credibility of the mother now being presented to voters as an authority on Acton’s past.

Acton, who became widely known for leading Ohio’s early pandemic response, has spoken openly about how childhood poverty, abuse and neglect influenced her decision to pursue medicine and public service. She was telling that story publicly long before entering electoral politics.

Her mother’s competing account has now become a political weapon in the final two weeks of the governor’s race. But the video urging Ohioans not to trust Acton leaves out the years of estrangement, the allegations against Arthur’s husband and Arthur’s own admission that she stood by him during the proceedings.

The identity of whoever arranged, produced and originally financed the video’s distribution remains unresolved. What is documented is that Arthur is once again publicly attacking the daughter she has not seen since childhood, while the son who lived through the same family separation has come forward to defend his sister and condemn the use of their family’s history in the election.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The candidates are spending heavily on TV spots to promote themselves, attack their opponents, or refute the attacks their opponents made about them.

The factor turning a glut of campaign ads into an onslaught is spending from outside groups.

In Ohio’s governor’s race, Democrat Dr. Amy Acton has repeatedly out-raised her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy, but that advantage vanishes when you factor in the Super PACs supporting Ramaswamy’s bid.

In its most recent quarterly report, the Ramaswamy aligned Super PAC, V-PAC, raised more than $18 million. A single donor, Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass wrote Ramaswamy a check for $10 million — doubling his previous contributions.

In her most recent filing, Acton reported raising $6 million in a month.

Ohio’s U.S. Senate race has drawn even more outside attention. A recent report from the advertising tracking firm AdImpact has Ohio as the most expensive Senate race in the country, with outside groups spending more than $325 million.

In both races, Republicans hold a significant financial advantage. However, polling continues to suggest a relatively close race with the Democrats holding a roughly 4-point advantage in polling averages.

The race for governor

Outside of the campaigns themselves, there are three major players buying ads in the Ohio governor’s race: committees tied to the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association, and Ramaswamy’s Super PAC.

The most recent Ohio campaign finance reports only cover expenditures through June of this year. Ramaswamy’s campaign has certainly spent more on ads since that cut off, but its reported direct spending on advertising tallies a little more than $12 million.

Over the same timeframe, V-PAC spent $14.2 million on advertising. But after the latest report? That total ballooned to $44.6 million.

The Republican Governors Association cut an ad criticizing Acton for refusing to debate. The Ohio Capital Journal reached out about how much the group spent on Acton attack ads.

In an email, an RGA spokesman said that “roughly $20 million has been spent on advertising to-date,” but did not clarify what portion of that total relates to Ohio’s race.

Acton’s campaign has spent just $3.3 million on ads through the end of June — about a quarter of Ramaswamy’s direct spending over the same span. Like Ramaswamy, she’s gotten help from her party’s governors association.

The Democratic Governors Association has run a handful of ads attacking Ramaswamy or boosting Acton. The DGA funds advertising through a new state committee called Ohioans For Lower Costs.

That group’s filings only cover transactions through the end of June, and its only reported transaction is a $1 million contribution from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The committee’s next reporting deadline is later this week.

Ohio Capital Journal emailed the DGA for information about its spending, but got no response.

#OHPol: Pro-Vivek Ramaswamy group, V-Pac: Victors, Not Victims placed $5.8M in new #OHSen ad reservations today.

Aired spending:
$87.1M $25.4M
Future reservations:
$27.5M $14.5M

— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) October 8, 2026

Regardless of the exact dollar figure, the DGA’s help doesn’t change the overall picture.

AdImpact reported earlier this month that Republican aligned groups have spent or reserved more than $100 million in ads in the governor’s race, compared with about $40 million from Democratic groups.

The U.S. Senate race

Ohio’s U.S. Senate race is following what has become a familiar pattern. Through the end of June, Democrat Sherrod Brown has raised $52 million compared to the $19 million Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has collected.

In 2022 and 2024, Democratic candidates dramatically outraised their Republican opponents, as well. Outside spending torpedoed that advantage.

The Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund has been a major — and growing — fixture in that spending.

In 2022, the group plowed $32.5 million into attacks against Democrat Tim Ryan.

In 2024, that spending nearly doubled to $63.6 million attacking Democrat Sherrod Brown.

In the current cycle, the Senate Leadership Fund has spent $54.5 against Brown so far.

They’re no longer the only big player. Trump-backed MAGA Inc. and the No Going Back PAC have poured more than $20 million into the race, and Elon Musk’s America PAC has put in another $5.7 million.

Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity has spent $10.6 million, and the cryptocurrency groups Defend American Jobs and Digital Freedom Fund have spent another $5.7 million and $3.5 million respectively.

All told, outside groups have reported spending $113.5 million attacking Brown.

They’ve also spent heavily supporting Husted. To this point, outside groups have dropped  another $58.4 million on messaging praising the Republican’s record.

The biggest share of that spending was nearly $30 million from the crypto group Defend American Jobs.

Brown’s campaign has benefited significantly from outside spending either supporting his bid or attacking Husted, but not to the same degree.

Outside groups have spent $69.5 million attacking Husted so far. Democrats’ primary Senate Super PAC WinSenate and an associated group called Duty and Country PAC accounted for $44.2 million of that total.

Meanwhile, outside groups spent a little more than $7 million supporting Brown, led by $2.2 million from the group American Bridge 21st Century.

AdImpact puts the total cost of Ohio’s Senate race at $422.6 million when you factor in spending by the candidates and the outside groups backing them.

At its highest point, GOP-aligned spending cleared $30 million in a week.

Most of that nearly half a billion dollars in advertising has already aired, but don’t expect the ads to wane before Election Day.

As of Oct. 12, AdImpact reported, there’s more than $80 million-worth in reservations in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race alone.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

In a report published Monday, MeidasTouch revealed that Ramaswamy listed West Chester, Ohio, as his home address in a July 2026 New York attorney registration. Ohio voter records, meanwhile, place his registration in the Columbus area, where he and his family relocated in 2021.

The discrepancy raises two separate legal questions: whether Ramaswamy failed to maintain accurate residential information with New York’s attorney registration authorities, and whether his Ohio voter registration accurately reflects his legal residence.

New York requires attorneys to report their home addresses and update them within 30 days of a change. Ohio separately makes it a fifth-degree felony to knowingly register to vote in a precinct where a person is not qualified.

Ramaswamy’s own gubernatorial campaign identifies greater Columbus as his family’s home, while an October 2 Forbes investigation independently documented his move from West Chester to central Ohio in mid-2021. That relocation occurred approximately five years before the attorney registration now under scrutiny.

The allegations come just two weeks before Ohio’s November 3 gubernatorial election, in which Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton, and involve a candidate who has made stricter election identification requirements a prominent part of his political agenda.

New York requires attorneys to report address changes within 30 days

Under Section 118.1 of New York’s attorney registration rules, attorneys admitted to practice in the state must provide their home addresses as part of their registration statements.

Subsection (e)(8) specifically requires disclosure of a home address, while subsection (f) requires an amended registration statement within 30 days whenever that address changes. Subsection (h) directs that attorneys who fail to comply with the registration requirements be referred for disciplinary action.

New York’s Judiciary Law Section 468-a goes further, classifying noncompliance with attorney registration requirements as conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and requiring referral to the appropriate appellate division for disciplinary proceedings.

Those obligations apply regardless of whether an attorney resides in New York. Ramaswamy was admitted to the state’s bar in 2014 and remains listed as currently registered.

According to MeidasTouch, Ramaswamy signed an affirmation certifying the accuracy of the information in his 2026 attorney registration, including the West Chester home address. The reported affirmation stated that the information was true to the best of his knowledge and belief.

If West Chester was no longer his home address when he submitted the July 2026 registration, the filing would raise a direct compliance issue under New York’s requirement that attorneys keep that information current.

The original July registration statement was not reproduced in the MeidasTouch article and has not been independently obtained by TiffinOhio.net. The publicly available New York attorney database confirms registration status but does not independently resolve the reported home-address discrepancy.

Records show Ramaswamy moved from West Chester to Columbus five years ago

The reported July filing conflicts with a residential timeline documented through property records, voter registration reporting and Ramaswamy’s own campaign biography.

In a detailed October 2 investigation, Forbes reported that Ramaswamy relocated from New York City to West Chester Township outside Cincinnati in December 2019, purchasing a newly built home for approximately $420,000.

About 18 months later, in mid-2021, Ramaswamy and his family moved to a larger home outside Columbus valued at approximately $2 million, according to Forbes.

His voter registration followed the same timeline. In August 2023, NBC News reported that Ramaswamy had registered to vote in Franklin County in November 2021.

His 2026 gubernatorial campaign continues to identify central Ohio as his home. The campaign’s official biography states that Ramaswamy and his wife, Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy, are raising their family in greater Columbus.

That account is consistent with Forbes’ documentation of the 2021 move and his subsequent Franklin County voter registration. It also makes the reported July 2026 New York filing significant: after five years in the Columbus area, Ramaswamy allegedly continued identifying his former West Chester residence as his home for professional registration purposes.

The question is whether that address accurately represented his home in July or whether he failed to update information New York law requires attorneys to keep current.

Ohio law makes knowingly registering in the wrong precinct a fifth-degree felony

The conflicting addresses also raise a separate question about Ohio’s voter-residency requirements.

Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3503.02, a person’s voting residence is generally the location where the person’s habitation is fixed and where that person intends to return when absent. The statute also identifies the residence of a married person’s family as the person’s place of residence, subject to specified exceptions.

Ohio does not permit voters to select an arbitrary precinct simply because they own property or maintain an address there. Registration must reflect the voter’s qualifying residence.

Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3599.11, knowingly registering or attempting to register in a precinct where a person is not a qualified voter constitutes a fifth-degree felony. The statute also prohibits knowingly making false statements on voter registration documents.

If Ramaswamy’s actual voting residence remained in West Chester rather than the Columbus area, his Franklin County registration would warrant examination under those requirements. Conversely, if his established residence was in Columbus, as his campaign biography and documented relocation indicate, the West Chester address reported to New York attorney authorities requires an explanation.

The two states’ legal requirements are distinct: an address discrepancy does not automatically establish either a false attorney registration or an unlawful voter registration. The Ohio felony provision specifically requires knowing misconduct. The available records do not establish that Ramaswamy knowingly registered in a precinct where he was ineligible.

Nevertheless, the conflicting records leave the accuracy of his reported residential information unresolved.

Ramaswamy has made election integrity a campaign priority

The allegations carry political significance because Ramaswamy has publicly demanded stricter identification requirements for Ohio voters while campaigning for governor.

In a May 18 column published on his campaign website, Ramaswamy called for Ohio to enshrine photo identification requirements in the state constitution, arguing that statutory protections could be weakened by future lawmakers or court decisions.

He praised President Donald Trump’s support for federal voter identification legislation and argued that constitutional protections were necessary to restore public confidence in elections.

His attorney registration is now receiving scrutiny over the accuracy of the residential information he provided to another state’s judicial authorities, while the conflicting address records have also prompted questions about the validity of his Ohio voter registration.

Acton’s gubernatorial campaign highlighted the allegations Monday, circulating the MeidasTouch report and its findings about the competing addresses and potential legal violations.

The discrepancy remains unexplained

The issue is not whether Ramaswamy once lived in West Chester. Independent reporting establishes that he did. Nor is there a dispute that he subsequently relocated to the Columbus area and registered to vote there in 2021.

The unresolved issue is why his July 2026 attorney registration reportedly identified West Chester as his home after that move, and whether the address complied with New York’s reporting requirements.

There is no established finding of attorney misconduct or unlawful voter registration arising from the discrepancy. Determining whether either law was violated would require establishing which address accurately reflected Ramaswamy’s residence at the relevant time, along with the additional legal elements applicable to each offense.

With Ohio voters preparing to choose their next governor on November 3, the newly reported filing leaves a consequential question about the accuracy of the residential information Ramaswamy submitted to New York authorities—and the consistency of that information with the Ohio voter registration records and family residence he has publicly acknowledged.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The latest federal expenditure notice lists two new $376,500 expenditures associated with October 16: one supporting independent candidate Greg Levy and the other opposing Brown. Together, the $753,000 in new spending nearly doubles the amount Enough Promises Ohio had previously reported and brings its total independent expenditures to more than $1.58 million less than three weeks before Election Day.

The filing describes the new spending as “media placement / media production.” It does not specify that the entire $753,000 is for digital advertising. What the disclosures do establish is the committee’s electoral target: it is spending heavily to elevate Levy, whose socialist campaign is running to Brown’s left, while separately paying for advertising against Brown, the Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

Levy has repudiated the mail campaign, saying it was created without his involvement and falsely represents his candidacy. The spending resembles a third-party vote-splitting tactic, in which an outside group amplifies an alternative candidate who could attract voters otherwise inclined toward a major-party opponent. In this case, the super PAC’s own filings explicitly identify Brown as a candidate it opposes.

A $1.58 million operation built in less than three weeks

Enough Promises Ohio registered with the Federal Election Commission on September 29, only five weeks before Ohio’s November 3 election. Its first reported spending went to a company called Seven Farms for political mail. An October 7 notice reported $198,519.88 to support Levy and $17,139.67 to oppose Brown; another notice, filed October 10, reported $181,380.21 more supporting Levy. Those three expenditures alone totaled $397,039.76.

Subsequent reports continued to add spending before the latest $753,000 media purchase. According to FEC-derived expenditure totals, Enough Promises Ohio has now reported about $1.1 million supporting Levy and approximately $519,000 opposing Brown. The total reflects reported independent expenditures, not contributions to Levy’s campaign, and does not establish how many voters have actually seen the advertisements.

The sum dwarfs Levy’s own campaign resources. His committee reported raising about $125,000 through September 30. The outside super PAC has reported spending approximately nine times that amount to support him, without his campaign’s authorization or participation.

The initial mail pieces pictured Levy beneath slogans such as “Join the Revolution” and “Send a Worker to the Senate.” They highlighted positions including a $30 minimum wage, universal health care and support for Palestine. Levy’s actual campaign platform is explicitly socialist, but the advertisements were paid for by Enough Promises Ohio, not his campaign. The candidate says their design and portrayal mislead voters about who is communicating with them.

The money trail leads to Trump and Moreno’s political consultants

Federal spending records identify Seven Farms, the company paid for the original mail campaign, at 100 Coastal Drive, Suite 305, Charleston, South Carolina. Another political mail vendor, Whistlestop Strategies LLC, used that same address in federal expenditure filings associated with No Going Back PAC, an outside group financed by Trump-aligned MAGA Inc.

The connection extends beyond a shared mailing address. Florida corporate filings list Big Dog Strategies LLC as an officer or director of Whistlestop Strategies. Big Dog is a Republican campaign consulting firm founded by Chris Grant, who identifies himself as a senior adviser and general consultant to MAGA Inc. and a general consultant and chief strategist for Bernie Moreno’s successful 2024 Senate campaign against Brown.

Big Dog’s senior vice president, Bryan Gray, also served as Moreno’s 2024 campaign manager. The public record therefore connects the vendor handling pro-Levy political mail to a consulting network that helped defeat Brown two years ago and worked for Trump’s principal super PAC.

The records establish that vendor connection. They do not establish that Seven Farms and Big Dog Strategies are the same legal company, that MAGA Inc. supplied the money for Enough Promises Ohio, or that Husted’s campaign directed the expenditures. Husted’s campaign has denied involvement in the mailers.

Levy says the group is impersonating him

The campaign being promoted wants nothing to do with it. In a statement reported by the Columbus Free Press, campaign spokesperson Matthew Charlebois said, “Our campaign has no ties to the PAC behind these mailers,” and accused the group of falsely impersonating Levy and using a racist caricature of the Black candidate to deceive voters. The campaign has called the portrayal a form of “digital blackface” and said it was considering legal action.

Levy is not a fictional or Republican-created candidate. He is running as an independent affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and has his own campaign, proposals and supporters. His decision to stay in the race has not changed. Levy’s campaign told Axios it would remain on the ballot while rejecting the unrelated advertising effort.

The difference matters: Enough Promises Ohio is not donating $1.58 million to Levy. It is independently buying political communications in a race that includes Levy, Brown, Husted and Libertarian William Redpath. Ohio voters can choose among those candidates; the dispute is over the identity and purpose of a heavily funded outside advertiser claiming to support one of them.

Who is paying for it remains undisclosed

Despite the seven-figure expenditure reports, the identity of Enough Promises Ohio’s donors has not yet emerged from its published itemized contribution records. The super PAC’s FEC financial summary shows no receipts in its initial reporting period, which covered only September 29 and 30. That is not evidence that the group has operated without funding; its subsequent expenditure notices disclose substantial activity after that initial period closed.

The next required report is due October 22. Under the FEC’s reporting schedule, the pre-general filing will disclose reportable receipts and expenditures through October 14. Activity after that cutoff, including the latest October 16 media spending, belongs to a subsequent reporting period.

For now, the public filings identify what the money is doing but not who is providing it: a newly formed super PAC has spent more than $1.58 million elevating a socialist Senate candidate who rejects its support and opposing Sherrod Brown, with the initial advertising flowing through a vendor linked to veteran Republican operatives. The identity of the donors financing Enough Promises Ohio remains the principal unanswered question.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The Republican senator’s remarks came Thursday, October 15, three days after the woman was assaulted inside Youngstown’s Covelli Centre during a presidential campaign rally held in part to support Husted’s reelection bid. Video captured men attacking the woman before sheriff’s deputies escorted her out of the arena, leaving the men who struck her behind.

When 21 WFMJ reporter Ally Ross questioned Husted about the incident at a campaign event in Mahoning County, the senator responded:

“I don’t know any of the details about it. I wouldn’t expect one of my supporters to go interrupt a rally that the Democrats are having, there are consequences for doing that, but they need to be handled by law enforcement and handled appropriately.”

Ross reported that Husted also acknowledged he had not watched video of the assault, despite the footage having circulated nationally for days.

The response effectively shifted the focus from the violence committed against the woman to her decision to protest, presenting “consequences” as part of the discussion of a physical attack in which she was the victim. Although Husted added that such consequences should be handled by law enforcement, his published remarks contained no explicit condemnation of the men who beat her.

The contrast with Husted’s own words just five weeks earlier was stark. On September 6, following an attempted attack against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, Husted declared that political violence had no place in Ohio and “must never be tolerated.”

Now, confronted with a violent attack at a rally for his own political party and his own campaign, Husted’s answer was that disrupting political events carries consequences.

Woman punched, restrained and dragged by the hair at Trump rally

The October 12 assault occurred while Trump was speaking at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, where he appeared alongside Husted and other Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 election.

The woman, wearing a homemade black T-shirt reading “Release the Epstein Files,” stood up and began heckling the president. Rather than being met solely with verbal objections or removal by security, she was confronted by several men in the audience.

Video examined by NBC News showed a man in a baseball cap pushing the woman before another man moved in and appeared to punch her repeatedly in the face, grab her hair and hold her in a headlock. Other footage showed the confrontation unfolding as the crowd chanted “USA.”

Law enforcement officers eventually intervened, but it was the woman who was removed from the arena. The men who struck her were allowed to remain. No arrests were made at the scene, according to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman, identified by the first name Blake, described the attack in an October 16 interview with PunchUp, subsequently published by The Daily Beast. The 29-year-old Ohio artist said she had exposed the message on her shirt and shouted “Fascist!” toward Trump before she was struck.

Blake described falling into the arena seats after the first punch. When she attempted to defend herself, she said, someone grabbed her hair and restrained her arm while she was punched again on both sides of her head.

She reported suffering a split lip, bruising, back injuries and patches of missing hair. The attack also resulted in a hospital visit, according to the interview. She declined to disclose her surname or hometown because she feared further attacks.

The woman’s account describes the physical harm behind Husted’s warning about “consequences.” This was not merely an exchange of political insults or a protester being escorted from an event. It was a documented physical assault in which men repeatedly struck a woman as she protested the president.

Her disruption of Trump’s speech did not authorize anyone in the audience to punch, restrain or otherwise physically attack her.

Trump mocked the woman as she was removed

The president’s response to the assault was itself captured on video. As law enforcement removed the woman, Trump mocked her appearance and asserted without evidence that she was a paid protester.

“He’s a paid protester. They’re all paid,” Trump told the crowd, misgendering the woman. He also called her “scum” and mocked her weight, saying she needed to go on a diet.

Rather than denouncing the men who had assaulted her, Trump used the interruption to ridicule the person being removed. Footage of the confrontation and Trump’s comments drew national coverage, including from Fox News, NBC News and People.

The rally was part of Trump’s effort to support Republican candidates in Ohio, including Husted, who faces former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the November election. Trump was criticizing Brown when the confrontation erupted in the audience.

Husted’s subsequent comments reinforced the emphasis on the protester’s behavior rather than the conduct of the men who attacked her. Asked about violence that occurred in full view of the audience at a presidential rally intended to help elect him, he raised the prospect of consequences for interrupting political events.

Five weeks earlier, Husted condemned an attack on a Democrat

Husted’s response to the Youngstown assault differed sharply from his reaction to an attempted attack on Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, at the Canfield Fair on September 6.

During that incident, an armed man forced his way toward Acton while she was appearing at a Democratic campaign event, injuring several people before Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers intervened. Acton was not injured. The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct.

Husted promptly issued a public statement condemning the incident.

“Tina and I are disturbed by the attempted attack on Amy Acton today at the Canfield Fair. We are grateful for law enforcement’s quick response. There is no place for this kind of behavior, and it must never be tolerated.”

The language was unequivocal. Husted condemned the attempted attack, praised the law enforcement response and declared that such behavior could not be tolerated.

His October 15 remarks about Youngstown contained no equivalent declaration. Instead, Husted invoked hypothetical behavior by his supporters at a Democratic rally and warned that there are consequences for interrupting political events.

The incidents occurred in the same county, little more than a month apart. In both cases, political gatherings were disrupted by violence or attempted violence. But Husted’s public responses placed the emphasis in different places: on the attacker after the incident involving Acton, and on the protester after Trump supporters assaulted a woman at his party’s rally.

The difference was not the availability of evidence that violence had occurred. In Youngstown, the attack was captured on video, including footage of a man repeatedly striking the woman and pulling her hair. Husted nevertheless said he had not watched it before commenting.

Youngstown officials condemned the attack as political violence

Other officials addressing the same incident were considerably more direct about the assault.

Youngstown Mayor Derrick McDowell condemned the violence on October 13, emphasizing that attendees at public events should not have to fear being physically attacked because of their political views.

McDowell called the attack senseless political violence and said such conduct had no place in the community or the democratic process. He said security at the rally had been provided by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service, rather than Youngstown police.

Youngstown Police Lt. Frank Rutherford was similarly direct when questioned by HuffPost about the incident.

“No one should be assaulted at an event. If you punch somebody in the face, you should get in trouble for that. That’s wrong.”

Rutherford said the department would take a complaint and investigate if the woman came forward.

Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene subsequently told NBC News that deputies had not witnessed the beating and that the woman had chosen not to file a report at the time. The sheriff’s account preceded Blake’s public interview describing the injuries she suffered. No arrests were made during the rally, and the current status of any criminal investigation or potential charges has not been independently established.

Those unanswered questions concern not only the men captured on video striking the woman, but also the response of the officers who removed her while allowing her attackers to remain inside the arena.

For Husted, the incident has produced a separate public record: two statements, five weeks apart, about political violence in Mahoning County. In September, after an attack involving a Democratic candidate, he said the behavior must never be tolerated. In October, after a woman was beaten at a Trump rally supporting his own campaign, he warned about the consequences of disrupting political events while admitting he had not watched the footage.

The men captured striking the woman were not arrested at the rally. She was the one escorted out, injured and subsequently hospitalized, according to her account. Whether her attackers will face criminal charges remains unresolved.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

An examination of Ohio campaign-finance filings by TiffinOhio.net found that Shannon Woodfin, an executive at H-1B-dependent Infinite Computer Solutions, contributed $10,000 to Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign in August and provided another $1,953.56 in catering in September. The company submitted 541 H-1B labor condition applications in fiscal 2026, according to records compiled from U.S. Department of Labor disclosures, and obtained 291 H-1B petition approvals during the fiscal year.

The donations add to Ramaswamy’s extensive history with the employment-based immigration system, one he publicly defended during a 2024 controversy over American technology companies hiring foreign-born engineers. Rather than fault employers for choosing foreign talent over American-born workers, Ramaswamy blamed American culture, declaring that the country had “venerated mediocrity over excellence” and criticizing its failure to produce enough technically skilled workers.

At the same time, two billionaire businessmen whose companies sponsor H-1B workers have contributed a combined $35 million to V-PAC, the independent super PAC established to support Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor. Jeff Yass, co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, has contributed $30 million, while Elon Musk, whose companies include Tesla and SpaceX, contributed another $5 million.

The records establish a financial and political relationship spanning Ramaswamy’s own companies, the executives supporting his campaign and major employers that continue to use the H-1B system. They also place his record on foreign-worker hiring squarely within Ohio’s gubernatorial race, where the next administration will help determine which technology businesses receive public incentives and what commitments the state demands in return.

Ramaswamy’s business empire secured 88 H-1B approvals

Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, building a pharmaceutical holding company that developed, acquired and financed an extensive network of drug-development businesses. He served as chief executive until January 2021 and remained chairman until February 2023, when he departed to pursue the Republican presidential nomination.

During his presidential campaign, Politico reported that Roivant had obtained 29 H-1B petition approvals between 2018 and 2023, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services records.

That figure represented only part of the corporate network’s immigration history.

An October 12 investigation by The Daily Beast examined federal immigration records for nine additional companies founded by Roivant, operated as its subsidiaries or otherwise associated with its business network. Together, those companies accounted for another 59 approvals, bringing the total to 88 between 2017 and 2024.

Datavant Sciences, a healthcare technology company founded by Roivant in 2017, accounted for 24 approvals between 2019 and 2024. Nine involved new employment, nine involved changes of employer, two involved continuing employment and four were amended petitions reflecting changes in employment conditions.

Lokavant, which originated within Roivant before separating in 2023, accounted for another nine approvals. VantAI, launched as a Roivant subsidiary in 2019, accounted for eight between 2020 and 2023.

Myovant Sciences, another former Roivant subsidiary, accounted for six approvals before its sale. Oncopia Therapeutics accounted for four, while Axovant Sciences, which Ramaswamy founded in 2014, accounted for three. Covant Therapeutics, Immunovant Sciences, Kinevant Sciences and Urovant Sciences accounted for the remaining approvals.

The figures come from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, which records employer petitions for foreign workers in specialty occupations. The 88 approvals include new employment, extensions, changes of employer and amendments rather than 88 separate new workers. Some approvals occurred after Ramaswamy had left Roivant’s management or after individual companies had separated from the organization.

That corporate history is significant because Roivant was not simply a company in which Ramaswamy held a passive investment. He established the business, directed its development for years and helped create the corporate structure under which numerous subsidiaries operated.

He also retained a substantial financial stake after leaving the company’s leadership.

In a May 2026 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ramaswamy disclosed beneficial ownership of 25,534,970 Roivant shares, representing 3.6% of the company’s outstanding stock. His ownership stake kept him financially tied to the business he founded as he campaigned for Ohio governor.

Nearly $12,000 from an executive at a visa-dependent technology contractor

Ramaswamy’s latest Ohio campaign-finance disclosures reveal another connection to the H-1B industry.

Shannon Woodfin of Columbus contributed $10,000 to Vivek Ramaswamy and Rob McColley for Ohio on August 22, according to the campaign’s August monthly report filed with the Ohio Secretary of State. The contribution identifies Woodfin’s employment as “Sales Infinite Computer Solutions.”

The campaign’s September report records a second contribution from Woodfin on September 23: $1,953.56 in in-kind support described as catering.

Combined, those transactions represent $11,953.56 in campaign support from an executive associated with a company that federal immigration records identify as dependent on H-1B workers.

Infinite Computer Solutions, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, is an information technology services and consulting company operating in industries including healthcare, telecommunications, finance and technology. The company publicly identified Woodfin among its healthcare business leaders in September, and professional information lists Woodfin as vice president of healthcare client services.

The company’s immigration filing history documents extensive use of the H-1B program. It submitted 564 labor condition applications in fiscal 2025 and 541 in fiscal 2026. The same database reports 291 approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2026, out of 296 petitions decided.

Infinite Computer Solutions is classified as an H-1B-dependent employer. Under federal Department of Labor rules, businesses with at least 51 U.S. employees generally fall into that category when H-1B workers constitute 15% or more of their workforce.

The designation is more consequential than simply appearing in a federal database of companies that have occasionally sponsored foreign workers. It establishes that foreign employees holding H-1B status account for a substantial proportion of the employer’s U.S. workforce.

Infinite Computer Solutions’ filings identify positions in software development, engineering and technical services. Its records also describe work performed at third-party client locations, a staffing and contracting arrangement in which the sponsoring employer places technical workers at another company’s worksite.

Federal law imposes additional recruitment and non-displacement obligations on H-1B-dependent employers, subject to certain exemptions. Those rules address both the sponsoring company’s employees and workers at outside businesses where H-1B personnel are assigned.

The campaign contributions were recorded under Woodfin’s name, not Infinite Computer Solutions. But the employer disclosed in Ramaswamy’s own campaign filing connects the donor to a business with an extensive, documented H-1B sponsorship history.

Ohio staffing firms show how the foreign-worker system operates

The use of H-1B workers at third-party client sites is not limited to large national contractors. Federal immigration filings also document the practice among smaller Ohio-based technology staffing businesses.

At Dizer Corp., an IT staffing company based in Painesville, an H-1B labor condition application filed in June 2025 identified company president Jagdish Medarametla as the employer contact. The application sought authorization for a .NET developer working at ONEOK, an energy company, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The federal labor record identified ONEOK as a secondary employer, meaning the worker would perform services at another company’s worksite rather than exclusively at Dizer’s own offices. The application also identified Dizer as H-1B-dependent.

The filing listed an offered annual salary of $86,000 and a prevailing wage of $72,592 for the position. The figures document the compensation disclosed to federal labor officials, rather than a comparison with what a specific American employee was paid.

StaidLogic, another Ohio-based technology services company, has a similar immigration record. Federal labor disclosures identify its chief executive, Kiran Basireddy, as the company contact on H-1B filings and document proposed employment at outside client sites, including ServiceNow.

According to federal-data-derived records, StaidLogic submitted 23 H-1B labor condition applications in fiscal 2025 and another 27 in fiscal 2026. It is also classified as H-1B-dependent.

Gathi Analytics, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, has sponsored technology workers under the same program. Its immigration records identify Vamsi Kora as a chief executive and employer contact, and show more than 100 labor condition applications during fiscal years 2022 through 2024. The company is also classified as H-1B-dependent.

These filings describe an established industry practice: technology service providers sponsoring foreign technical workers for employment that may take place at the offices or facilities of other businesses. They also show why the distinction between an ordinary employer that occasionally uses H-1B visas and an H-1B-dependent staffing company matters when evaluating corporate hiring practices.

$35 million from billionaires whose companies sponsor H-1B workers

Some of the largest financial supporters of Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial bid are business leaders whose companies also use the foreign-worker visa program.

Jeff Yass, the billionaire co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, has contributed $30 million to V-PAC: Victors, Not Victims, the independent super PAC established to help elect Ramaswamy governor. His contributions include $10 million in March 2025, two $5 million contributions in early 2026 and another $10 million contribution dated August 10, 2026, according to federal campaign-finance data.

Susquehanna International Group sponsors H-1B workers for positions including software development and quantitative research. Its immigration records identify 93 labor condition applications in fiscal 2025 and 92 in fiscal 2026.

Elon Musk contributed another $5 million to V-PAC in May 2026, according to federal campaign-finance records.

Tesla, the automaker led by Musk, is among the country’s major H-1B sponsors. Its federal filing history shows 2,909 labor condition applications in fiscal 2025 and 2,931 in fiscal 2026. The company’s applications include engineering, software development and other technical positions. SpaceX, another Musk-led company, also sponsors H-1B workers.

Yass and Musk have contributed a combined $35 million to the organization backing Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial candidacy. Those contributions are separate from the money received directly by the Ramaswamy-McColley campaign.

V-PAC describes its mission as electing Ramaswamy Ohio governor. The organization operates as an independent-expenditure-only committee, allowing it to accept unlimited donations while remaining legally separate from the candidate’s official campaign operation. Its receipts and spending are disclosed through the Federal Election Commission.

Unlike Infinite Computer Solutions, neither Susquehanna International Group nor Tesla is classified as H-1B-dependent in the immigration records reviewed. Their inclusion illustrates a different financial connection: two of the biggest donors financing Ramaswamy’s election effort lead or founded companies with established histories of sponsoring foreign employees.

Ramaswamy blamed American culture for companies hiring foreign-born engineers

Ramaswamy’s business history and campaign donors are accompanied by his own outspoken defense of technology companies hiring foreign-born talent.

On December 26, 2024, amid an intense debate over immigration and hiring practices in the technology industry, Ramaswamy published a lengthy statement on X explaining why major technology employers frequently favored foreign-born and first-generation engineers over native-born Americans.

His explanation focused on the shortcomings he perceived in American culture.

“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,” Ramaswamy wrote.

He criticized American society for celebrating popularity and athletic success over academic achievement, contrasting prom queens with mathematics competition winners and popular athletes with valedictorians. He argued that the country’s cultural priorities had undermined its ability to produce the technical talent that employers wanted.

Ramaswamy specifically rejected the argument that Americans lacked innate intellectual ability. Instead, he contended that the way Americans raised children and rewarded achievement helped explain the hiring decisions of major technology firms.

His position placed responsibility for the perceived shortage of American-born engineers on the country’s culture and education priorities, while defending employers’ decisions to recruit from a global talent pool.

The comments triggered a backlash from conservative figures who argued that American workers were being overlooked as companies expanded their reliance on foreign labor. The controversy exposed a division between supporters of tighter employment-based immigration restrictions and technology industry leaders who maintained that access to foreign specialists was necessary for business growth.

For Ramaswamy, the debate was not merely theoretical. He had spent years leading a corporate network with documented H-1B use, and his former companies had secured dozens of federal petition approvals. As an Ohio gubernatorial candidate, he is now receiving financial support from individuals connected to businesses that sponsor the same category of workers.

Ohio workers and the next governor’s economic development policies

The financial relationships have direct relevance to Ohio’s economic development strategy as Ramaswamy seeks the governor’s office.

Ohio has aggressively pursued technology investment, including data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities and large corporate expansions. Those projects can involve state and local tax incentives, infrastructure commitments and public resources intended to encourage businesses to invest and create jobs.

Ramaswamy has advocated expanding Ohio’s technology industry and attracting additional investment, including new data center and advanced computing projects. Such developments are frequently promoted for their potential economic benefits, although their long-term employment requirements and demands on public infrastructure vary significantly.

Federal authorities control H-1B petition approvals and the rules governing employment-based immigration. Ohio’s governor, however, appoints officials and influences the agencies responsible for economic development, public incentives and corporate recruitment.

That distinction matters because state officials can decide what employment commitments businesses must make when receiving taxpayer-supported economic development assistance. The next administration will have substantial influence over whether those agreements prioritize specific job-creation targets, wage levels, workforce development or other conditions.

The Department of Labor’s H-1B rules also recognize the consequences that foreign-worker placement can have for domestic employees. Certain H-1B-dependent employers face restrictions on displacing comparable U.S. workers within specified periods, including requirements concerning placements at other employers’ worksites. Those protections depend on the employer, the worker and the circumstances of the application.

The public records establish the central relationships: companies within Ramaswamy’s business empire obtained 88 H-1B petition approvals; he publicly defended technology companies’ preference for foreign-born engineers while criticizing American culture; a senior employee at an H-1B-dependent technology contractor provided nearly $12,000 in support to his campaign; and two billionaire business leaders whose companies sponsor H-1B workers have put $35 million behind the independent organization supporting his election.

As the November 3 election approaches, those records put Ramaswamy’s own business practices and financial supporters at the center of a consequential question for Ohio: how the next governor will use the state’s economic development authority to shape employment opportunities for the workers those public investments are supposed to benefit.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio reported owning 32,100 shares of Axovant Sciences worth $744,000 at the end of June 2017. Three months later, after the company announced the failure of a major Alzheimer’s drug trial and its stock price collapsed, STRS Ohio reported 33,100 shares worth just $227,000. The reported investment had plunged $517,000 in value, nearly 70%, even as Ohio’s share count increased.

It happened again with another Roivant-linked drug developer. On Dec. 31, 2020, STRS Ohio held 9,100 shares of Immunovant worth $420,000. On Feb. 2, 2021, Immunovant paused dosing in clinical trials of its lead experimental treatment after detecting elevated cholesterol levels in patients. The company’s stock plummeted, and by the end of March a position of the same size would have been worth approximately $146,000 — about $274,000 less than its December value.

Ohio’s March 2021 securities filing no longer listed Immunovant. That fact alone does not establish whether STRS Ohio sold its shares or retained a small position that it was no longer required to disclose. The public records establish the fund’s exposure before the crash, but do not establish its ultimate trading loss.

The pension exposure extended far beyond Ohio. Comparable holdings reported by public retirement systems in California, New York, Virginia, Florida and Wisconsin lost an estimated $7.49 million in value from stock-price declines between the quarter-end reporting dates examined. That sum is a calculation of market-price erosion on comparable share quantities, not a tally of confirmed realized losses or money transferred to Ramaswamy. It excludes a specific Immunovant loss for Ohio because its subsequent transactions remain unknown.

Ohio’s teachers’ fund lost more than half a million dollars in reported Axovant value

Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences, which held a controlling interest in Axovant. In its 2017 proxy statement, Axovant disclosed that Roivant owned 75 million shares, approximately 69.8% of the company. Ramaswamy served on Axovant’s board and held options to acquire 357,000 shares. His interests in the business therefore went beyond a distant association with its parent company.

Axovant’s centerpiece was intepirdine, an experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment. The company had acquired rights to the drug from GlaxoSmithKline under a deal involving a $5 million payment at closing in December 2014 and another $5 million payment in June 2016, plus contingent payments tied to regulatory approvals and sales milestones. Axovant subsequently pursued a large Phase 3 trial intended to establish whether the treatment helped patients.

On Sept. 26, 2017, Axovant announced that its MINDSET trial had failed both principal efficacy measures. The study, involving 1,315 patients, found no statistically significant improvement over a placebo on the designated measures of cognition or daily functioning. Shares lost roughly 70% of their value in the immediate market reaction.

STRS Ohio’s quarterly disclosures put the fallout in concrete terms. The reported value of the pension’s Axovant shares declined from $744,000 to $227,000 between June 30 and Sept. 30. Because the fund held 1,000 more shares at the end of the period, the $517,000 reduction in the total value of its reported position actually understates the change in share price on a constant holding. Applied to its original 32,100 shares, the reported quarter-end prices imply approximately $524,000 in lost market value.

Other public pension investments were hit as well. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System reported 52,949 Axovant shares worth $1.228 million at the end of June 2017 and a slightly smaller position worth approximately $357,000 at the end of September. The share-price decline on the smaller reported holding was approximately $847,000. The State Board of Administration of Florida’s 11,195 shares dropped from approximately $260,000 to $77,000, while the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s 20,000 shares declined from about $464,000 to $138,000. Those three pensions together faced an estimated $1.36 million in price-related declines over the quarter, in addition to Ohio’s approximately $524,000.

Immunovant’s 2021 clinical-trial pause sent pension holdings plunging again

Immunovant, another company in Roivant’s pharmaceutical portfolio, was developing a treatment known at the time as IMVT-1401 for autoimmune diseases. Roivant was Immunovant’s controlling shareholder. Ramaswamy had moved from chief executive to chairman of Roivant shortly before Immunovant’s 2021 setback.

On Feb. 2, 2021, Immunovant announced a voluntary pause in clinical dosing after preliminary data showed increases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol among some patients receiving the drug. In the highest-dose group studied, mean LDL cholesterol had increased approximately 65% at the 12-week measurement, according to the company. Immunovant said no serious cardiovascular events had been reported in its trials at that point and that it intended to pursue the drug’s development after further evaluation. The announcement nevertheless triggered a stock-price collapse of more than 40% that day.

By March 31, Immunovant shares were worth roughly $16 apiece, compared with approximately $46 at the end of December. Public retirement funds holding the stock saw millions in market value disappear across that quarter.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System reported 77,054 shares worth $3.559 million in December 2020 and 68,937 shares worth $1.106 million three months later. Although the fund reduced its reported share count, the change in stock price on the smaller position accounted for an estimated $2.08 million decline in value.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund held 33,800 Immunovant shares at both reporting dates. Their value fell from $1.561 million to $542,000, a decline of $1.019 million without any change in the reported number of shares. The Virginia Retirement Systems’ position decreased from 31,900 shares worth $1.473 million to 26,900 worth $431,000, representing about $811,000 of price-related decline on the smaller holding.

California’s teachers’ pension also held Immunovant. Its 56,915 shares worth $2.629 million in December 2020 became 56,540 shares worth $907,000 at the end of March 2021. The price decline on a comparable 56,540-share position was approximately $1.70 million.

Across those four Immunovant investments alone, the estimated value lost to falling share prices was approximately $5.61 million in a single quarter. Adding four Axovant holdings from 2017, including Ohio’s, brings the comparable share-price decline across the eight examined pension positions to approximately $7.49 million.

The Ohio Immunovant position remains an unanswered accounting question

STRS Ohio’s Immunovant investment presents a particularly important gap between what public securities filings disclose and what can be established about a pension fund’s actual trading results. The system held 9,100 shares worth $420,000 at the end of 2020, before the clinical pause. Its March 2021 filing contained no Immunovant entry.

That missing entry is not proof the pension sold the stock. Under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Form 13F reporting rules, investment managers may omit a position when they own fewer than 10,000 shares and the holding is worth less than $200,000. Ohio’s original 9,100 shares would have been worth about $146,000 at the end-of-March share price, satisfying both thresholds. STRS Ohio could therefore have continued to hold the shares without listing them.

If it held all 9,100 shares through March 31, their reported market value would have declined by approximately $274,000 from December. If it sold earlier, the fund’s actual proceeds and investment outcome would depend on the transaction dates and prices. The public holdings reports do not answer that question, and they cannot support a definitive claim that Ohio realized a combined $750,000 loss across Axovant and Immunovant.

What the pension records prove — and what they do not

The combined figure is based on changes in publicly reported values, with adjustments for changes in share counts. For each pair of quarterly holdings, the analysis calculated the change in value per share and applied it to the smaller of the two reported share counts. That approach isolates the price change on a comparable quantity of stock instead of counting every reduction in the size of a fund’s holding as an investment loss. It cannot determine when shares were purchased or sold during the quarter, the original acquisition cost, or the amount ultimately realized when a position was closed. It also captures the full quarter’s price movement, not solely the trading-day response to a clinical announcement.

The filings likewise do not establish that Ramaswamy or the companies deliberately targeted pension systems as investors. The retirement funds held publicly traded shares, and their investment decisions cannot be inferred from the companies’ share registers. Ramaswamy’s corporate ties are established by company disclosures, but the pension figures do not establish his own realized financial gains or losses during either collapse.

Those distinctions do not diminish the central finding. Retirement money administered for Ohio teachers was invested in two separate companies within the business empire Ramaswamy built when major drug-development setbacks sent their stocks sharply lower. STRS Ohio’s Axovant holding alone lost more than half a million dollars in reported market value during the 2017 crash quarter. Four other pension positions in Immunovant lost more than $5.6 million in comparable share value during the first quarter of 2021.

The remaining question is not whether the public pensions were exposed to the collapses. Their own federal filings establish that they were. It is how much of that market damage became a permanent trading loss, particularly for Ohio’s teachers’ retirement system, whose Immunovant transactions are not visible in the quarterly disclosures.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The number of occupations able to afford a typically priced home with a 10% down payment fell nearly 41% across Ohio’s metropolitan areas from 2020 to 2025, according to the second annual Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn’t Enough report.

“This report shows that home ownership is becoming a luxury in Ohio, and that jobs that used to be considered solidly middle class — like being a firefighter or mail carrier — are getting shut out of the American dream,” said Marcus Roth, spokesperson for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. 

Mansfield, Cleveland, Springfield, Toledo and Akron ranked among the 25 largest affordability declines in the country, according to the report. 

“Ohio’s numbers show just how quickly the path to homeownership can disappear for working families,” National Housing Conference President and CEO David M. Dworkin said in a statement. 

In Ohio, 67% of occupations could purchase a home with 10% down in 2020, but that dropped down to 26% in 2025, according to the report. 

When it came to renting a two-bedroom apartment, 77% of occupations in Ohio could afford to do so in 2020. That number dropped to 69% in 2025, according to the report. 

Mansfield experienced the biggest loss in homeownership affordability in Ohio. A typically priced home was $115,041 and the annual income needed to qualify for that home was $28,483 in 2020.

In 2025, a typically priced home in Mansfield rose to $188,863, which requires an income of $62,931 — a 121% increase, according to the report. 

Elementary and special education teachers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, firefighters, and postal service mail carriers could afford a typical Mansfield home in 2020. But by 2025, firefighters, postal service mail carriers, executive secretaries, and loan officers could no longer afford a typically priced Mansfield home. 

“In Mansfield, more than four out of five occupations could afford a typical home just five years ago,” Dworkin said. 

“Today, fewer than one in three can. When teachers, firefighters, EMTs, postal workers and other essential workers are increasingly priced out of the communities they serve, it is not just a housing problem—it is a workforce and economic problem.”

The average annual salary among occupations that lost the ability to purchase a home with a 10% downpayment between 2020 and 2025 was $70,283. 

“Ohio needs more homes at prices its workforce can afford,” Dworkin said. 

“That means building and preserving housing near jobs, reducing unnecessary costs and delays, and aligning federal, state and local policies around increasing supply. A good job should still provide a realistic path to a stable, affordable home.”

People remain renters longer when they are unable to afford to buy a home, so that means more demand for rental housing, Roth said. 

“There’s a huge (rental housing) shortage, so with so many more people that used to be in that category of homeowners or future homeowners now are solidly renters,” Roth said. 

“That increased demand has driven up the cost of rents, so we’re seeing the impact in the rental market too.” 

A full-time Ohio worker needs to be making at least $23.82 an hour to be able to afford a “modest” two-bedroom apartment, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition and COHHIO’s annual Out of Reach report.

Ohio also has a shortage of 266,000 affordable and available rental units, according to to the 2026 Gap Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and COHHIO. 

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The remarks came after Click narrowly survived a surprisingly competitive May 5 primary against Watson, a first-time candidate who came within just 600 votes of defeating the three-term incumbent. Watson won Seneca County outright and captured nearly 48% of the districtwide Republican vote despite raising substantially less money than Click, who benefited from years of established fundraising relationships and support from the Ohio House Republican caucus.

During the recorded conversation, Click was challenged over his earlier false accusation that local Democrats had donated to Watson’s primary campaign. Click acknowledged that the accusation was a mistake but maintained that Democrats would have benefited politically if Watson had defeated him.

“I actually told somebody at one time,” Click said, before describing a hypothetical general election between Watson and Jones. “If it was between Eric and Aaron, I might have voted for Aaron,” he said, laughing, “because Eric’s a nut.”

Click then added: “Don’t you repeat that.”

Click’s characterization of Watson was unusually blunt for an incumbent discussing a fellow Republican who had come close to denying him his party’s nomination.

Click, a Republican from Vickery who was first elected in 2020, ultimately secured the nomination and now faces Jones, a Tiffin city councilman, U.S. Army veteran and longtime manufacturing supervisor, in the November 3 general election.

A first-time challenger nearly unseated a three-term incumbent

Watson’s primary campaign presented one of the most serious electoral challenges Click has faced since entering the Ohio House. The Tiffin businessman campaigned to the incumbent’s right, criticizing Click’s relationships with Republican leadership, his legislative record and his positions on data centers, digital identification and property taxes.

According to the certified results from the Seneca County and Sandusky County boards of elections, Click defeated Watson by 6,884 votes to 6,284, a margin of just 600 votes, or 52.28% to 47.72%.

The incumbent actually lost Seneca County, where Watson defeated him 3,228 to 2,724. Click survived because of his stronger showing in Sandusky County, where he defeated Watson 4,160 to 3,056.

Watson’s performance was particularly notable given the financial disparity between the campaigns. Campaign-finance records previously examined by TiffinOhio.net showed Click reported $69,461.37 in contributions during 2026 through primary day, compared with $17,488.05 Watson reported across his campaign filings. Watson also relied on substantial personal funding, contributing $21,000 of his own money to finance the challenge.

The spending gap was narrower. Click’s committee reported $53,662.58 in expenditures through primary day, compared with $42,128.99 for Watson. Click’s reported expenditures included $45,000 in transfers to the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee, which subsequently reported providing $38,611.62 in support to Click’s campaign.

The primary also exposed a lasting divide between the two Republicans. In July, Watson told TiffinOhio.net he would never endorse Click, saying a post-primary conversation had failed to resolve his concerns about the incumbent’s positions on data centers and government overreach. Watson also announced plans to move out of the district.

Click had previously dismissed Watson’s candidacy and questioned his political judgment. During the primary, he told the Fremont News-Messenger that moving further to the right than him meant going “in the ditch.” In April, he mocked Watson as “the Arizona Kid”, referencing his former residence in Arizona despite Watson having grown up in Seneca County.

Watson, meanwhile, told TiffinOhio.net in February that personal insults were unnecessary and that candidates should focus on substantive disagreements.

“I’m not into the name-calling or any of that stuff,” Watson said at the time. “I really, as a candidate, want to focus on the issues that voters are concerned about.”

Click acknowledges false accusation against Democrats

The recorded conversation also revisited an August controversy in which Click falsely accused Jones and two other local Democrats of financially supporting Watson’s Republican primary campaign.

A TiffinOhio.net fact-check published August 7 found that none of the three Democrats had contributed to Watson, according to campaign-finance filings submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. Click subsequently deleted his original accusation and published a correction acknowledging that the claim had been made in error.

During the recorded conversation, Click explained that he had downloaded campaign-finance information for the 88th District and mistakenly interpreted contributions while reviewing the records.

“I made a simple mistake,” Click said. He later added: “It was a mistake, and it was a dumb mistake. I’m not even gonna say it wasn’t.”

Despite acknowledging the error, Click continued to suggest that Democrats had wanted Watson to win the Republican nomination because he believed Watson would have been easier to defeat in November.

“He would’ve been much easier to beat,” Click said.

It was during that discussion that Click volunteered his hypothetical preference for Jones over Watson, describing the former Republican challenger as “a nut.”

Click’s remarks contrast with his calls for respectful campaigns

Elsewhere in the same recorded exchange, Click repeatedly criticized what he characterized as personal attacks against him and insisted that he had treated his own political opponents respectfully.

“I have always been kind to every candidate,” Click said, later adding, “I try to be nice to my opponents. I try to keep it to policy.”

Those statements echoed his public comments during the Republican primary, when he urged candidates to “turn down the rhetoric” and argued that political disagreements should not become attacks on opponents’ character. His subsequent description of Watson as “a nut” was directed not at a Democratic adversary but at a fellow Republican whose primary challenge nearly prevented Click from advancing to the general election.

TiffinOhio.net contacted Watson for comment on Click’s recorded remarks but had not received a response by publication. Nick Kraus, a campaign consultant for Watson’s primary bid, was also contacted and declined to comment. This story will be updated if Watson responds.

Click faces Jones on November 3 in Ohio’s 88th House District, which encompasses Seneca and Sandusky counties. The election will determine whether Click secures a fourth and final term in the Ohio House after narrowly surviving a primary challenge from a fellow Republican he now acknowledges he might have passed over in favor of a Democrat.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Organizers across hundreds of advocacy groups will pull together thousands of events nationwide Saturday to encourage early voting in this year’s midterm elections. Voting is already underway in dozens of states, and roughly 5.1 million ballots – both in-person and mail – have been cast, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab.

Saturday’s “No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action” events include marches and walks to the polls where early voting is already underway and open on the weekends. Also planned are gatherings that offer live music, food and assistance for voter registration, car pool sign-ups and information on how to become a poll observer.

“The best way to prevent any funny business from this administration after Election Day is to make sure that our turnout is massive — so clear, and so overwhelming that our victory for democracy is impossible to question,” Alma Couverthie, a senior organizer with the advocacy group Common Cause, said at a Wednesday morning press conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Common Cause is one of the nearly 320 organizations coordinating the events under the direction of nine national steering committee groups.

“There is no time to sit on the sidelines. We need everyone. So I urge you, make your plan to vote early. Don’t trust in the way you voted before. Check again. Make sure you know where you’re going, how you’re going, and who you’re bringing with you,” Couverthie said.

This one is different

Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the nine steering committee groups, said Saturday’s events will be distinct from previous No Kings Day rallies in June and October 2025, and March 2026.

“It is different in the sense that No Kings One, Two, and Three were designed to send a message that the American people were not simply going to sacrifice their constitutional rights, that they were willing to stand up,” Levin told States Newsroom during an Oct. 9 interview.

The message of the three marches was “well sent,” he said, as each successive one expanded in numbers. It started with 5 million attendees across 2,100 individual events nationwide on June 14, 2025, to more than 7 million at 2,700 events on Oct. 18, 2025, and then reached 8 million across 3,330 events on March 28, 2026, according to organizers.

With Trump at historic low approval ratings, and with an “electoral wipeout” likely ahead if polls are on target, Levin said No Kings messaging “is largely completed” and that action is the next step.

“The goal of No Kings on October 17 is therefore not just to protest and get attention to the fact that people aren’t afraid to stand up, but to use this tool that is available to us right now in October, and it is a different constitutional right, not just the constitutional right to organize and make your voice heard — but your constitutional right to vote,” Levin said. 

As of Wednesday, more than 2,500 events were scheduled for Saturday in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to No Kings organizers.

Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the ACLU, said the civil liberties organization has been training thousands of volunteers to assist voters in knowing their rights and what to do if they encounter issues at the polls.

“We know that the best way to protect our freedom is to act free. That means showing up at the polls and making sure that your neighbors can show up too. See you at the polls on Saturday,” Schifeling said at the Wednesday press conference.

Joining forces

Other concerted efforts to do what organizers call “get out the vote” are joining No Kings events Saturday to amplify and strengthen their messages, leaders say.

Bishop William Barber, Repairers of the Breach founder and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, has been organizing 1,000 marches nationwide to the polls in an effort he announced in July as “Love Forward Together.”

So far, Barber’s campaign has organized 652 marches in 428 locations across the United States, according to Repairers of the Breach.

Standing before the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday alongside No Kings organizers, Barber said the overall goal despite the campaign or group “is about people being conspicuous in their courage and in their commitment.”

“There is no competition. We have one competition. We are competing against a low voter turnout that can no longer exist in this democracy if we are to have a democracy, and if we are to have a democracy that serves all the people,” Barber said. 

The Interfaith Alliance will be more than 10 days into a 15-state “The Vote is Sacred” bus tour Saturday when it stops in Charlotte, North Carolina, to join a “No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action” event.

Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush said the tour is about mobilizing faith communities to be “trained up” to recognize possible illegal interference at polling places.

“Unfortunately, this administration has threatened to disrupt. … We are going to bring the nonviolent spiritual mobilization that has been with us, and we’re going to be trained up all across the country,” Raushenbush said during an Oct. 6 interview with MS NOW’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” after the tour’s stop in Kansas City, Missouri.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but referred States Newsroom to a statement from a Republican National Committee spokesperson.

“From Virginia to Louisiana, Democrats have tried to manipulate congressional maps for political gain. Republicans are restoring the rule of law, protecting fair representation, and making it easier to vote and harder to cheat,” according to the statement from Ally Triolo, the RNC’s election integrity communications director.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

With three weeks until election day, there’s still a lot of voting to come. So far, data from the Ohio Secretary of State indicate early in-person voting is up — by a lot — while absentee voting has slipped compared to the last midterm election in 2022. Taken together, early voting in the current cycle is running behind that election.

Voters have been moving away from mail-in voting for several cycles, but growing suspicion of the process among Republicans can hardly have helped.

Despite voting by mail himself, President Donald Trump has spent years attacking it. In just one of many examples, last year he asserted without evidence that “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING.”

In Ohio, state lawmakers have eliminated the grace period for late-arriving absentee ballots and proposed — but not yet enacted — onerous new requirements like including a photocopy of your ID when voting absentee.

League of Women Voters of Ohio Executive Director Jen Miller said, “Absentee voting is secure and the most accessible method for many Ohio seniors, people with disabilities, military families, college students, and those who live far from their county Early Vote Center.”

“Absentee ballots are stored in rooms that require both Republican and Democratic keys to open,” she added. “Bipartisan teams of election workers work in concert to verify a voter’s identity before a ballot is mailed out and again when it is returned; otherwise, it won’t be counted.”

In the last few weeks, President Trump has changed his tune about absentee voting — a rhetorical reversal he’s made before.

The figures

In 2022, after a week of early voting, Ohioans had cast 50,368 ballots in person and requested 871,041 absentee ballots.

This year, 194,841 Ohioans have cast a ballot in person during the first week of early voting, or nearly four times as many as the previous cycle.

Statewide, counties have so far tallied about a third of the early in-person vote they saw in the entire 2022 election.

Franklin County, the strongest early vote performer that year, lags that statewide average slightly, but several other large counties are outperforming it.

Cuyahoga, Lucas, Lorain, and Summit counties — accounting for the Cleveland, Toledo, and Akron metro areas — have all already cleared 40% of their 2022 early vote totals.

At the same time, the number of absentee ballot requests has dropped by almost a quarter million.

So far, just 631,079 Ohio voters have asked for a mail ballot.

“I think it’s pretty easily explainable,” University of Akron Political Scientist David Cohen said. “The President of the United States for the last 20 months has been claiming that voting by mail is not secure.”

Trump’s last minute bid to boost absentee voting gets overshadowed by his past statements and actions, Cohen said.

He pointed to the president’s attempt to commandeer the U.S. Postal Service to impose new voting restrictions as one example.

The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to intervene in that case after a lower court barred the administration from going forward.

Cohen also brought up state lawmakers nixing Ohio’s grace period.

“I think there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle now that don’t actually trust (voting by mail),” he said, “and would prefer to just do it in person to ensure that their votes count.”

In terms of demographics, older voters make up the biggest share of the total so far. Seniors, for instance, have accounted for more than half of the ballots cast through Monday.

Democrats and unaffiliated voters lead Republican voters to this point. Democrats have returned about 94,000 ballots, and unaffiliated voters account for a little more than 67,000. GOP voters have cast nearly 64,000.

Although a lot can happen between now and Election Day, Cohen thinks those figures offer a warning for Republicans.

“If we believe the public opinion polling that we’ve seen,” Cohen said, “about two-thirds to maybe even three-fourths of those independent voters are voting Democrat this year.”

“There’s a reason that Donald Trump keeps coming back to Ohio,” he added, “and it’s not to vacation and it’s not to play golf.”

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Will Ohioans being wiped out by spiking premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and less medical coverage be wowed by what Ohio AFL-CIO chief Tim Burga called Trump’s attempt to “buy votes” weeks before the midterms?

Or will voters view the legally questionable windfall from a convicted felon the way Burga does — as a lame PR stunt that does little to move the pre-election needle and “reeks of desperation”? 

You decide why a president, facing historic lows in approval ratings, rushed ACA and Medicare checks to millions of Americans with campaign-like letters boasting about his greatness and signed in Sharpie Marker.

You weigh why the Affordable Care Act money was only doled out to a subset of enrollees — most Obamacare enrollees will not receive any — who also (by pure coincidence) live in many states with tightly contested U.S. Senate races.

Scrutinize, too, the propaganda notes attached to Trump’s $500 Obamacare “refund” checks.

The missives sent to households in prime political battlegrounds (falsely) accused the Biden administration of “overcharging” Americans for their health care and touted Trump’s commitment to “put America first, restore affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the cost of healthcare.”

Put a pin in those easily debunked claims. 

Trump also offered electioneering cash (attempted bribes?) to 20 million traditional Medicare Part B enrollees to offset monthly premiums of about $200 for a program that covers outpatient care, doctor visits, preventable care, etc.

Like the narrow scope of insured who received ACA checks, Trump’s one-time payments of $90 for eligible seniors  excludes roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, (who make up over half of Medicare beneficiaries) plus other people with disabilities and low-income Medicare recipients.

This midterm sweetener will cost the government $2 billion and come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, created by Congress to improve program management and conduct oversight of contracts and contractors.

The funding has been diverted before to expand healthcare coverage through the ACA, but it has never been used to directly pay recipients.

Is any of this legal? Trump writing Medicare and ACA checks without Congress? He has thrown another frontal assault on Congress’ constitutional power of the purse, but no court has blocked either payment yet.

Putting the rule of law aside, (as Trump does on the daily) the political impact of his money giveaway in the waning days of the 2026 midterm campaign is negligible in Ohio.

Don’t get me wrong. The estimated 70,000 Ohioans who got $500 ACA checks, out of the roughly 336,000 Ohio residents who still get their health insurance from the ACA marketplace, cashed them.

So did the 748,000 seniors in Ohio — less than a third of the total 2.5 million Medicare recipients in the state — who received Trump’s legally dubious $90 checks.

But the Trump pay-outs to seduce voters clobbered economically by Medicare Part B monthly premiums (that went up nearly 10% in 2026 and will climb again in 2027), or ACA premiums (set to jump 14.7% next year by the 11 remaining insurance companies on Ohio’s federal marketplace) probably won’t cause Ohioans priced out of medical care to swoon.

They know the truth. They crunch the numbers over strained budgets. Trump, and every Republican in Congress, gutted their health care funding to finance a trillion-dollar tax break for billionaires and corporations.

Last year GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill also blocked healthcare subsidies that lowered health insurance costs for over 20 million Americans.

Monthly ACA premiums more than doubled for many enrollees. Some 160,000 Ohioans, (a third of those enrolled in the state) who simply could not make those monthly premium payments, lost their healthcare coverage.

Ohio led the nation in the highest percentage of ACA enrollment decline with a staggering 32.4% drop-off between February 2025 and February 2026.

Now the state faces more than $33 billion in lost Medicaid funding over the next decade_,_ thanks again to Trump and his compliant congressional Republicans, including Ohio U.S. Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, who voted for the ridiculously named One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

More than 3 million Ohioans, nearly 1 in 4 residents, depend on Medicaid, including 40% of all children in the state.

Trump’s signature healthcare package, which slashed federal Medicaid funding by $911 billion over a ten-year period, could soon end government-sponsored health insurance for hundreds of thousands Medicaid users in Ohio just trying to get by. 

When new OBBB Medicaid work rules kick in January 1, researchers estimate millions of working Americans could lose their coverage.

The federal changes — which create heavy administrative and procedural burdens that often strip eligible low-income adults of health insurance — are expected to purge up to 356,000 Ohioans from Medicaid.

As coverage falls access to health care across Ohio disappears.

Eleven rural and safety-net hospitals in Ohio face risk of closure because of Trump’s 2025 spending law cuts to Medicaid.

Hospitals across the country have already begun cutting services and jobs in response to the devastating measure heralded by the president and his Republican puppets on the stump as their chief legislative accomplishment.

But go ahead, mail out checks to mitigate the damages wrought by the sender. Just don’t expect voters to be dazzled by a drop in the bucket that does nothing to put out the fire.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Standing in front of a judge in Austin’s Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, attorney Matthew Shrum secured a ruling that spared his client from serious punishment on a shoplifting charge.

In the hallway immediately afterward, the defendant thanked Shrum with an appreciative hug.

“She walked out of there a free lady,” Shrum observed later. “It was Christmas in October.”

The 49-year-old Austin lawyer has spent most of his 20-year legal career as a defense attorney, and since 2023, he has been affiliated with the nonprofit Capital Area Private Defender Service, one of two entities in Travis County charged with representing indigent clients who can’t afford an attorney. The Travis County Public Defender’s Office performs a similar mission.

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that under the Fourteenth Amendment, states must provide lawyers to criminal defendants who cannot afford one. But throughout Texas and many other states, the rosters of public defenders have been shrinking at an alarming rate, often leaving defendants in jail for days, weeks or months without access to an attorney.

Many public defenders are leaving, while those that remain are forced to juggle enormous caseloads. At one point, Shrum told Stateline, he had more than 500 cases. The overload facing him and other public defenders in Travis County, he said, results from “more indigent people than there were lawyers to take court-appointed cases.”

In a report to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, which was created to monitor and partly fund county indigent defense programs, researchers from the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M found that the state lost 1,345 attorneys tasked with representing indigent clients between 2014 and 2024 — nearly a fourth of all such attorneys. The decline occurred even as the total number of attorneys in Texas grew by more than 25,000.

A 2023 study by the Sixth Amendment Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ranked Texas 46th nationally in per capita spending on indigent defense at $9.19. “Some states are struggling more than others,” said Aditi Goel, the center’s executive director.

Goel said there are no national statistics on the shortage of public defenders.

“It’s a complete black box,” she told Stateline. “We do not know as a country right now. There is absolutely no way to know whether every single person is getting their right to an attorney, and if not, how long they’re waiting for their right to an attorney.”

Problems across states

But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that jurisdictions across the nation are struggling to provide attorneys to the estimated 80%-90% of criminal defendants who cannot afford one.

Earlier this year, for example, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that more than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed because there weren’t enough lawyers to represent the defendants. A 2022 report by the American Bar Association found that Oregon would need an additional 1,296 attorneys — more than three times the number it had at the time — to meet its constitutional obligations.

In Pennsylvania, a 2024 study by the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania found that in a typical year, the state’s 850 public defenders are assigned cases that would require 1,200 lawyers to provide adequate representation. Sixty of Pennsylvania’s 66 counties don’t have enough attorneys, the study found.

Last year, a report by the Deason Criminal Justic Reform Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas estimated that Kansas needed to add 277 public defenders to its roster of 123 lawyers to provide effective counsel to every indigent defendant. And a 2022 study found that New Mexico, which had 295 public defenders, needed an additional 602 full-time attorneys to provide effective counsel.

In Texas, the shrinking number of attorneys has been caused in large part by retirements and burnout among older defense attorneys and an accompanying shortage of younger lawyers or law school graduates willing to replace them. Instead, many younger lawyers are drawn to more financially rewarding jobs with private firms.

The growing complexity of evidence such as videos and body camera footage and increases in prosecution budgets also are contributing factors.

The indigent defense commission says one in three attorneys handling indigent defense in Texas is overburdened, carrying caseloads that exceed the commission’s caseload guidelines.

“It’s a big demographic problem of lawyers aging out, nobody to replace them,” said Keith Lauerman, another Austin public defender who is close to ending his 33-year legal career to become a Red Cross volunteer.  Lauerman, 70, says he’s enjoyed his years representing defendants but felt it was time to “pivot for a third act” after working as an attorney and school teacher.

Cited for contempt

A number of states and communities have been credited with taking steps to shore up support for public defenders while are others are embroiled in turmoil over the issue.

In California, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju was cited for contempt by Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman after he announced that he would periodically stop taking “a very small percentage” of new cases because of “a dramatic increase” in active cases coming into his office.

“The pressure has been tremendous,” Raju told Stateline, citing a 78% increase in active misdemeanor cases and a 56% increase in active felony cases from 2019 to 2026.  Raju, the state’s only elected public defender, was also hit with $26,000 in sanctions by Dorfman but the fines haven’t gone into effect while the case is on appeal.

The Los Angeles County Public Defender, the largest public defense agency in the country, also made news following a study that defenders are carrying workloads more than double the volume that allows them to effectively represent their clients.

A new commission co-organized by former District Attorney of San Francisco Chesa Boudin has been empaneled to push California toward new standards and legal regulations for public defense.

“There was a crisis playing out in plain view and people weren’t paying attention,” said Boudin, who is the founding executive director of the Criminal Law & Justice Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Texas is one of about 15 states in which counties bear the responsibility for representing indigent defendants, although the Texas Indigent Defense Commission provides limited state funds through grants partly reimbursing counties for their costs.

“Travis County, like a lot of counties, we have an attorney shortage,” said Geoff Burkhart, county executive for Community Legal Services, which oversees Travis County’s two indigent defense organizations. “We don’t have enough lawyers for public defense.”

Working miracles

Supporters of the Capital Area Public Defenders Service and the Travis County Public Defender’s Office turned out at a September budget hearing before Travis County Commissioners to urge a funding boost for the organizations. Kaylee Brilhart, who is in her third year as an attorney at the public defender’s office, warned that the “public defense system in Travis County is at capacity.” She said there are people in jail who have been “without attorneys for months.”

“I have clients who express gratitude just because I answer their calls from the jail or I respond to their texts or phone calls,” she said. “We work miracles in our office every day.”

The larger Capital Area Private Defender Service, known as CAPDS, was created in 2015 to manage and oversee appointments of private attorneys contracted to represent indigent clients.  The Travis County Public Defender’s Office, composed of staff attorneys and support personnel, was created in 2020 to further expand indigent services.

As of the 2024 fiscal year, the two organizations spent a total of $29 million on indigent defense services, handling 17,000 cases, with CAPDS shouldering the biggest caseload.

The leaders of both organizations say they are committed to the highest quality representation but acknowledge that the lingering shortage of attorneys is a constant challenge.  “You’re doing it because you believe in justice and want to help people,” said Adeola Ogunkeyede, the county’s chief public defender, while acknowledging that “there are not enough attorneys to represent people.”

Bradley Hargis, executive director of CAPDS, said the shortage has worsened over time.  “It started quietly,” he said. “There was an occasional shortage, an occasional day in which we were struggling to find the right attorney for each case, and then those occasional days became more regular, and then became chronic.

“It leads us, our attorneys, having caseloads greater than we would want, and really leads to overwork and burnout, and that’s what we are trying to guard against — overworking our attorneys,” he added.

Two of the state’s most populous counties — Travis, anchored by Austin, and Bexar, anchored by San Antonio —  have seen their indigent defense pools shrink by 50% over the past five years amid a 26% drop in the state’s urban counties.

In rural Texas counties, the number of public defenders has dropped by 29% in the past decade, from 1,926 to 1,371 attorneys.

After Bandera County Judge Richard Evans noticed an alarming absence of defense attorneys in his home county, he rallied leaders in neighboring jurisdictions to create the five-county Hill Country Public Defenders Office. Similar multicounty defense organizations have sprouted up elsewhere across the state.

“I really do believe we’ve improved indigent defense in the region,” said chief public defender Karli Kennell of Boerne, Texas.  The nearly six-year-old defense organization includes 20 attorneys and a staff of 30 charged with Kennell’s commitment “to go in and fight for our clients.”

“It’s important to me that my attorneys are advocates, that they’re not just a plea mill.  So now we don’t have as many people waiting in jail without an attorney,” she said.  “I do take pride in what we’ve done in this region because I think most of Texas is still struggling quite a bit.”

Pamela Metzger, executive director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at Southern Methodist University, said the stakes could not be higher.

“Every day that an arrested person doesn’t have a lawyer is a day that their constitutional rights are being violated — period, full stop,” she said.

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Community members, local business owners, organizations and students from a local school art class have transformed the streetside planters into seasonal displays, each with its own design.

Some feature skeletons surrounded by pumpkins and autumn decorations, while others combine Halloween props with flowers and greenery. One display features a large pumpkin bearing the Tiffin logo alongside a moss-covered skeleton, while another surrounds a skeleton and skulls with spiderwebs, spiders and cascading flowers.

Mayor Lee Wilkinson praised the contributions of residents and students who helped decorate downtown.

“These planters are a great example of the pride people take in our community,” Wilkinson said. “Each one is a little different, and that’s what makes them fun. It’s especially nice to see our young people getting involved and sharing their creativity. I appreciate everyone who took the time to add something special to our downtown.”

The displays will remain along Washington Street throughout October, according to the city.

The decorations also arrive ahead of Downtown Tiffin’s annual Third Thursday Trick-or-Treat and Great Pumpkin Drop on Thursday, Oct. 15. Trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses begins at 5 p.m., followed by the Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division’s Great Pumpkin Drop at 6:30 p.m. in City Lot 6.

Wilkinson encouraged residents to walk through downtown, see the displays and visit local businesses while the decorations are up.

“Sometimes it’s the little things that make our community special,” he said. “Take a walk, enjoy the creativity, and see what our neighbors have put together.”

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The three-term Republican incumbent incorrectly attributed language from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution, falsely described Israel as America’s only ally in the Middle East and suggested super PACs would not contribute to challenger Aaron Jones because they did not want to support him, although such organizations cannot donate directly to candidates.

The sharpest confrontation came after a student asked about transgender rights. Click defended his legislation restricting gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and accused Jones of lying when the challenger criticized his record. Jones responded by directing students to a website scrutinizing Click’s claims, prompting an interruption from the incumbent and applause from the student audience.

The hourlong debate was organized by the Sandusky Register, a sister newspaper of Tiffin’s Advertiser-Tribune, as part of its Register in Schools debate series. Sponsored by the Greater Sandusky Partnership and moderated by Register publisher Jeremy Speer, the event gave Fremont Ross students an opportunity to question the two candidates for Ohio’s 88th House District, which encompasses Seneca and Sandusky counties.

The candidates addressed abortion, campaign finance, artificial intelligence, government surveillance, school safety and the war with Iran. Throughout the debate, Click emphasized his six years in the Ohio House and repeatedly argued that students should evaluate what candidates had accomplished rather than what they promised. Jones, a Tiffin City Council member, Army veteran and manufacturing supervisor, challenged Click’s record and argued that Republican leadership had failed to address the district’s problems.

Click accuses Jones of lying over transgender rights

The confrontation began when Fremont Ross junior Gabriel Flores asked how the candidates would affect the transgender rights movement in Ohio.

Click responded that everyone should be treated respectfully regardless of their identity, while defending restrictions on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors. He argued that decisions involving permanent physical changes should be reserved for adults.

“As an adult, do what you want. Do what you feel like is you,” Click said. “But as a minor, we think you ought to take that time, finish growing up, and then make that decision as an adult.”

Click sponsored House Bill 68, which restricted gender-affirming medical care for minors and barred transgender girls and women from participating on female school sports teams. Republican lawmakers enacted the legislation in January 2024 by overriding Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto. It took effect that April.

Jones immediately challenged Click’s assertion that he treated everyone respectfully.

“My opponent doesn’t do what he just said, first of all,” Jones responded.

Jones argued that Ohio lawmakers had deliberately targeted transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ community through legislation, and that those efforts had no place in state government.

“I truly do believe, and I stand by anybody’s right to love who they love, to be who they want to be,” Jones said. “They shouldn’t be discriminated upon. They shouldn’t be shunned.”

Jones promised that if elected, “there will not be culture wars” and that everyone would have a seat at the table.

Click rejected the criticism, arguing that certain policies described as transgender rights were not rights at all. He referred students to LGB Courage, an organization associated with activist Jamie Reed, whom he described as a friend, and alleged that some parents had pressured gay children into transitioning because they did not accept their sexual orientation.

Click asserted that such cases were documented but did not identify any specific examples during the debate.

“Some of these things that are called rights are not rights,” Click said.

He then accused Jones of dishonesty directly.

“I support everyone making their own decisions, and I have never attacked anyone for their identity, contrary to what Mr. Jones says,” Click said. “That’s a great talking point, but it’s a lie, and you shouldn’t be lying to teenagers.”

Jones responded by pointing to a website established to challenge the incumbent’s public statements.

“There’s two people on this stage, and only one of them has a GaryClickFacts.com,” Jones said.

Click interrupted, saying the website was “put out by your party.” Jones told him to wait his turn, drawing applause from the audience.

Jones then defended his integrity by invoking his military service.

“When it comes to truth and integrity, I served this country honorably for four years and would do it again tomorrow if anybody that I served with ever asked me,” Jones said.

The exchange centered on a legislative record that is not in dispute. Click was the primary sponsor of House Bill 68, which imposed restrictions on transgender minors’ medical care and athletic participation. His insistence that he has never attacked anyone because of their identity does not change the restrictions his legislation placed on transgender Ohioans.

Click’s claims about super PAC money conflict with campaign-finance rules

Another confrontation emerged when Fremont Ross junior Keith Nelson asked the candidates about removing money from politics and reducing the influence of super PACs.

Click defended political action committees, arguing that they often represent the interests of ordinary workers and organizations seeking a voice in government.

“A lot of people try to make super PACs and lobbyists like they’re bad and they’re evil,” Click said.

He pointed to labor unions and construction trades organizations that collect contributions from members and use those funds to support candidates. Citing the operating engineers union, Click argued that such contributions could help elect lawmakers willing to advance legislation addressing worker safety.

Jones acknowledged that political campaigns require money but argued that large contributions from wealthy donors and outside interests threaten the independence of elected officials.

“I’ve been doing it for the last 10 months, and I haven’t taken a dime from a super PAC, not one,” Jones said.

He said nearly all his campaign contributions had come from residents of the 88th District and questioned why politicians should depend on large contributions from people with little connection to the communities they represent.

“At the end of the day, who are you working for?” Jones asked. “When someone’s writing you a big check, who are you working for at that point?”

Click responded by suggesting that Jones had no super PAC support because those organizations did not consider him worth supporting.

“He hasn’t taken a dime from super PACs, ’cause they won’t donate to him,” Click said. “That’s the bottom line.”

The explanation was misleading. Super PACs are independent-expenditure organizations that cannot contribute directly to candidates’ campaign committees. They can instead raise and spend money independently to support or oppose candidates, including through political advertising.

The Federal Election Commission explains that super PACs cannot make direct, in-kind or coordinated contributions to federal candidates. Ohio law similarly distinguishes independent expenditures from spending authorized or coordinated by campaigns.

Traditional political action committees, including the labor PACs Click described, are different. They can contribute directly to candidates under applicable campaign-finance laws.

“Gary’s right. The super PACs haven’t given me any money, because I’m not taking it,” Jones said. “I don’t need it. He might need it. I don’t need it.”

Jones then invoked billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in Ohio politics, asking students why someone who does not live in the state would invest heavily in its elections.

“Elon Musk, does he vacation in Ohio?” Jones asked. “Why is he so interested in Ohio politics?”

The argument over campaign contributions followed an earlier exchange about prescription drug prices, during which Jones accused elected officials generally of accepting money from pharmaceutical companies that compromised their independence. Click rejected any suggestion that he had been bought by the pharmaceutical industry and cited his legislative work on insulin pricing and emergency prescription refills.

Click cites the Constitution but quotes the Declaration of Independence

Click made another factual error when a student asked the candidates directly about abortion.

“That’s easy. I’m against it,” Click said.

Explaining his opposition, the Republican incumbent invoked what he described as constitutional protections for life.

“The Constitution says this: You have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Click told the students.

The phrase does not appear in the Constitution. It comes from the Declaration of Independence, adopted in 1776. Click incorrectly identified one of the country’s most recognizable founding passages while arguing about constitutional rights.

Click went on to declare that he would always oppose abortion.

“I’m always pro-life. I’m not ashamed of it. I’m always gonna be that way,” he said.

Jones responded by pointing to Ohio voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom in November 2023. He argued that decisions about abortion should remain between patients and their medical providers rather than politicians.

“I think government should not tell people what to do with their bodies, whether it be a male or a female,” Jones said. “I think those conversations need to be held with your medical provider.”

Click then characterized Jones’s remarks as an expression of support for abortion, pressing him to state his personal position rather than referring to the decision Ohio voters had already made.

Jones rejected Click’s interpretation.

“I never said I was for or against abortion,” Jones said. “I’m simply standing by what the law is and by what each individual’s choices should be.”

Ohio’s reproductive freedom amendment, which took effect in December 2023, protects individual reproductive decisions, including abortion. The amendment permits certain restrictions after fetal viability but requires exceptions when a treating physician determines an abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.

Click’s personal opposition to abortion remains unchanged, but Ohio voters placed reproductive freedom protections in the state Constitution despite opposition from anti-abortion lawmakers and organizations.

Click falsely calls Israel America’s only Middle Eastern ally

The candidates offered sharply different views of the war with Iran and the United States’ relationship with Israel after a student asked about the American-Israeli alliance.

“I support Israel,” Click said.

He then asserted that Israel was the only democracy in the Middle East and America’s only ally in the region.

“That is our only ally in the Middle East,” Click told the students.

The claim was false. The United States maintains significant security partnerships with several Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Those countries, like Israel, have received major non-NATO ally designations or equivalent formal recognition from the United States.

Click argued that supporting Israel did not require agreeing with every decision made by the Israeli government. He invoked the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks to defend Israel’s right to exist and its security relationship with the United States.

Jones took a sharply different position, criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to involve American forces in military operations against Iran. He argued that the United States had been drawn into a war serving Israeli interests rather than America’s own.

“Israel saw an opportunity with a guy in office who’s easily persuaded, and he conned us into fighting their war,” Jones said. “Once again, we’re fighting their war.”

Jones said the issue was personal because his nephew serves as a helicopter pilot with the 82nd Airborne and is deployed in the region.

“We got conned into this war against Iran, from Israel. That’s what happened,” Jones said. “And we need to stop it and start thinking about America.”

Click returned to the conflict in his closing remarks, defending American military action against Iran and asserting that the country posed an imminent danger through its nuclear capabilities.

“They would have brought them to America if we did not destroy those nuclear capabilities,” Click said.

Click presented no evidence during the debate supporting his prediction that Iran would have brought nuclear weapons to the United States. The statement went substantially beyond his argument that Iran should not be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon.

The disagreement reflected a broader divide between the candidates: Click defended the military operation as necessary for American security, while Jones argued that the war had been a choice made by the Trump administration and was putting American service members at risk.

Click calls for banning Flock cameras, but his bill would allow immigration enforcement use

Although the candidates disagreed sharply on several issues, they found common ground over government surveillance.

Fremont Ross sophomore Ava asked what they would do to regulate access to information collected by Flock automated license plate recognition cameras and whether misuse by authorities should be criminalized.

Click cited House Bill 1011, legislation he introduced to temporarily restrict the use of automated license plate recognition systems and certain mass surveillance technology.

“I’m not just worried about individual officers misusing it, to be honest,” Click said. “I’m worried about the government misusing it.”

He told students that he ultimately favored a complete ban.

“I don’t trust the government with all that information, so I would like to see a total ban ultimately,” Click said. “But the pause is just the starting place.”

His proposal, however, would not permanently eliminate the technology. It establishes a one-year moratorium with exceptions, including emergency alert systems and use by federal immigration agents enforcing immigration laws.

Click’s own September 11 announcement expressly identified an exception for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The legislation remains pending and has not passed the Ohio House.

The exception matters because Click’s stated concern about government misuse of surveillance data would coexist with permission for federal immigration enforcement authorities to use the technology.

Jones supported stronger restrictions on the cameras and questioned whether their usefulness justified the privacy implications and cost.

“I don’t support government, you know, Big Brother watching everything,” Jones said. “I would agree with Gary that a complete ban is probably better.”

Jones argued that police departments could spend the money on protective equipment, safety improvements and other operational needs rather than automated surveillance.

Neither candidate offered a specific proposal to criminalize misuse of the collected data, which was part of the student’s original question.

Data centers and local jobs draw contrasting approaches

The expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers also came under scrutiny after senior Lydia Hicks asked whether the candidates supported regulating AI.

Click cited House Bill 646, which he sponsored to address data center development and establish a state study commission. The legislation passed the Ohio House in March but has not received final approval from the Senate.

He argued that AI could be a useful technology but warned that data centers were expanding faster than lawmakers could establish meaningful safeguards.

Jones similarly acknowledged the benefits of technological innovation while warning about automation, employment displacement and the broader consequences of increasingly powerful AI systems.

Both candidates said regulation would be necessary, although Jones emphasized that many of the most consequential decisions would require federal involvement.

When another student asked about improving Ohio, Jones connected the technology discussion to economic conditions in Seneca and Sandusky counties. He argued that communities were losing young people because the region lacked sufficient career opportunities, particularly for college graduates seeking employment outside a narrow range of industries.

“If you graduate from college and you live in Seneca or Sandusky County, there’s not a whole lot of opportunity,” Jones said.

He called for greater investments in manufacturing, skilled trades and professional employment rather than treating data centers as a solution to the district’s economic challenges.

“We don’t need data centers to do that. We need manufacturing facilities,” Jones said. “We need professional facilities here to keep people here.”

Click countered by emphasizing industrial development and his endorsements from manufacturing and skilled-trades organizations. He also cited funding for Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers, arguing that his work in Columbus had already produced tangible benefits for the district.

Click also cited Keith’s Law, which established a voluntary database intended to help first responders identify individuals with special needs.

His repeated argument was that students should judge him by those legislative accomplishments rather than promises about what he would do if reelected.

Affordability, prescription drugs and the gas tax

Students also questioned both candidates about rising household costs, including groceries, housing, electricity and prescription medications.

Jones argued that working families were struggling under an affordability crisis that disproportionately affected middle-class households. He cited his experience supervising manufacturing employees who work full-time jobs yet still struggle financially.

He called for adequate funding for public education and protecting assistance programs for working families rather than balancing state budgets through cuts affecting people with limited resources.

“We can’t cut benefits for people that are working that need that extra assistance,” Jones said. “It’s a hand up, not a handout.”

Click responded by discussing what he called the benefits cliff, in which workers can lose public assistance as their earnings increase, sometimes leaving them financially worse off despite earning more money.

He described how his mother struggled with that problem while raising three children and cited bipartisan legislation he had worked on to address it.

On prescription drug costs, Jones blamed the influence of pharmaceutical industry money in politics, arguing that corporate contributions compromised elected officials and contributed to high medication prices.

Click rejected any suggestion that he personally had been purchased by the pharmaceutical industry, pointing instead to legislation addressing insulin pricing, emergency prescription refills and education about sudden unexpected death from epilepsy.

The candidates found more agreement when junior Caleb Seibert asked what Ohio should do after the state’s temporary gas tax suspension expires.

Click defended the 90-day tax reduction and said lawmakers would have to evaluate economic conditions before deciding whether additional relief was warranted. Jones supported the temporary suspension but said the state could not indefinitely forgo transportation revenue without accounting for the consequences.

The gas tax holiday, enacted through House Bill 519, began October 4 and runs through January 2, 2027. The legislation includes a $725 million transfer from state reserves to offset the temporary reduction and preserve transportation funding.

Both candidates acknowledged that Ohio lawmakers cannot directly control global oil prices. Jones also criticized the ongoing war with Iran, tying the conflict to economic uncertainty and higher energy costs.

Students challenge candidates over school safety and online predators

Several students used the debate to question the candidates about issues affecting their own safety and education.

Junior Gracie Overmeyer asked how Ohio should address school shootings, particularly as schools impose stricter cellphone restrictions.

Jones supported the use of school resource officers, controlled building access and other security measures, while acknowledging the fear students face in an environment where school violence remains a concern.

Click cited legislation he said was prompted by an incident at Old Fort schools involving a student who brought a loaded gun to school. He described changes allowing conditions to be imposed before certain students return following serious disciplinary incidents, including counseling requirements.

Both candidates supported restrictions on student cellphone use during the school day. Jones compared the problem to cellphone distractions among adults at the manufacturing plant where he works, while Click defended state efforts requiring school districts to establish policies.

Another student asked about protecting minors from online grooming. Jones cited investigations by the Tiffin Police Department targeting online predators and argued that law enforcement should continue receiving resources for that work.

Click emphasized personal safety online and supported legislation requiring age verification for certain applications and websites.

The candidates also addressed college affordability. Jones favored stronger state funding, additional grant opportunities and expanded access to education. Click highlighted Ohio’s College Credit Plus program and scholarship opportunities intended to encourage students to attend college and remain in the state.

When sophomore Kaitlyn asked why excused school absences still counted against students’ attendance totals, both candidates admitted they did not know the applicable rules.

Jones said he would need to consult school officials. Click likewise acknowledged that he did not know whether the issue was governed by state law or local policy and invited the student to contact his legislative office.

The exchange was one of the few moments in which both candidates openly acknowledged not having an answer rather than attempting to defend a position.

Click defends Republican record as Jones calls for change

The candidates closed the debate by returning to their competing arguments about experience, accountability and the direction of state government.

Jones criticized nearly two decades of Republican control in Columbus, arguing that the party responsible for governing Ohio could not credibly distance itself from the problems facing the state.

“In the state of Ohio, one party’s been in charge for 19 years, and that same party says they need to fix the problems,” Jones said. “But they’ve been in charge for 19 years, so we have to look at who caused the problems.”

Click defended the Republican governing record, pointing to the state’s rainy day fund as evidence of fiscal improvement. He then attacked Jones for criticizing state government without detailing accomplishments from his three years on Tiffin City Council during the debate.

“Aaron has done nothing but complain and tell you what he will do or what should happen,” Click said. “He’s been on the city council for three years, and he’s not told you one thing that he has done that helps the city of Tiffin.”

Click returned once more to the message he had introduced at the beginning of the event, telling students to use their critical thinking skills when evaluating the candidates.

That appeal came after a debate in which Click had accused his opponent of lying, misstated the source of a famous founding document, falsely described America’s alliances in the Middle East and presented a misleading explanation of super PAC contributions. Those statements were made before students participating in an event specifically intended to encourage informed civic engagement.

Jones framed the election as a choice between continuing Republican leadership and changing the direction of state government, while Click asked voters to reward his legislative record with another term.

Voters in Seneca and Sandusky counties will decide between the two candidates in the November 3 general election.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted voted for an Ohio law that explicitly exempted public utilities from new restrictions on taking private property for commercial development, preserving their ability to use eminent domain to acquire land for power lines. Nearly 20 years later, American Electric Power is planning transmission corridors across southern Ohio to serve a massive artificial intelligence data center, and property owners face the possibility of having land rights taken for the project.

Husted was speaker of the Ohio House when lawmakers developed the 2007 eminent domain overhaul. He appointed House members to a task force studying the issue and joined the Senate president in selecting public members, including a man who would later become a FirstEnergy lobbyist. On June 27, 2007, Husted voted for Senate Bill 7, which passed the House 71-27 and took effect that October.

The legislation restricted the use of eminent domain to transfer property for economic development, but its definition of public use specifically exempted transfers to public utilities, municipal power agencies and common carriers. It also presumed that utility facilities and projects undertaken by public utilities qualify as public uses. That distinction matters today: A transmission line built to deliver power to a privately operated data center can still be a utility project for eminent domain purposes.

The law went further. Under Section 163.09, a public utility that presents evidence that an appropriation is necessary receives a rebuttable legal presumption in its favor. If a state or federal regulator approves the appropriation of the particular property interest, the statute provides an irrebuttable presumption of necessity. Those provisions can change the terms of a court fight between a utility seeking a transmission easement and a landowner resisting it.

Husted’s task force included a future FirstEnergy lobbyist

The process began after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo decision intensified scrutiny of governments taking private land for economic development. Ohio lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 167, creating a task force to examine the state’s eminent domain rules. The January 24, 2006, Ohio House Journal records Husted appointing Reps. William Seitz, Bob Gibbs and Joseph Koziura and jointly appointing public members with the Senate president.

One of those public members was Ty Pine, then listed as a representative of small businesses. The task force delivered its recommendations in August 2006, and Senate Bill 7 incorporated recommendations from its work the following year. Its final text retained the utility exception even as lawmakers imposed new protections against other economic-development takings. Utilities already held condemnation powers before 2007; Husted’s vote protected their treatment under the new restrictions and supported additional presumptions favoring them in condemnation proceedings.

Pine subsequently became FirstEnergy’s Ohio director of state affairs and helped the utility build legislative support for House Bill 6, the 2019 nuclear bailout law at the center of Ohio’s FirstEnergy corruption scandal. He received a $25,000 bonus after the legislation passed, according to reporting by The Blade. Pine invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in a 2024 regulatory deposition and later testified under a court order in 2025. He has not been charged with a crime in the scandal. Pine was appointed to the task force as a small-business representative years before joining FirstEnergy.

AEP invoked the 2007 law against Ohio landowners

The practical importance of those protections was on display in a dispute involving AEP’s Ohio Power subsidiary. When property owners in Washington County resisted the company’s proposed easements for an electric transmission upgrade, Ohio Power filed eminent domain actions and claimed the benefit of the presumptions in the law Husted supported.

The dispute reached the Ohio Supreme Court in Ohio Power Co. v. Burns. According to the court’s December 2022 opinion, a company right-of-way representative testified that Ohio Power generally sought more property rights in proposed easements than were necessary for a project, then narrowed the demands if the landowner contested them in litigation. In the Washington County case, the company withdrew a request for distribution-line rights after the property owners challenged its necessity.

Ohio Power argued that government approvals entitled it to a conclusive presumption that the disputed easements were necessary. The justices rejected that argument because regulators had approved the transmission project without examining the particular property rights Ohio Power sought to take. The company did receive a rebuttable presumption of necessity based on evidence it presented, but the Supreme Court required a separate determination of the need for each challenged easement term.

FirstEnergy Service Company filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to reverse the lower court decision in Ohio Power’s favor. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation supported the landowners. The case did not concern a data center, but it established that an AEP subsidiary had already sought to use the 2007 statutory protections in a real fight over Ohioans’ private property.

Now AEP wants miles of new transmission lines for a data center

AEP’s current expansion would bring the same underlying question — when a utility can compel a property owner to surrender land rights — to a much larger power project. In March 2026, AEP Ohio announced plans for $4.2 billion in transmission infrastructure to serve a planned 10-gigawatt data center campus at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon. The project is part of a broader development involving new power generation and one of the world’s largest proposed artificial intelligence computing facilities.

The Baku-Gavin transmission project alone would build approximately 51 miles of 765-kilovolt line through Pike, Jackson and Gallia counties. Ohio regulators estimate its cost at $1.1 billion. According to AEP’s project information, its steel lattice towers would typically stand around 155 feet tall, with rights-of-way approximately 155 to 200 feet wide. Other proposed routes and power-grid improvements would extend the construction footprint across more of southern Ohio.

Residents in Ross County have also confronted possible routes being studied for connections to the Piketon development. In September, the Chillicothe Gazette reported that landowners Laura Dill Morton and Mason Purdum had received notices that their farmland could be affected by new transmission lines. They described uncertainty about potential routes and the possibility of eminent domain. Those Ross County feasibility-study areas are distinct from the pending Baku-Gavin application, and the reports do not establish that their properties have been condemned.

AEP says the data center developer has committed to paying for the $4.2 billion in transmission investments to help avoid increases in transmission rates for other Ohio customers. That financial commitment does not eliminate the question facing property owners whose land may be needed for transmission corridors: whether they will agree to easements, or whether a utility will seek to acquire those rights through eminent domain.

The Baku-Gavin application remains pending before the Ohio Power Siting Board, which has scheduled a public hearing for October 27 at 6 p.m. at Jackson Middle School Auditorium. The lines have not all been approved, and the specific land interests ultimately needed will depend on routing and regulatory decisions. But the statutory framework utilities can use to pursue those interests was protected and strengthened in legislation Husted supported as Ohio House speaker, long before the state’s data center boom began.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Vernon Edwards, an Amherst resident classified by Ohio authorities as a sexual predator, appeared repeatedly alongside his wife in Ramaswamy’s advertisement about rising property taxes. His criminal record was not difficult to find: A nearly 20-year-old Ohio appellate court ruling documents his conviction, while the state’s public sex offender registry lists his offenses, photograph and identifying information. According to The Bulwark, which exposed Edwards’ appearance Wednesday, his registry photograph even shows him apparently wearing the same patriotic shirt Ramaswamy personally complimented when they met at a county fair.

Rather than discovering the conviction before producing and distributing the commercial, Ramaswamy’s campaign acknowledged it had been unaware of Edwards’ history after The Bulwark asked about it. Campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said the man had been removed from the advertisement. The campaign also deleted an earlier social media video showing Ramaswamy interacting with Edwards, according to the publication.

Eight-year sentence for sexually abusing a child

Edwards’ criminal history is documented in a November 15, 2007, decision from Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals, which upheld his eight-year prison sentence.

According to the ruling, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Edwards on four counts of gross sexual imposition involving his niece, who was younger than 13. Edwards pleaded guilty to two counts under an agreement that dismissed the remaining charges and required him to stipulate to classification as a sexual predator. A judge imposed two consecutive four-year prison terms, totaling eight years.

The proceedings also revealed allegations involving additional children in Edwards’ family. The appellate court recounted that evidence presented at sentencing indicated Edwards had molested several other nieces. Those incidents were never separately prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.

Edwards appealed his sentence, arguing that the trial judge improperly considered conduct for which he had not been charged. The appellate court rejected that argument, finding that the additional conduct was not the sole basis for his punishment. The court noted that the sentencing judge considered the lasting harm inflicted on the victim, the impact on both families and Edwards’ risk of committing another offense.

The appellate judges upheld the sentence. Edwards’ conviction remains documented in the court’s published opinion, and the Ohio Attorney General’s offender registry continues to identify him under the state’s former sexual predator classification, which carries lifetime registration requirements.

None of those records were confidential. The criminal case, the eight-year sentence and Edwards’ sex-offender registration were publicly documented long before Ramaswamy’s campaign selected footage of him for its television advertising.

Ramaswamy complimented the same shirt visible in sex-offender registry

The encounter that eventually put Edwards in a gubernatorial campaign commercial began at the Lorain County Fair in Wellington, which ran August 23 through 30, according to the fair’s official schedule.

Footage subsequently published by Ramaswamy’s campaign showed Edwards greeting the candidate and shaking his hand. Ramaswamy complimented Edwards’ patriotic shirt. Later, Edwards’ wife, Patricia “Patty” Edwards, approached Ramaswamy and became emotional while describing her struggle with rising property taxes and her fear that the family could lose its farm.

According to The Bulwark, the patriotic shirt Ramaswamy admired appears to be the same one Edwards wore in the photograph displayed on Ohio’s sex offender registry. The registry also listed identifying information matching the Amherst address associated with the family.

The interaction became the foundation of a professionally produced campaign advertisement. Ramaswamy’s team contacted Patty Edwards about recording the commercial, which featured her speaking directly to the camera and sitting at a kitchen table while discussing the financial pressures facing her family.

Although Patty Edwards was the principal spokesperson, the campaign incorporated several shots of her husband into the television spot. The original advertisement was publicly circulated before the campaign acknowledged Edwards’ conviction and announced his removal.

The distinction between the two appearances is central to the episode. Ramaswamy’s initial handshake with Edwards was an encounter with a member of the public at a county fair. The subsequent television advertisement was a campaign production, assembled from selected footage and distributed to promote Ramaswamy’s candidacy for governor. At that stage, his campaign had the opportunity to check the identities and backgrounds of the people it chose to feature.

Campaign claims ignorance, then removes Edwards

When The Bulwark confronted Ramaswamy’s campaign with Edwards’ criminal history, spokesperson Evan Machan said the campaign did not know about the conviction and was changing the commercial.

“We had no knowledge of the circumstances now being reported,” Machan told the publication. He added: “The man has been removed from the ad.”

Machan defended the advertisement’s central message, arguing that high property taxes were forcing Ohio families to consider leaving their homes and that Ramaswamy would address the issue.

The campaign’s explanation did not account for how Edwards passed through the production process without his publicly documented criminal history being identified. His conviction was available through Ohio’s court system, his sexual predator classification was listed in a searchable state registry, and his photograph provided another means of identifying him.

After supplying its statement to The Bulwark, the campaign also removed the earlier social media video of Ramaswamy’s interaction with Edwards. The publication reported that at least one Republican state representative who had shared the footage also deleted the post. The removals followed the news organization’s inquiry, although the reporting did not establish whether those accounts independently decided to delete the footage.

Wife disputes allegations despite guilty pleas and upheld sentence

Patty Edwards, whose concerns about property taxes were the focus of the commercial, defended her participation in an interview with The Bulwark. She said Ramaswamy’s campaign had approached her about telling her story, not her husband, and emphasized that she was not accused of any wrongdoing.

She also disputed the accusations underlying her husband’s criminal case, alleging that prosecutors had withheld evidence favorable to his defense. She argued that he had served his punishment and had since been an exemplary citizen.

Her account does not change the disposition of the criminal proceedings. Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty to two felony sexual offenses involving a child younger than 13, received an eight-year prison sentence and unsuccessfully challenged that sentence before an Ohio appellate court. The separate allegations concerning other nieces were considered during sentencing but did not result in additional convictions.

Nothing in the reporting indicates that Patty Edwards committed a crime or was involved in her husband’s offenses. The campaign’s vetting failure concerns its decision to place Vernon Edwards in the advertisement without identifying a criminal history that had been publicly documented for nearly two decades.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has said it removed Edwards from the commercial, but its response did not disclose how widely the original advertisement aired or what background checks, if any, had been performed before its release.

The footage was not merely an unplanned encounter captured on the campaign trail. Ramaswamy’s team selected it for a television advertisement intended to influence Ohio voters, distributed that advertisement and only announced Edwards’ removal after journalists brought his conviction to its attention. By then, the public records establishing his crimes had been available for almost 20 years.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The October 9 report by journalist Harri Leigh documented a country-of-origin label on a campaign shirt distributed to volunteers over the summer. The shirt was manufactured by Gildan, a Canadian apparel company with factories around the world, including in Bangladesh. The findings put Merrin’s own campaign spending practices at odds with a central theme of his pitch to working-class voters in Northwest Ohio.

Merrin, a former Ohio state representative seeking a rematch against Kaptur in the November 3 election, has repeatedly blamed the longtime congresswoman for the decline of American manufacturing. His campaign has distributed mailers promising good jobs, larger paychecks and products made in Ohio, according to Spectrum.

But when Spectrum confronted Merrin about the foreign-made shirts and asked what standards candidates who promote American manufacturing should apply to their own campaigns, he did not directly answer. Instead, he accused Kaptur of favoring foreign businesses.

“Marcy Kaptur is pro-China and pro-Mexico,” Merrin said, according to Spectrum.

The accusation is particularly notable given Kaptur’s documented record of opposing major trade agreements with both countries.

Kaptur opposed landmark trade agreements with China and Mexico

Merrin’s suggestion that Kaptur favors China and Mexico omits two consequential votes from her congressional record. On November 17, 1993, Kaptur voted against the legislation implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement, which eliminated many trade barriers among the United States, Mexico and Canada. The legislation passed the House 234-200.

On May 24, 2000, Kaptur also voted against legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations with China. That measure passed 237-197, with support from 164 Republicans and 73 Democrats.

Both votes came during major national debates over whether expanded international trade would benefit American consumers and businesses at the expense of domestic manufacturing employment. Kaptur opposed the agreements despite support for them from prominent figures in her own party.

Those votes do not settle every question about Kaptur’s decades-long trade record, but they provide significant context missing from Merrin’s accusation. The congresswoman opposed two of the most consequential trade measures involving the very countries he invoked when questioned about his campaign’s foreign-made merchandise.

Kaptur has also publicly supported domestic purchasing requirements for federal defense contracts. Her congressional office identifies Buy America provisions as a means of helping Northern Ohio manufacturers, including tool-and-die companies, foundries and machine shops, compete for federal business.

Campaign shirts linked to manufacturer with labor controversies

The merchandise identified by Spectrum was made by Gildan, a major international apparel manufacturer that has faced scrutiny from labor-rights organizations over conditions in its manufacturing and supplier operations.

A 2024 investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium identified Gildan among the principal buyers from APS El Salvador, a garment factory that closed in 2022 without paying workers approximately $1.9 million in wages, severance and other benefits. The organization reported recovering $1.35 million from buyers to compensate affected workers, while continuing efforts to secure the remaining funds.

Spectrum also reported allegations concerning working conditions at facilities in Honduras and Haiti, as well as protests in Bangladesh following the October 2025 death of a pregnant Gildan employee who workers alleged had been denied medical leave and assistance. Those allegations concern the company’s broader operations; Spectrum did not establish that the particular factory producing Merrin’s shirts was involved in those incidents.

Separately, on October 8, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Gildan and a wholesale distributor had amended a contract provision restricting discounts available to competing distributors. The agency closed its price-discrimination investigation following the change. Gildan said it had not admitted wrongdoing or paid a monetary penalty.

The Spectrum investigation does not establish who selected the shirts for Merrin’s campaign, how many were distributed or where campaign graphics were printed onto them. The country-of-origin label does establish that at least some of the shirts distributed to volunteers were manufactured outside the United States.

Kaptur campaign says its shirts are American-made

The two campaigns have taken different approaches to their merchandise, according to the same Spectrum investigation.

Kaptur’s campaign told the outlet that its T-shirts were manufactured by Royal Apparel, a U.S. company with production facilities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Spectrum obtained one of the campaign’s shirts and confirmed that its label identified it as made in the United States using imported yarns.

Kaptur emphasized the importance of domestic production in her interview with Spectrum, saying the country needs to make products rather than merely purchase them.

The distinction is especially relevant in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, where manufacturing employment and the consequences of overseas production have been recurring political issues. Merrin has made the loss of industrial jobs a central criticism of Kaptur’s tenure, while Kaptur has spent much of her congressional career advocating for domestic manufacturing and trade protections.

The candidates are facing each other for the second consecutive election. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s official results, Kaptur defeated Merrin by just 2,382 votes in 2024, receiving 181,098 votes to Merrin’s 178,716. Libertarian Tom Pruss received another 15,381 votes. The 2026 rematch will take place under congressional district boundaries adopted in 2025.

As the November 3 election approaches, Merrin has offered no direct explanation in the Spectrum interview for why a campaign built partly around bringing manufacturing back to the United States distributed apparel manufactured in Bangladesh. The original investigation did, however, establish a concrete difference in how the two campaigns sourced at least some of their merchandise.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

However, Acton’s success with donors got swamped by Ramaswamy’s personal wealth. In August and September, Ramaswamy made $5 million-plus in loans to his campaign.

In all, Ramaswamy has staked more than $36 million of his personal fortune on his bid for governor. Because those funds are structured as loans, he can pay himself back with money from donors.

Ohio’s monthly reports cover contributions for statewide candidates in July, August and September. Campaigns aren’t required to share their expenditures over that timeframe. Still, the reports offer a glimpse of a campaign’s finances during the months between the post-primary and pre-general reports.

Acton’s latest figures

During the month of September, Acton’s campaign raised slightly more than $6 million. In August, the campaign raised $4 million, and in July it brought in $5.8 million.

The campaign’s biggest donor in September was the Ohio Democratic party. The state candidate fund gave her $232,000 across three different donations. Aside from that, Acton collected several contributions organized labor, fellow candidates and interest groups.

Unions representing bricklayers, auto workers, teachers and firefighters all gave $10,000 or more. Emily’s List, which backs female candidates who support abortion access, and the PAC for America’s Future, which supports Democratic state candidates, both effectively maxed out for Acton.

Among others, she got big donations from the CEO of the major league soccer team FC Cincinnati, a vice president at Oracle, and a couple of nursing home executives.

More than $5.5 million of Acton’s September contributions came from individuals, and $3.5 million, or 63%, of that total came from Ohioans.

Ramaswamy’s contributions

In September, Ramaswamy’s campaign raised a little more than $3 million. Its August fundraising was just shy of $2.6 million and in July the campaign brought in nearly $4 million.

Where Acton’s donations from political action committees lean toward labor, Ramaswamy’s lean toward business.

Committees representing Ohio hospitals and contractors both maxed out for Ramaswamy. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce gave $16,000, and American Property Casualty Insurance gave $16,600. Two groups representing home builders gave a total of $10,000.

Ramaswamy also got significant backing from OHCANN, a trade group representing licensed cannabis companies in the state. In September, the group gave $15,000 between two donations.

The cannabis industry shows up in Ramaswamy’s big ticket individual donations as well.

The President and CEO of Illinois-based Green Thumb, which operates Rise Dispensaries, both maxed out in September.

Ohio Chamber executives Steve Stivers and Rick Carfagna, both former lawmakers, tapped funds leftover in their previous campaign accounts, giving Ramaswamy $5,000 and $2,000 respectively.

Ramaswamy also cashed big checks from the CEO of NetJets, a partner with the commerical real estate firm the Daimler Group, and leaders for the car dealerships Ricart Automotive and Kerry Automotive group.

Ramaswamy even got max donations from a father and son running an antiquarian book and photograph shop in New York.

A bit more than $1.6 million, or 57%, of the $2.8 million Ramaswamy raised from individuals in September came from Ohioans.

Ramaswamy’s loans

The campaign’s most substantial influx of cash, however, came in the form of Ramaswamy’s personal loans.

On the one hand, his largesse makes good on an early campaign promise. In July last year, he pledged to put at least $30 million behind his election effort.

Acton has outraised Ramaswamy on a regular basis, but the sum total of her donations since entering the race still fall about $5 million short of Ramaswamy’s personal contributions alone.

In addition to his $5 million loans in the two most recent monthly reports, Ramaswamy has made several highly specific loans ranging from $39,984.22 to $136,749.

The Ohio Capital Journal requested comment from Ramaswamy’s campaign but got no response.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, recently introduced Ohio Senate Bill 477 and Ohio state Rep. Eric Synenberg, D-Beachwood, is planning on introducing his own bill in the coming weeks. 

“We are not trying to prevent Ohioans from using e-bikes and e-scooters,” Synenberg said. 

“Our goal is to make sure that riders understand the rules and risks before they ride, and give motorists, pedestrians, local government, law enforcement, and businesses clear and consistent expectations.”

The bill would also ban riders younger than 18 from using high-powered e-bikes. Currently, Ohio law says a rider has to be at least 16 to rent a “low-speed micromobility device.” 

“These devices are not toys,” Synenberg said. 

“Unfortunately, not all of our kids are mature enough to have that kind of responsibility. We believe the state has an obligation to make sure all riders understand the risks before they get on these devices.”

Ohio organizes e-bikes by three classes. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can go about 20 miles per hour with a mild pedal assist. 

Class 3 e-bikes can go up to 28 miles per hour with light pedaling. Riders must be at least 16 to operate a Class 3 e-bike and wear a helmet in Ohio. 

“Current law has no (age) limit for the Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes,” Synenberg said. “A six-year-old could be riding one.” 

Children 11-14 made up nearly 40% of all pediatric injuries related to e-bikes and scooters nationwide, according to data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

By mid-July, Akron Children’s Hospital surpassed the total number of e-bike and e-scooter injuries it treated in 2025, DeMora said. 

“These injuries include brain injuries, fractures, road rash, lung contusions, and injuries to major internal organs,” he said. 

“We’ve seen serious injuries and fatalities when e-bikes and e-scooters are struck by vehicles, including fatal crashes and hit and runs not only in metropolitan areas but in rural areas like Brown and Athens County.” 

A 58-year-old man riding an e-bike recently died from injuries he sustained after being hit by a van in Columbus.

The bills would set a 10 mile-per-hour limit on shared-use paths and five miles-per-hour limit on sidewalks. 

Personal e-bikes and e-scooters would also need to be registered with the state, which includes a $25 registration fee. Failure to register would result in a minor misdemeanor and the possibility of the vehicle being impounded for 30 days, Synenberg said. 

Several cities in Franklin County have their own regulations for e-bikes and e-scooters, but DeMora said that doesn’t go far enough. 

“It becomes increasingly difficult when every community has different rules, and riders may not know what requirements apply when they cross a line from one community to another,” he said.

The use of e-bikes and e-scooters will go down during winter months, but Synenberg said he wants to have these regulations in place by the spring. 

The Ohio lawmakers are currently on break and will come back after the November election. Any bill that does not pass before the two-year General Assembly ends in December would have to be reintroduced. 

“In lame duck, all things are possible,” DeMora said.  

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed hospital closures and openings that occurred between 2010 and last year. They found that closures increased by 4% year over year, while new hospital openings decreased 3% year over year.

The study comes as health systems across the nation brace for the effects of the broad tax and spending measure passed by congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act is projected to cut federal Medicaid spending by an estimated $886.8 billion over the next decade, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.

The law includes $50 billion in rural health grants to be distributed to states over five years, but the funds are for a wide variety of initiatives, with limitations on how much hospitals can benefit.

Public attention has mostly focused on struggling rural hospitals, but the Harvard researchers found that urban hospitals also have been vulnerable: The closure rate was 9.1% for urban hospitals and 8.3% for rural hospitals. Across both rural and urban areas, hospitals that were for-profit, small or safety-net, or served the most vulnerable counties — such as those with higher poverty rates or less access to transportation — were most likely to close.

Overall, 432 hospitals closed between 2010 and 2025 while 216 opened, leading to a net loss of over 24,000 beds. Rural areas were less likely to see a new hospital, as the new facilities were mostly urban, for-profit and small. Rural communities are more likely to have fewer doctors per capita and a lower overall number of patients.

Of the hospitals that closed, about 73% shut down completely, while the remaining retained outpatient care, including rural emergency hospital care.

The Midwest and the South saw the most closures overall, and there were more closures in states that didn’t expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, according to the study.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

“My fiscally conservative values will protect your tax dollars and ensure we maintain a balanced budget for the county,” Frankart says in a campaign commercial airing on WBVI 96.7 FM, a Fostoria-based radio station.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture payment records compiled by the Environmental Working Group, Ridge View Farms, the Clyde-area grain operation Frankart identifies as his own, received $4,489,683 in federal commodity, disaster and conservation payments from 1995 through 2025. Of that amount, $3,768,460 was attributed to farms in Seneca County, $681,963 to Sandusky County and $39,260 to Huron County.

EWG’s Seneca County recipient rankings place Ridge View Farms first in total subsidies attributed to the county over that period. The next recipient on the list, Kingland Farms of Tiffin, received $2,241,109 in county-attributed payments.

Frankart’s 2026 campaign website says he and his family own and operate Ridge View Farms. His official county biography says he took over the farm after his father’s death in 1995 and has been its sole owner since 2011. The EWG year-by-year figures show that $2,286,098 of the farm’s federal payments came from 2011 through 2025, during the period the county describes as his sole ownership.

The payments are recorded as receipts to the farming operation, not as Frankart’s personal income. The records do not, by themselves, indicate that any program rules were broken. They do document the scale of federal financial support received by a business whose owner has made fiscal conservatism a recurring part of his public identity.

Frankart, a Republican elected commissioner in 2022, is seeking a second four-year term in the Nov. 3 election against independent candidate David Ziegler, an Eden Township trustee.

Trade-war bailout, pandemic aid and decades of crop payments

Most of Ridge View Farms’ recorded federal assistance came through commodity programs. EWG lists $3,591,379 in commodity payments, compared with $481,768 in disaster payments and $416,536 in conservation payments during the 31-year period. Commodity programs include agricultural price and revenue supports, along with special assistance enacted or administered in response to disruptions in farm markets.

One of the more substantial identifiable programs was the Trump administration’s Market Facilitation Program. Ridge View Farms received $452,099 through that program, according to EWG’s Seneca County payment records, more than any other recipient listed in the county. The USDA describes the program as direct assistance for farmers affected by foreign retaliatory tariffs and trade disruptions during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Ridge View Farms also received $221,437 through the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, according to EWG’s program records. The USDA established CFAP 2 to provide financial assistance to agricultural producers facing market disruptions and related costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the trade-aid and pandemic-aid figures are components of the overall subsidy total, not additional payments on top of $4.49 million.

The payments have continued in recent years. Ridge View Farms received $398,242 in 2020 and $246,863 in 2023, followed by $39,810 in 2024 and $22,805 in 2025. The three years since Frankart took office as commissioner in January 2023 account for $309,478 in payments recorded by EWG. The database tracks money paid under federal programs; it does not establish the farm’s expenses, profitability or the financial losses underlying individual assistance payments.

A fiscal-conservative message stretching back years

Frankart’s statement on WBVI is not an isolated campaign claim. In an August 2019 campaign letter, he wrote that “sound budgets and strategic plans are important for any business or public entity,” citing his experience running Ridge View Farms and serving as an Adams Township trustee. An accompanying résumé described his township record as “fiscally responsible and conservative.”

After taking office, Frankart continued to use similar language. During deliberations over the 2024 county budget, he said, “This was a more conservative approach to the budget,” according to a December 2023 county release. His official biography identifies Trump and Ronald Reagan as the presidents who best represent his values.

Frankart’s pledge to balance the county budget concerns local government finances, while Ridge View Farms’ payments come from federal agricultural programs. His public statements about fiscal responsibility do not establish that he opposes farm subsidies. But the payments present a direct question about which forms of federal spending he supports and whether he believes the programs that benefited his farm should be preserved, reduced or changed.

TiffinOhio.net provided Frankart with the subsidy figures and sought his response to questions about their accuracy, his ownership of Ridge View Farms, his support for the federal programs and how the payments fit with his stated fiscal principles. He did not respond by the publication deadline.

Frankart, a Republican elected commissioner in 2022, is seeking a second four-year term in the Nov. 3 election against independent candidate David Ziegler, an Eden Township trustee. His current campaign continues to promise protection of county tax dollars; his position on the specific federal farm programs that have paid millions to Ridge View Farms remains unanswered.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

He is challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Mike DeWine when J.D. Vance resigned to become vice president.

On Oct. 2, Brown responded to emailed questions from the Ohio Independent about the stakes of this year’s election.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

With the war in Iran fueling high gasoline prices, inflation continues to make the cost of living higher for Ohioans. What would you do in the Senate to make things more affordable?

The first thing we need to do is end this reckless war in Iran.

In the Senate, I’ll fight to ensure data centers pay the full cost of their electricity so that Ohioans aren’t footing the bill. Local communities should decide whether or not a data center comes into their community, not out of state corporations and billionaires. 

We must make it illegal for drug companies to charge Americans more for the same drug than what they charge in other countries. I’ll push to ban health insurance companies from denying people care their doctors say they need. 

KFF estimated in 2025 that the combination of Medicaid cuts in the federal budget package and the expiration of ACA marketplace subsidies would leave about 340,000 more Ohioans without health insurance by 2034. What is your plan to make sure more people can get affordable health insurance and can actually get care when they need it?

My plan is to rescind the $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid that has put hospitals at risk across Ohio. 

In Ironton, I met with Ohioans to discuss how rural communities are struggling to find affordable health care, especially as hospitals brace for potential closures. In Jackson, I heard from veterans who rely on the local VA for health care and are fed up with Jon Husted for standing by as workforce cuts at the VA and soaring health care costs have made life harder for Ohio veterans. In Scioto County, I met with Ohioans whose local hospital is threatened by a bill that Jon Husted was the deciding vote on. 

To me, politics and governing have never been about left or right. It’s about whose side you’re on. I’m on your side. I’m on the side of families across Ohio who deserve affordable health care. That’s why I’m in this race. I’m running to stand up for Ohio’s working families. Not Wall Street. Not the drug companies. Not wealthy corporations. 

Over your time as a senator, what steps did you back to lower costs for consumers (prescription drugs, health insurance, housing, or other areas)?

I know what some Ohioans may be thinking: there’s no way we can get any of this done. The system is too broken for any progress. I understand that cynicism. We’ve come to expect all this from Washington, for good reason. But I know we can change things for the better because we’ve done it before. Together, we capped the price of insulin at $35 for Ohioans on Medicare. We expanded health care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. We saved the pensions of thousands of Ohioans who were ripped off by Wall Street. Together, we fought for the Social Security Fairness Act that made sure every Ohio public service worker and their spouses would receive the full amount of their earned Social Security benefit. 

You have proposed a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and lobbying by ex-lawmakers. Why are these steps important and how does political corruption affect Ohio families?

Last year, members of Congress made more than $635 million in stock trades. Far too many members of Congress over the years have become lobbyists. No one who serves in Congress should be able to trade stocks. They also shouldn’t be able to turn around when they leave office and become a lobbyist. If you can’t agree to that, you shouldn’t be in public office. Ohioans deserve a senator who puts workers over billionaires and their own self-interests. 

The Husted campaign declined a request for an interview.

Husted’s campaign site says he “works for everyday Ohioans” and “made Ohio the least costly state in the Midwest to start and maintain a business.” In the Senate, he repeatedly voted against resolutions directing President Donald Trump to remove the U.S. military from the Iran war, opposed a resolution to terminate Trump’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, voted against a three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies, and voted for the 2025 budget package that slashed tax rates for wealthy individuals and cut about $1 trillion from the Medicaid program over a decade.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

In a 37-page decision issued Thursday and announced Friday, the justices unanimously denied a request to remove Stidham from the ballot but divided sharply over the legal reasoning. Three justices relied on the challenger’s delay in filing suit, three would have dismissed the case because they believed he lacked standing, and Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy concluded that the challenger had not established a legal right to the requested relief.

The result leaves Stidham’s candidacy intact ahead of the Nov. 3 election while failing to produce a controlling ruling on whether the Republican committee was subject to Ohio’s Open Meetings Act when it selected him. The dispute arose after Republican officials used a process established by state election law to fill a vacancy on the ballot, then conducted the selection meeting without allowing the public inside.

Attorneys Gina R. Grandillo and Christopher E. Liebold, who represented Erie County voter Carl Koebel in the challenge, criticized the decision Friday, arguing that the court should have resolved the legality of the nomination process rather than denying relief without establishing whether the public had a right to observe it.

“We are disappointed in the Court’s decision because we believe this case presented an important opportunity to protect transparency in Ohio’s elections,” Grandillo said in a statement. “When political officials exercise authority granted to them by Ohio law, the public deserves to know that the process is lawful and accountable.”

Republican officials barred the public from nomination meeting

The dispute began after state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, who had won the Republican primary for the 89th House District, withdrew his candidacy on Aug. 4. His departure triggered a replacement process under Ohio election law, which authorizes a district committee composed of party officials from the counties within the district to select a new nominee.

On Aug. 10, Republican officials from Erie, Ottawa and Huron counties met to choose Swearingen’s replacement. The meeting was closed to the public. According to the Supreme Court’s findings, a member of the Erie County Board of Elections attempted to attend but was denied entry.

The committee selected Stidham, then chairman of the Erie County Republican Party and himself a member of the committee responsible for choosing the nominee.

Four days later, the Erie County Board of Elections divided 2-2 over whether to certify his candidacy. The two members who voted against certification objected to the closed meeting and to Stidham’s participation in voting on his own selection, according to the court’s opinion.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose broke the tie on Aug. 20, siding with the certification of Stidham and placing him on the general-election ballot.

Koebel filed his lawsuit on Sept. 14, challenging the certification and arguing that the committee was required to comply with Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. The law generally requires public bodies to conduct official business in meetings open to the public. The central dispute was whether that requirement extends to a political party committee exercising statutory authority to select a replacement candidate.

Three justices rejected the case over a 25-day delay

Rather than decide that question, the court’s principal opinion denied Koebel’s requested writ of mandamus under the doctrine of laches, which permits courts to reject claims when unreasonable delays prejudice the opposing parties.

Justices Patrick Fischer, Jennifer Brunner and Megan Shanahan joined that reasoning, finding that Koebel waited too long after LaRose’s Aug. 20 certification decision to bring his challenge.

The opinion cited the preparations election officials had already undertaken. The Erie County Board of Elections mailed 33 absentee ballots to military and overseas voters on Sept. 18, tested voting machines on Sept. 21 and submitted an order for 36,450 printed ballots on Sept. 23. The justices concluded that the 25-day delay prejudiced election officials and that an earlier lawsuit might have allowed the court to act before critical ballot deadlines.

“Because we deny the writ based on laches, we do not address the merits of Koebel’s claim,” the opinion stated.

Kennedy expressly disagreed with that reasoning. In a separate opinion, the chief justice concluded that election officials and Stidham had failed to demonstrate the material prejudice required to bar Koebel’s lawsuit. She noted that granting relief would not necessarily have required election officials to reprint ballots; the court could instead have ordered that votes for Stidham not be counted.

“The disagreement among the justices matters,” Liebold said in Friday’s statement. “The principal opinion treated the timing of the lawsuit as dispositive. Chief Justice Kennedy concluded that the necessary material prejudice had not been shown. That is a meaningful disagreement about whether the Court should have reached the substance of this dispute.”

Justices also divided over voters’ right to challenge elections

Kennedy nevertheless agreed that Koebel was not entitled to have Stidham removed from the ballot. She concluded that he had not established a clear legal right to the relief he sought or a corresponding legal duty requiring LaRose and the Board of Elections to provide it.

Her analysis distinguished the committee’s nomination of a candidate from a political party committee’s appointment of someone directly to a vacant public office. Kennedy reasoned that the election statute governing replacement nominees did not expressly require an open meeting and that LaRose’s duty when breaking the Board of Elections tie did not include investigating the committee’s proceedings.

That reasoning differed from the principal opinion, which declined to consider the merits of Koebel’s Open Meetings Act argument. Kennedy’s separate opinion did not establish a controlling interpretation of the Act’s applicability to district nomination committees.

Justices Patrick DeWine, Joseph Deters and Daniel Hawkins took a third approach. They agreed that Stidham should remain on the ballot but would have dismissed Koebel’s case because, in their view, he had not demonstrated the particularized injury necessary to bring the lawsuit.

Four justices rejected that position. Fischer, Brunner, Shanahan and Kennedy recognized Koebel’s standing as a qualified elector seeking to compel election officials to perform their legal duties.

Brunner devoted a separate opinion to defending that principle, warning that adopting DeWine’s interpretation could undermine nearly 150 years of precedent allowing voters to seek judicial enforcement of election laws. She criticized his approach as potentially restricting election-related activity protected by the First Amendment.

For Koebel’s attorneys, the disagreement over standing represented another significant aspect of the decision. Grandillo said her client deserved recognition for challenging the nomination process rather than accepting the certification without question.

“Carl Koebel remained faithful to his belief that election officials must be accountable to the people they serve,” she said. “He had the courage to challenge a process that raised serious transparency concerns, even when that meant taking on established political officials.”

Transparency dispute remains unresolved

Grandillo and Liebold maintained that the lawsuit concerned the public’s right to observe a legally prescribed process, not a demand that outsiders control the Republican Party’s selection of its candidate.

“This was not about allowing outsiders to choose a political party’s candidate,” Liebold said. “It was about whether the public could observe a selection process created and governed by Ohio law.”

The distinction is central to the case. Ohio election law explicitly establishes the mechanism for replacing a withdrawn nominee, including which party officials participate and how they certify the replacement. Whether that statutory role transforms the committee into a public body subject to open-meeting requirements was the question Koebel asked the justices to resolve.

The court’s ruling establishes that Stidham will remain on the November ballot. It does not establish that closing the nomination meeting to the public complied with the Open Meetings Act.

“We brought this case because we believe transparency is not optional when public authority is being exercised,” Liebold said. “That principle should apply consistently, regardless of the political party involved.”

House District 89 includes Erie and Ottawa counties and portions of Huron County. Voters there will decide the seat on Nov. 3 with Stidham’s name on the ballot, while the legal question surrounding the meeting that selected him remains unresolved by the Supreme Court’s controlling judgment.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

That was one Sandusky County resident’s reaction on social media to renewed reporting about child sex abuse allegations involving state Rep. Gary Click, the Republican lawmaker who spent 19 years as pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple before quietly stepping away from the pulpit last year.

Another commenter, who said they knew Click personally, described longstanding discomfort with his interactions with children.

“First of all, I know this man as well and I’ve always thought something wasn’t right with him the way he was around the younger children always creep me out,” the person wrote.

The comments are among several reactions circulating on social media following TiffinOhio.net’s reporting this week on the former pastor’s police investigation. They reflect anger, distrust and concern among some residents of the county Click represents in the Ohio House, particularly those familiar with his years in church leadership.

The allegations originated in September 2025, when Oregon child welfare officials forwarded a third-party report accusing Click and another man of physically and sexually abusing a child who had attended Fremont Baptist Temple. Fremont police interviewed the person identified as the alleged victim, who denied being abused by either man. Click also denied the allegations. Police closed the case, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined further involvement.

The investigation was first reported in November 2025 by D.J. Byrnes of The Rooster. TiffinOhio.net’s examination of police records this week, alongside its reporting on Click’s previously undisclosed departure from church leadership, has returned the allegations to public attention.

Click has forcefully rejected the accusations. In an interview published Friday by StayTunedSandusky.com, he described them as politically motivated.

“Clearly, the allegations against me are not only false but malicious,” Click said.

Parents revisit their experiences with Click’s church

The reactions carry particular weight in Fremont, where Click was not simply a politician whose name appeared on ballots and campaign signs. He led Fremont Baptist Temple from 2006 until March 2025, serving generations of local families while building a second career in state politics. His official Ohio House biography lists decades of work involving youth ministry, Christian education and children’s programs.

For the commenter who expressed relief about removing their sons from the church nursery, the allegations prompted a retrospective judgment about their family’s experience. Another person’s account went further, describing personal unease about Click’s behavior around younger children.

Neither comment independently establishes misconduct, and the Fremont police report does not identify an allegation involving the church nursery. But the reactions illustrate how the news is being received by some people with personal connections to the community Click served for nearly two decades.

Others expressed anger or an absence of surprise. “Not surprising. He is a complete scumbag,” one commenter wrote. Another used sarcasm to convey a similar sentiment: “I’m more shocked than when my printer breaks down before a major deadline.”

The comments do not establish what the entire Fremont community thinks of Click. They do, however, document a response sharply different from the image of the longtime pastor and family-values advocate that Click has cultivated throughout his political career.

Click’s pastoral departure has also become part of that discussion. He says he stepped down as lead pastor at the end of March 2025, six months before police received the abuse referral. But TiffinOhio.net found no public announcement from Click, his legislative office, his campaign or the church disclosing the transition at the time. Fremont Baptist Temple continued identifying him as pastor for nearly another year.

When the newsroom reported the departure in February 2026, Click insisted it had been public. “Actually, it was very public. You just missed it,” he wrote on X. He did not identify an announcement when asked to provide one.

Click has said leaving day-to-day church leadership gave him greater freedom to travel and expand his national ministry. The police records do not establish that the departure was connected to the allegations later forwarded by Oregon authorities.

A resident recalls Click’s answer about sexual predators

The allegations have also prompted at least one local commenter to revisit Click’s performance at a Sandusky County Republican candidates’ forum earlier this year, including a question that now carries renewed significance.

“This explains his total deflection to the question of dealing with pedophiles during Republican candidates’ night prior to the primary election,” the commenter wrote. “Someone needs to pull that question and answer from video footage.”

The exchange is already part of the public record.

On March 19, 2026, Click appeared alongside Republican primary challenger Eric Watson at a forum hosted by the Sandusky County Republican Women. During the event, Click was asked how he would help fight sexual predators in Ohio’s 88th House District, which includes Sandusky and Seneca counties.

He did not directly answer the question.

Instead, Click pivoted to House Bill 693, legislation addressing parents who refuse to affirm a child’s gender identity, and discussed the treatment of transgender children in state child welfare policy.

“We’re calling Johnny Johnny and Susie Susie,” Click told the audience.

That response was documented by TiffinOhio.net on March 19, more than six months before the latest reporting on his police investigation.

The timing adds another dimension to the exchange. By the time Click appeared at that forum, Fremont police had already investigated the allegations against him and closed the case. The allegations had also been made public by The Rooster four months earlier.

Click did not mention the investigation during his answer about sexual predators. Instead, he directed his response toward legislation concerning transgender children, a subject that has been central to his political career.

The resident’s suggestion that the response reflected Click’s own circumstances is an interpretation, not something established by the recording or the police report. But the underlying exchange happened, and the lawmaker’s choice to answer a question about sexual predators by discussing transgender children is documented.

A history of defending political allies against scrutiny

The community reaction also arrives against a longer record of Click’s responses to allegations involving fellow Republican politicians.

Click previously called state Rep. Rodney Creech, a Republican from southwestern Ohio, his “good friend” and repeatedly praised him in public social media posts. Their legislative relationship continued after allegations surfaced that Creech had engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct with his minor daughter.

During the investigation, Creech acknowledged getting into bed with his daughter while wearing only his underwear but denied sexual misconduct. A special prosecutor described aspects of his behavior as “concerning and suspicious” but declined to file criminal charges.

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman removed Creech from his committee assignments in May 2025 and asked him to resign. Creech refused. Huffman eventually restored his committee assignments in February 2026.

Click, who had publicly celebrated Creech as a friend, did not publicly join the calls for his resignation. Instead, the two continued cosponsoring legislation, including proposals Republicans promoted as protecting children from inappropriate adult conduct and requiring surveillance cameras in licensed child care centers.

Click also dismissed reporting about President Donald Trump’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a confrontation with Ohio journalist D.J. Byrnes in 2025.

“What are you gonna do when it comes out that that’s all fraud? And he’s not a part of that?” Click demanded when questioned about The Wall Street Journal’s reporting concerning a birthday card allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein.

Moments later, Click acknowledged he had not read about the birthday card.

“I haven’t even read about that birthday card,” he said. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

The recorded exchange showed Click suggesting that reporting involving a powerful political ally was fraudulent without having examined the specific report being discussed.

Those earlier episodes have taken on new relevance as residents revisit Click’s record. He has repeatedly presented child protection as a defining legislative priority, particularly when advancing restrictions on transgender health care and public performances. Yet his public conduct toward accused or scrutinized political allies has produced a very different record of confrontation and accountability.

Click calls the allegations malicious

After Fremont police received the Oregon referral on Sept. 29, 2025, Det. Sgt. Matthew Ranazzi located and interviewed the person identified as the alleged victim. The person denied having been beaten, starved or sexually assaulted by Click or their father and said they had never reported such abuse to anyone in Oregon.

Detectives visited Click’s home on Oct. 1. He was in Columbus, but later spoke with Ranazzi by telephone. Click told police he did not remember the person identified in the referral, although they “might have been a member of his church.” He also denied ever physically or sexually abusing anyone.

When Byrnes later confronted him on camera, Click described himself as having a clean conscience and repeatedly used the phrase “no there there” to reject the allegations. He called himself “squeaky clean” and “ivory clean.”

Click also challenged the characterization of his relationship with the family, insisting that merely attending Fremont Baptist Temple did not mean someone was a member of the congregation.

“Attended is not a member,” Click said. “There’s a lot of people that come and go. I do not know them.”

The allegations were not substantiated by the Fremont investigation. The person identified as the alleged victim denied them, the police closed the case and BCI declined additional investigation.

But that finding has not prevented some local residents from questioning Click’s conduct, reconsidering their experiences with his church and revisiting statements he made during his political career.

A controversy following Click toward Election Day

The allegations have surfaced again less than a month before Click faces Democrat Aaron Jones in the Nov. 3 general election. Click is seeking his fourth and final term in the Ohio House after narrowly surviving a Republican primary challenge earlier this year.

He also remains connected to prominent Republican campaigns. In December 2025, one month after the investigation became public, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign identified Click as its Sandusky County chairman. The campaign again promoted his endorsement in March 2026.

For the residents commenting on the allegations, however, the controversy is not confined to Columbus politics or campaign endorsements. It reaches back into a Fremont church, its children’s programs and the personal impressions left by a pastor who served the congregation for nearly two decades.

One parent expressed relief at having taken their sons out of the church nursery. Another person said Click’s behavior around younger children had long made them uncomfortable. A third recalled a Republican candidates’ forum where Click was asked directly about sexual predators and spoke instead about transgender children.

The police investigation is closed, and Click denies the allegations. But the reaction among those residents shows that the allegations have consequences beyond the official disposition of the case: people who knew Click, worshipped in his community or listened to his political promises are reconsidering what they saw, heard and believed.

That scrutiny now follows Click into the final weeks of his reelection campaign, with the former pastor’s record of preaching child protection facing renewed attention in the community where he built his public career.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The Democratic candidate for governor described several ideas including loans to help new businesses get off the ground, and suggested her plans to bring down household costs could help boost foot-traffic.

“It is very tight out here,” she said. “There’s no more breathing room. Everyone’s doing everything right, but it’s very tight right now.”

“I think the biggest thing I can do is give a voice to small business,” she went on. “So I intend to do that. It is the future of Ohio, and I’m excited about the future.”

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his small business plans in elected.

After a quick tour, Acton picked up a baker’s dozen, and sat down to talk with Fox’s owner, Jeremy Fox, and Scott Bast who runs Scotty’s Café a few doors down. They described how restaurant owners are at the mercy of a wide array of rising costs.

“It just feels like as of late, it’s been more and more, and the pressure is building and building, and it’s energy, it’s gas, it’s utilities, it’s everything,” Fox said.

Bast explained his most recent electric bill more than doubled.

“It was $1,500. It’s $3,400 now,” he said. “Which for one month — my rent is that much. It’s just insane what’s going on.”

A large share of Bast’s business is catering for weddings, and that puts him in a bind when he’s quoting prices for couples a year ahead of time.

“I can’t call them two weeks before the wedding and say, ‘Well, the economy’s changed. I’ve got to raise your prices,’” Bast said.

Fox said juggling costs boils down to managing sacrifices. You can’t cut much from labor or food costs, he said, so you’re left carving up benefits that would improve your employees’ quality of life.

Fox said they reimburse a portion of health insurance costs for full-time employees and he’s proud they can offer paid time off.

But for him?

“I’m on my wife’s plan,” Fox said. “Really, when you look at restaurant profitability, owner insurance? That’s a luxury.”

Acton’s agenda

Bast suggested Acton come up with some kind of small business council within her office to “talk about issues for small businesses, not big corporations.” Acton quickly committed to that.

“We’re going to be convening small businesses coming in the door as part of a look at all of our business sector alongside JobsOhio,” Acton said. “But we want to spend a little more attention to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and legacy city small businesses, like you’re mentioning.”

She’s also hoping to replicate workforce training initiatives she’s seen in Indiana and Colorado.

“We do a lot right on workforce,” Acton said, “but there’s a lot more we could be doing, that’s what I’ve heard from businesses.”

To help entrepreneurs get businesses started, Acton is considering loan programs.

“I think about you starting out with your food truck,” she said to Fox, “and the kind of capital you needed at the beginning, and we’re particularly also focusing on minority-led businesses as well.”

Acton has proposed what she’s calling a Working Families Tax Cut, geared toward lower income families with kids.

The proposal includes an earned income tax credit and a child tax credit of $1,000 for kids six and under, and $500 for those seven to 18. She told Fox and Bast that could help their employees and customers alike.

“What we’re finding is we need some immediate relief for cash flow for people who are just working,” Acton said, “and healthcare costs are the number one cost we’re hearing about.”

She expressed concern about lack of healthcare coverage and said she’d try leveraging the state’s purchasing power to negotiate lower premiums.

“We’re doing a lot around trying to get health insurance premiums down,” she said. “We’re going to try to negotiate using the state’s power for small businesses because I’m worried about you guys not having an alternative.”

Ramaswamy’s endorsement

The Ohio Capital Journal asked Republican candidate for governor Ramaswamy’s campaign about his plans for small business but got no response.

Ramaswamy has gotten the endorsement of Ohio’s chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents 21,000 small and independent businesses.

“Our members were looking for a candidate who understands the challenges facing small businesses and has a vision to unlock Ohio’s full potential,” NFIB Ohio State Director Jared Weiser said in August. “They found that in Vivek Ramaswamy.”

In a press release announcing the endorsement, Ramaswamy called small businesses “the backbone of towns and cities across Ohio.” Despite years of unified Republican leadership in Ohio, he insisted they’re “getting squeezed by government overgrowth.”

“They were unfairly penalized by the disastrous COVID lockdowns that my opponent pushed on them,” Ramaswamy said. “I’ll stand with hardworking Ohioans and entrepreneurs who work, hire, build, and take risks — not the bureaucrats standing in their way. We’ll get government off the backs of small businesses so they can grow here and help Ohio families get ahead.”

Asked about Ramaswamy earning NFIB’s endorsement, Acton campaign spokeswoman Virginia Schaus said Ramaswamy’s plans for drastic tax cuts will wind up raising costs elsewhere.

“While Vivek Ramaswamy’s tax scam would raise costs for Ohio families and hurt small businesses,” she said, “as governor, Dr. Acton will be laser-focused on lowering costs.”

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

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Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The 44-year-old trained social worker said she and her husband, who recently retired after 25 years in the U.S. Navy, are raising two children, ages 7 and 9, and forgoing a family vacation to save money.

“I’m an educated person, but I’m not going to pretend to be an expert in the economy. All I can say is I know my family’s finances very well and I know everything we spend money on has gone up in price.

“I understand some of it is due to the tariffs, some of it is due to the war in Iran,” Myers told States Newsroom in an Oct. 1 interview.

Myers is among a growing number of voters found to be taking their anger about affordability to the polls this midterm election and blaming President Donald Trump’s tariffs as a culprit for rising expenses. Public opinion surveys bear out Myers is far from alone in making the connection.

“The real top line is that for maybe the first time ever, tariffs are a salient issue at the ballot box,” said Scott Lincicome of the libertarian Cato Institute. “You know, normally trade is a boring issue that nobody really thinks about or cares about.”

Myers, who lives in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, voted for Elaine Luria, the Democratic candidate and former U.S. representative who is challenging the incumbent Republican, Rep. Jen Kiggans.

Kiggans, Myers said, has supported Trump’s “MAGA agenda,” including tariffs.

Kiggans’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump opponents seize on issue

Organizers are targeting districts like Myers’, where Democrats could flip seats.

“We talk to families every day who are struggling with the things that they need to take care of themselves and their families,” said Sondra Goldschein, executive director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy.

Her organization, which also has a political action committee that endorses Democrats, recently hosted a “tariff-proof” cooking class in Chesapeake, Virginia, to drive attention to the issue. Attendees received tips like substituting chicken for beef, buying domestic produce, and choosing frozen over canned goods — all which have been affected by Trump’s ever-changing taxes on imports.

Goldschein and national organizers are targeting voters not only in Virginia, but in Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“This Republican-backed Congress and all of the members that come from states like this have really turned their backs on working families,” Goldschein told States Newsroom during an interview ahead of the cooking class.

In a state-by-state breakdown of tariffs, the conservative National Taxpayers Union Foundation and Trade Partnership Worldwide found the top 10 states most affected by Trump’s tariffs — in the tens of billions of dollars — are California, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio and Tennessee. 

Virginia, where business owners have paid a collective $6.2 billion in tariffs ordered by Trump since January 2025, ranked 18th.

Nearly all are in the midst of fierce battles for U.S. Senate or House seats as tariffs emerge as what critics predict will be a major factor in the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Ever-changing tariffs

New research shows Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods have cost business owners and consumers billions of dollars. 

“The typical estimate has it being in the neighborhood of $1,000-plus per year of additional (consumer) costs, and maybe accounting for somewhere between one-half and 1 percentage point of the inflation rate. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but if someone came along and gave you a tax increase of $1,100, which is about what this is, you’d feel it,” said Kimberly Clausing, economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

Clausing and fellow economist Maurice Obstfeld at the nonpartisan think tank reviewed 13 academic papers from 2025 and 2026 on Trump’s tariffs and the pass-through costs to consumers and businesses.

“What makes it a little confusing and hard to measure is that there’s been a lot of uncertainty about the trade policy, and so it’s come in spurts and reversals and restarts,” Clausing said, adding that some businesses may absorb the new taxes on imports at first but then eventually raise prices later.

“It’s not like you raise the tariff on day one and (on) day two all the prices have fully adjusted. It’s a little slower than that, but you do see absolutely evidence that with time the tariffs are being passed through to consumers, and very little evidence that foreigners are bearing a significant burden,” she said. 

Trump’s tariff policy has changed more than 50 times since he began his second term in January 2025, according to the Tax Foundation, a think tank that advocates for a slimmed-down tax code and “policies that lead to greater economic growth.”

As of Sept. 10, the foundation estimated that Trump’s tariffs will cost each household an average $820 in 2026.

While Trump campaigned on the promise that other countries would pay for his tariffs, and vowed the same once he took office again, the statement has always been false, economists have documented. Tariffs are taxes that American businesses and individuals pay upon retrieving their shipments of items they’ve purchased from other countries. The tariffed goods fall into hundreds of categories — anything from machine parts to food.

The president’s early round of “emergency” and “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on worldwide goods in April 2025 were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February. Since then, Trump has used three other statutes to justify charging import taxes on goods.

Impact spreads across states

The breakdown produced by the National Taxpayers Union found the biggest effects in states and industries scattered throughout America.

Sectors hit hardest by tariffs in the top 10 states include automobiles and auto parts; steel, aluminum and other metals; clothes and shoes; and food and beverages.

For example, businesses in Michigan have paid an extra $23 billion on imports, largely cars and trucks. Meanwhile, the food and beverage sector was hit hardest in Florida, where importers have paid an extra $11 billion since Trump began implementing new tariffs in 2025 through Aug. 4, 2026, according to the conservative organization’s analysis that drew from Census Bureau import data.

Bryan Riley, director of the National Taxpayers Union’s free trade initiative, described Trump’s tariffs during his second term as “a very costly policy.” 

“If you’re in a state like Georgia, big tariff costs are mainly because there’s a lot of auto manufacturing in Georgia, surprisingly to many people. And then that’s not going to be the case in New Mexico, which doesn’t have a lot of auto manufacturing, so (there are) less tariff costs and different categories hit in each state,” Riley said. 

The analysis did not account for any court-mandated refunds the Trump administration must pay back after the Supreme Court deemed the president’s initial emergency tariffs illegal. Those refunds to businesses are not necessarily passed on to consumers.

Trump and the cost of living

Polls show voters are growing increasingly frustrated with Trump’s handling of the economy, as his approval ratings plunge, and many of those surveyed are blaming the administration’s trade policy for the rising cost of living.

Overall, 69% of American adults, and 52% of Republicans, say Trump is not meeting his promise to fix the cost of living, according to an Associated Press/NORC nationwide poll of just over 2,100 voters from Sept. 24-28.

Specifically on trade and tariffs, the survey found that overall 68% of respondents disapprove of Trump’s trade negotiations with other countries, and 64% think the tariffs have gone too far.

Lincicome of the Cato Institute said it’s a “shocker” that tariffs are becoming a mainstream concern among voters.

When surveying just over 4,100 voters in mid-August, Cato and Morning Consult found 3 in 4 participants said they will consider tariffs when casting their midterm election ballot.

Additionally, the survey revealed 74% of respondents — 66% percent of Republicans and 84% of Democrats — blamed Trump’s tariffs for increased prices on items they buy at the store.

Lincicome, vice president of general economics for Cato, pointed to his home state of North Carolina, where Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor now vying for an open U.S. Senate seat, is making opposition to tariffs a centerpiece of his affordability agenda.

“It’s pretty clear from both the polling and Democrats in not just North Carolina but Georgia and Iowa and other places (candidates) are really chomping at the bit to run on cost of living, and to say they’re going to nix all these tariffs. … Even in places like Ohio, where Sherrod Brown is trying to win,” Lincicome said.

Brown, a Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate from 2007-2025, was “one of the most consistent protectionists” of domestic manufacturing in the upper chamber, Lincicome said.

“Now all of a sudden he’s running on nixing the tariffs,” Lincicome said. “Now he’s not nearly as vocal as somebody like Cooper or (James) Talarico in Texas or Jon Ossoff in Georgia. He’s still saying he’s going to get rid of these tariffs, and that’s a pretty shocking change.”

Trump ‘skillfully used tariffs,’ White House says

The White House defended Trump’s record on the economy and said he has “skillfully” imposed tariffs.

“President Trump signed the largest working-class tax cuts in history, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, sealed the border, drove violent crime to the lowest level in nearly a century, unleashed an energy revolution, added more than a million private-sector jobs, and sent Americans’ 401(k)s climbing to record highs. 

“The President skillfully used tariffs to renegotiate almost 20 trade deals and level the playing field for American workers and businesses. The Trump administration has consistently maintained that the cost of tariffs will ultimately be borne by foreign exporters who rely on access to the American economy, the world’s biggest and best consumer market,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. 

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Very few candidates in competitive races, however, have policy proposals on their campaign websites and many, when contacted by States Newsroom, declined to share details about which changes they’d support if elected. 

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said even though Social Security’s financial woes have been discussed more during this year’s campaign cycle, most candidates have shied away from getting into the weeds. 

“What’s really disappointing is nobody is talking about a realistic suite of options that will fix it,” she said. “There are a few who will mention lifting the payroll tax cap, which is probably the most often cited policy, but that on its own won’t fix the program.” 

Workers now pay a 6.2% tax that goes directly to Social Security, though that doesn’t apply to earnings above $184,500. 

MacGuineas said one upside to this year’s campaign cycle is more voters understand that a candidate promising not to touch Social Security guarantees the automatic benefit cut in 2032, which will worsen over time. 

But, she said, she understands why candidates would want to wait until they are actually elected to Congress to go into detail about something that was once widely considered the third rail of American politics. 

“It’s been so long since politicians have been honest about what Social Security faces and what fixes will be required,” MacGuineas said. “An election cycle is not where you’d expect a 180-degree switch into a direct conversation. I think this is the first step, and hopefully, post-midterms, we are able to start having that conversation.”

Two-way communication

Shai Akabas, vice president of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said candidates need to be honest with voters about the changes they’ll likely have to make to Social Security.

At the same time, he said, politicians need to hear from Americans that they understand Congress must take some action in the years ahead.  

“Until we get that two-way street working, it’s going to be really hard to move anything into law,” he said. 

Candidates, and those who work for them, have plenty of resources to study up on Social Security’s financial problems and explore the numerous changes that could be combined to avoid a 22% reduction in benefits from taking place in 2032. 

“It’s not like policymakers are entering into a novel problem that has unexplored solutions,” Akabas said. “They’re walking on well trodden ground and it is more about finding the political will to put those solutions together to create a bipartisan reform package than it is creating solutions from scratch.” 

While Akabas said it’s important for candidates to discuss realistic solutions on the campaign trail, the job of fixing the program would be less fraught if undertaken in a bipartisan way.

“If the two parties together hold hands and say, ‘Here’s a reform that we’re going to put in place, and yes, it has difficult decisions, but it’s the right thing to do for the country,’ I think our polling shows that that could be reasonably well received,” he said. “If, on the other hand, a candidate is putting that proposal out by themselves, it is extremely easy for the other side to message, ‘This candidate just wants to raise your taxes’ or ‘This candidate just wants to cut Social Security.’”

Here’s what politicians running in close Senate races say about Social Security on their websites and shared with States Newsroom when asked for which detailed policy changes they’d support if elected to Congress. 

Alaska 

• Democrat Mary Peltola’s website says if elected she would “work to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits for the nearly 95,000 seniors in Alaska.” A spokesperson wrote she “is in this race to fix the rigged system in DC and put Alaska first – that means putting more money in Alaskans’ pockets and ending federal income tax on Social Security.”

• Republican Dan Sullivan didn’t have any policy proposals on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information. 

Iowa

• Republican Ashley Hinson’s campaign website says she would preserve “Social Security and Medicare benefits that vulnerable Iowans depend on, while rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse that deplete these programs.” Campaign communications director Billy Fuerst wrote in an email that Hinson “will always protect Social Security for Iowa seniors, and she will work with anyone to ensure the long-term solvency of this vital program. Ashley has never and will never cut a penny from Social Security.” 

• Democrat Josh Turek’s website says he would strengthen “Social Security by ensuring billionaires pay their fair share” and raise “Social Security income and assets limits for disabled individuals.” A staffer for his campaign sent several examples of Turek talking about Social Security, including an article in the Iowa Capital Dispatch that quoted him saying it was “ridiculous” that wealthy Americans didn’t pay any taxes to Social Security on income above $184,500. 

Kansas 

• Democrat Adam Hamilton’s website states: “We need to protect social security and provide real solutions for seniors.” A campaign staffer sent an article from the Johnson County Post quoting Hamilton as saying, “Both parties have kicked the can down the road, and the only way this gets solved is if Republicans and Democrats act together. And there’s movement: Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, and Bernie Moreno, a Republican, are working on bipartisan legislation to lift the payroll tax cap. That’s where I’d start. Right now only the first $184,500 of income is subject to Social Security tax, so somebody making $50,000 pays that tax on every dollar they earn while a person making millions pays on a small fraction. Raising the cap is the best lever we have to keep the program solvent without cutting benefits. I think about my mom, who’s on Social Security now. A cut is not an option for her, and it shouldn’t be for anyone.” 

• Republican Roger Marshall didn’t have any policy positions on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information. 

Maine

• Republican Susan Collins’ campaign website has one paragraph mentioning her work enacting a law that increased Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who had pensions after working in government or other public-sector jobs. Collins wrote in a statement that she supports “creating an independent, bipartisan commission of experts to develop recommendations —similar to the one in the early 1980s. I have supported proposals calling for such a commission for Congress to consider.” Collins added that she remains “committed to keeping Social Security strong for current and future generations. It’s a critical program and the foundation of retirement income for most Mainers, and I’ve voted repeatedly to preserve it.” 

• Democrat Troy Jackson’s website says he would “protect” Social Security and notes he published an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News saying he would eliminate the $184,500 payroll cap and raise benefits. He wrote he would “never” vote to raise the retirement age or privatize the program. Campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad wrote in an email that, “Troy is committed to protecting Social Security from cuts and ensuring that Mainers receive the secure retirement and benefits they’ve paid into and earned.” She added that if elected, “he’ll work to scrap the cap and require millionaires to pay Social Security taxes on their income, allow Medicare to negotiate the price of every drug, eliminate profiteering and waste, and expand benefits—not raise the retirement age.” 

Michigan

• Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s website says he would “fight to close the Social Security payroll tax cap to make sure the rich pay their fair share so that Social Security stays solvent well into the future.” Campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak wrote in an email that El-Sayed would “ensure our seniors get the benefits they earned through a lifetime of labor.” 

• Republican Mike Rogers doesn’t have any policy details on this campaign website. But communications director Alyssa Brouillet wrote in an email that Rogers is committed to protecting the program since his “parents survived on social security, as do his wife, Kristi’s, parents.” Brouillet added that Rogers “is committed to protecting social security and Medicare for our seniors.” 

New Hampshire 

• Democrat Chris Pappas’ campaign website says he “will never vote to cut benefits or force seniors to work longer for less. He has fought against efforts to raise the retirement age, slash Social Security benefits, and privatize the entire system, a move that would gamble Granite Staters’ hard-earned benefits in the stock market and benefit Wall Street. Chris is committed to shoring up and improving Social Security to ensure that current retirees and future generations can trust that their benefits will be there.”

• Republican John Sununu didn’t have any policy details on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information. 

North Carolina 

• Democrat Roy Cooper didn’t have any policy proposals on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information. 

• Republican Michael Whatley didn’t have any policy positions on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information.  

Ohio 

• Democrat Sherrod Brown’s website says that because of the Social Security Fairness Act, a broadly bipartisan bill that became law in 2024, more than 2 million “former teachers, bus drivers, police officers, firefighters, and other workers are now receiving their full Social Security payments that previously were withheld by the federal government.” A campaign spokesperson didn’t provide any details about what types of policy changes Brown would support in the future to avoid the automatic benefit cut, responding to States Newsroom’s request for policy details with criticisms of Husted. 

• Republican Jon Husted didn’t have any policy details on his campaign website and staff didn’t respond to multiple requests for more information.  

Texas

• Republican Ken Paxton’s website doesn’t have any policy proposals related to Social Security. A campaign staffer responded in an email that Paxton “believes we must protect Social Security for the millions of seniors who spent their lives paying into the system and are counting on the benefits they earned.” The campaign staffer also said that Paxton “will continue to stand behind lowering taxes and ensuring Social Security remains protected for generations to come.” The campaign didn’t explain how exactly Paxton would do that if he became a senator. 

• Democrat James Talarico’s website says he would support “eliminating the tax cap on those earning over $400,000 a year, and incentivize employer-sponsored pensions.” A campaign staffer wrote in an email that Talarico would eliminate the $184,500 payroll tax ceiling for Social Security. He would also “support creating a tax system in which every dollar of income over $400,000 is taxed to fund Social Security. This policy would include a tax ramp-up starting at $400,001 that grows with additional income. This would ensure the top 2% of American earners are doing their part to keep this program solvent, without increasing the tax burden on the middle class during a cost-of-living crisis.” The campaign staffer wrote that Talarico wouldn’t support increasing the retirement age at which Americans can begin collecting Social Security benefits or reduce scheduled benefits.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Ohio has the fourth-most data centers of any state, and after being forced to provide $2.3 billion in subsidies via tax breaks, taxpayers are questioning whether they’re really a good thing.

The centers have  more than doubled the state’s electricity consumption, they generate noise and air pollution, the AI they generate is causing serious social harms, leaders of the big AI companies warn of possible calamities, and they’ve predicted that their machines will take millions of Americans’ jobs.

With these concerns in the background, the Columbus firm Scioto Analysis undertook a straight dollars-and-cents look at future data center development in Ohio. 

The Buckeye State ranks only behind Virginia, Texas and California in the number of data centers. And the gargantuan facilities are poised to move into rural parts of Ohio and other Midwestern states in a big way.

“About 87% of current data centers in the United States are in urban areas, while 67% of planned data centers across the country are in rural areas, driven by the land and power requirements of modern hyperscale facilities,” the Scioto Analysis report said.

“Data centers in the Midwest are expected to grow by the highest percentage: a projected 64% increase compared to current data centers. As of 2026, 38% of Americans live within five miles of at least one operational data center.”

One criticism of data center economics is that while they create initial construction jobs, once completed they only require a skeleton staff to make sure the machines keep running.

The Scioto Analysis study credits data center development with 96,000 new jobs and $62 billion in social benefits to Ohio since 2013, but it also asks what new benefits they’ll create going forward.

A big factor in that is the huge electricity drain they’ll create and the social cost of all the pollution it will generate, the study notes.

“If every planned project comes online by 2028, the number of data centers in Ohio will increase by half, their annual energy draw will more than triple, and their annual carbon emissions will more than triple,” the cost-benefit analysis says.

“In 2026, Ohio data centers use enough electricity to power 5.7 million homes, which is more than the 5.4 million homes in Ohio. By 2028, we predict they will use enough electricity to power about 3.5 times as many homes as there are in Ohio.”

Rob Moore, the principal of Scioto Analysis, said it’s important not to forget about the cost a business enterprise imposes on third parties — such as that which pollution imposes on the public.

“While data centers present a new category of high-intensity energy use in the state, they still present the same problems as transportation, manufacturing or power generation in general: emissions that are not priced will lead to local air-quality issues, lung and heart conditions and higher levels of carbon emissions,” Moore said in a text message.  

He and his team looked at five scenarios and ran 10,000 simulations of what would happen between 2027 and 2034 with different variables. 

The values the analysis arrived at are expressed in terms of “benefit-cost ratio.” Maintaining the status quo scored 1.04, meaning benefits only slightly outweighed costs.

Benefit-cost ratios for the other scenarios, in descending order of public benefit:

• Data center generates its own power, 10% gas, 90% renewable — 2.9

• Ban on new data center construction — 2.7

• Data center generates its own power, 50% gas, 50% renewable — 2.5

• Data center generates its own power, 90% natural gas, 10% renewable — 2.2

In other words, according to the analysis, forcing renewables to be used to generate power and an outright ban on new data center constructions would be the biggest improvement over what we’re doing now.

“A ban on construction produces a higher net present value and benefit-cost ratio than the status quo,” the report said. “This is because most employment benefits from existing data centers remain, while the cost of higher electricity prices to ratepayers falls. 

“A behind-the-meter requirement with 90% natural gas produces about the same net present value, but a lower benefit-cost ratio. A behind-the-meter requirement with 90% renewables produces both the highest net present value and the highest benefit-cost ratio.”

The analysis came with an important caveat, however. If data centers produce more jobs than expected, a ban or a heavy renewable requirement won’t look so good.

“Our results depend heavily on our employment assumptions,” it said. “If we are overestimating how much data centers raise employment and earnings, even a ban or a 90% renewables requirement could have a negative net present value. If we are underestimating these effects, every alternative looks much better. Across our other tests, the status quo is the alternative most likely to have costs that exceed its benefits.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The Nov. 3 referendum, in the middle of a presidential term, is essentially a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the status quo. You either like the way things are going or you don’t.

The outcome of this off-year election will show as much about Ohio voters as it does the candidates on the ballot. What will it say about us in 2026?

In 2024, over 3-million Ohioans voted for Donald Trump giving him, as he boasted at a weekend rally in the state, “the highest vote total in the history of Ohio.”

He returned to Vandalia, for first time since his 2024 campaign stop at the Dayton airport, to galvanize support for Ohio Republicans in tight races for the U.S. Senate and governor.

His profanity-laced, hour-and-a-half speech at Butler High School was pointedly crude. So much for presidential decorum.

His sales pitch (?) for electing appointed U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy “even if you hate” them was lousy.

He promoted data centers with Husted and Ramaswamy under fire for them. Trump, who’s approval rating on the economy has dropped to an all-time low, told rallygoers Ohio’s economy is “booming” just days before a nearby truck factory laid off 1,400 workers.

He derided Haitian immigrants down the road in Springfield, the same day the community buried one of its own, a 20-year-old college student who reportedly took his own life over the shame of wearing a conspicuous ICE ankle monitor.

He singled out a female reporter again for personal attacks — as the approving crowd in the high school gym erupted in loud boos.

Rally attendees chanted “Deport!” when Trump made several false statements about Springfield’s Haitians, inferred that they ruined a “beautiful, idyllic” town, and promised that it will soon be better because “they’re all being brought back to their country.” 

(Most of the immigrants living and working in the metro Springfield area arrived legally through Temporary Protected Status, a humanitarian relief program for people fleeing countries unsafe from violence and disasters).

The Trump administration abruptly ended TPS for Haiti — considered too dangerous for American travel due to extreme risks of violent “crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and limited health care” — but apparently fine for terrified Ohio Haitians sentenced to a life-threatening fate. “Deport! Deport! Deport!”

While massive chants swept the Trump rally in a Dayton suburb, hundreds of Ohioans, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife, grieved in Springfield and agonized over the inhumanity that had killed a promising young man.

“This country needs people like Pierre Damas Bel,” said DeWine after Bel’s heartbreaking funeral. “We need people who are smart, hard-working, who seek their own version of the American dream. We need these people. We needed him.” 

But even after the 20-year-old died, as the news paralyzed his family and friends with fresh, unbearable pain, the anti-immigrant hostility expressed at the Trump rally appeared online.

“One less plane ticket that we have to pay for” said one callous post on X.

Yet as ICE activity has escalated dramatically across Ohio, following federal termination of TPS nationals from countries such as Haiti, Syria, and Yemen, recent polling in the state showed a majority of voters disapprove of brutal Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics (that brought down Bel) despite strong support for border security.

Thumbs down to masked, armed thugs in unmarked vehicles indiscriminately targeting people with no criminal background (including American citizens) who have the wrong skin color but thumbs up to secure borders done right. 

A majority of Ohio voter also think their state is on the wrong track economically, regardless of Trump’s bluster. They give the state a fair/poor rating with Trump’s job approval at 35%.

Affordability tops Ohioans concerns weeks away from the election as inflation outpaces income and costs climb on everything from childcare, utilities, housing, groceries, health care, and gasoline.

A temporary gas tax pause, enacted in a day by state lawmakers as a pre-election gimmick, hardly puts anyone on easy street.

Trump’s endless war of choice in Iran continues to drive up gas and diesel prices along with products you buy that now cost more to move and his reckless tariffs have hit families and businesses hard.

He may draw cheers from his diehard fans about the “golden age” he has supposedly brought to Ohio, but many Ohioans aren’t feeling it.

Polls also show most do not buy Trump’s upbeat spiel on Ohio’s rapid data center expansion — greenlit by state and local governments with zero transparency or community input.

Ohioans are sharing space with over 200 gigantic data centers that consume vast amounts of energy and millions of gallons of water daily while generating continuous noise pollution and air emissions from backup generators.

They are subsidizing tech companies worth trillions with higher utility bills and insane tax breaks while AI giants strain grids and deplete local resources with no public guardrails or value benefit to the community in permanent jobs.

But Trump dismissed data center concerns as he praised Husted, who once touted them, for a futile attempt to pass a “toothless” Senate bill with optional ratepayer protections that states would only be required to consider without any actual safeguards around paying for data center energy use. 

Ohioans have come to a reckoning. On all of the above. We know where the candidates land from rallies to funerals. But what will this election say about us?

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to expand access to tax-free diesel fuel nationwide, following the lead of several governors who have taken the same step.

Trump signed the order at a Nebraska rally, promising U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, both Republicans, that “this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” the Associated Press reported.

In at least four states — Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Utah — leaders have moved to temporarily suspend or reduce the state tax on gasoline.

Ohio lawmakers voted last month to approve a 90-day gas tax holiday, a move called for by both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor.

While many Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill, some Democratic leaders called the measure a last-ditch effort to salvage the GOP’s electoral prospects, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

“If this had been so important, we would have acted (earlier this year), but we didn’t,” said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, a Democrat. “They said we have nothing more to take up until after the election, and then suddenly they got polling numbers, and the polling numbers told them they were behind.”

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the state’s gas tax with an executive order, as did Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun.

And Utah lawmakers voted earlier this year to temporarily reduce the gas tax by 15%.

Meanwhile, 10 states had reduced restrictions on the use of tax-exempt diesel fuel prior to Trump’s order that loosened those restrictions nationwide.

That fuel, known as red-dyed diesel, is normally only allowed for off-highway agricultural, industrial and railroad use, according to the North Dakota Monitor. Some governors have issued executive orders expanding the use of red-dyed diesel, which is not taxed like regular diesel,  in a bid to help farmers and truckers with transportation costs.

North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina and Indiana have all issued similar orders, according to the Associated Press.

“Texas agriculture and freight run on diesel,” Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement, according to the Texas Tribune. “Record prices put both industries at risk and raise costs for every Texas family.”

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee also issued an order Tuesday allowing farmers and loggers to use red-dyed diesel on public roads, at the urging of state lawmakers.

In other states, leaders are facing pressure to take similar action.

Legislative leaders in North Carolina have called for a special session on fuel prices. Some lawmakers there have suggested that the state could use surplus revenue from state reserves to pay for road projects while temporarily suspending the gas tax.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association is urging lawmakers there to follow suit, while asking them to push the Trump administration to release oil from the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve.

In Kentucky, Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell has asked Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to also roll back restrictions on untaxed diesel. And Connecticut Republicans have proposed a three-month holiday on fuel taxes, while Democrats have countered that they should focus on ending Trump’s war with Iran.

Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org.

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The funding will support substance use treatment, peer support, case management, employment assistance and other services intended to help participants maintain sobriety, reduce repeat offenses and rebuild their lives, according to a news release from the Seneca County Common Pleas Court.

PIVOT, which stands for Participating in Victory of Transition, is a specialized recovery court serving individuals with substance use disorders. Rather than relying solely on traditional criminal sentencing, the program combines judicial supervision with treatment, accountability and services designed to address addiction and its effects on participants’ lives.

According to the Common Pleas Court’s program description, PIVOT lasts a minimum of 15 months and consists of five phases. Participants regularly appear before Common Pleas Judges Steve C. Shuff and Damon D. Alt and Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge Rhonda L. Best, who monitor their progress through treatment and recovery.

The program includes drug testing, meetings with probation officers and case managers, mental health services, employment assistance and support in securing stable housing. Participants must meet specific requirements to advance through each phase, with the frequency of court appearances and supervision generally decreasing as they progress.

“This investment reflects the State of Ohio’s continued commitment to evidence-based recovery programs that change lives,” Shuff and Alt said in a joint statement. “The PIVOT Recovery Program gives individuals the tools and support they need to overcome addiction, become productive members of the community, and build a better future for themselves and their families.”

The new award continues a history of outside funding for the local recovery court. PIVOT previously received $157,665 from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, which distributes funding from opioid-related settlements to support addiction prevention, treatment and recovery efforts across Ohio.

County officials have also previously secured state and federal grants to support PIVOT and probation services, reducing the amount of local funding needed to operate those programs.

The latest announcement did not specify the grant’s funding period, how many participants it is expected to serve or whether it requires a local financial match.

Shuff and Alt thanked the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for its continued support. The judges said PIVOT will continue working with local treatment providers and community organizations to help participants achieve long-term recovery while addressing repeat criminal behavior.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The allegations became public on Nov. 10, 2025, when Ohio political journalist D.J. Byrnes reported the investigation in The Rooster. Exactly one month later, on Dec. 10, Husted’s campaign published a statewide leadership graphic identifying Click as its Sandusky County campaign chair. On March 19, 2026, the campaign promoted Click’s endorsement as part of a list of Republican state lawmakers backing Husted’s Senate bid.

Both campaign announcements remained online as of Oct. 6, according to dated screenshots reviewed by TiffinOhio.net. The sequence establishes that Husted’s campaign continued publicly elevating Click after the allegations and police investigation were already matters of public record.

The underlying police investigation had ended before the first public report. The person identified in the child welfare referral as the alleged victim denied being abused, Click denied the accusations, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined to pursue the matter further.

Police investigated Click before Husted’s campaign announcement

The Fremont Police Department received a referral from the Oregon Department of Human Services on Sept. 29, 2025, concerning allegations that Click and the father of an 18-year-old had physically and sexually abused the person during childhood, according to police records obtained by TiffinOhio.net.

The referral, based on a report from an unidentified third party, alleged that the person had been beaten, starved and sexually abused. Click was identified as the person’s former pastor at Fremont Baptist Temple, where he had served as lead pastor for 19 years.

Fremont Det. Sgt. Matthew Ranazzi located the person identified in the referral. They denied the allegations, telling police they had never reported being abused by Click or their father and did not remember Click doing anything to them.

When detectives contacted Click on Oct. 1, he told police he did not remember the person but acknowledged that they “might have been a member of his church.” Asked about the person’s father, Click said he did not know him “off the top of his head.” Click denied ever physically or sexually abusing anyone.

The Fremont investigation was closed after the person’s denial. BCI, which reviewed the matter because Click was a sitting state representative, informed Fremont police on Oct. 8 that it would not investigate further.

Byrnes publicly reported the case on Nov. 10. When subsequently confronted on camera, Click maintained his innocence, describing himself as having a “clean conscience,” “squeaky clean” and “ivory clean.”

Yet the following month, Husted’s campaign publicly identified Click as one of the county-level leaders responsible for its statewide political operation. The March endorsement announcement placed Click among the Republican lawmakers whose support the campaign was advertising to voters.

Click’s previous comments about young girls drew scrutiny

The police investigation is not the first controversy involving Click that has intersected with Husted’s Senate campaign.

In April, TiffinOhio.net reported that Husted’s campaign had continued promoting Click after video resurfaced of the lawmaker describing what he said young girls had told him about their sexual experiences.

During April 19, 2023, sponsor testimony for House Bill 68, legislation restricting gender-affirming medical care for minors, Click told the Ohio House Public Health Policy Committee that young girls had described experiencing painful sex.

“Young girls who’ve gone through this have told me it is very, very painful to have sex because of the hormones and the hormone blockers that they have received,” Click said during testimony captured on video.

Click has not publicly identified those individuals or explained when and in what capacity he spoke with them about their sexual experiences. That testimony is separate from the allegations investigated by Fremont police, and the available records do not establish any connection between them.

Click also quietly stepped down from his leadership position at Fremont Baptist Temple at the end of March 2025, six months before the police referral. His departure was not publicly reported until February 2026, when TiffinOhio.net discovered that the church was still presenting him as its pastor despite his transition to pastor emeritus.

Another Husted campaign chair resigned after a case involving a minor surfaced

Husted’s campaign has already lost another county chairman over a separate criminal case involving a minor.

In July, Andrew Havas, whom the campaign had named as a Franklin County chair, resigned after NBC News questioned the campaign about his 2009 guilty plea in a case involving a 15-year-old.

Havas had originally faced a sexual misconduct charge that was reduced to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Husted campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce told NBC News that Havas had not disclosed his history to the campaign.

“Upon learning the facts, we immediately accepted his resignation as a campaign volunteer,” Natoce said.

The Havas case involved a criminal conviction, unlike the unsubstantiated allegations against Click, which were denied by the person identified as the alleged victim. But the campaign’s handling of Havas established that it was willing to remove a county chairman after his background attracted public scrutiny.

Click’s name, meanwhile, remained on the Sandusky County leadership announcement and the legislative endorsement graphic as of Oct. 6.

Campaign relationship extends into Northwest Ohio

Click represents Ohio’s 88th House District, which includes Seneca and Sandusky counties. He is seeking reelection against Democrat Aaron Jones, a Tiffin city councilman and U.S. Army veteran.

Husted, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2025, is running against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Nov. 3 special election.

For Husted, Click’s role is more than an endorsement from another Republican officeholder. The senator’s campaign designated him as a county-level political leader in a region where both candidates will appear on voters’ ballots.

The campaign’s public announcements document Click’s designation and its subsequent promotion of his endorsement. They do not establish whether Click continues to perform active campaign duties or whether Husted’s organization has changed his responsibilities privately.

What the record does establish is that the allegations against Click were already public when Husted’s campaign advertised his county leadership role in December, and remained public when the campaign promoted his endorsement three months later.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The focus by activists comes amid uncertainty among advocates and election officials over what Trump may do before, during and after Election Day. Some organizations are preparing to deploy volunteers to the polls to help assure voters in places where fear of federal intimidation may run high.

On Tuesday, several groups — including the Save America Movement, the American Federation of Teachers labor union and the National Action Network — launched Vote Safe, an initiative that will put local volunteers at polling locations in areas where they say pressure on Black, Latino and Asian voters is highest. 

The program will include Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. The volunteers will document any intimidation and serve as a reassuring presence for voters, organizers said.

“The fear is the point and we must do something about it,” Mary Corcoran, executive director of the Save America Movement, a nonpartisan pro-democracy group, said on a call with reporters. “Left unaddressed, fear does the work of keeping people home without a single agent setting foot at a polling place.”

Volunteers will include clergy members, veterans, teachers and others trained to provide clear answers on voters’ rights, Corcoran said.

In Ohio, where Vote Safe will launch on the first day of early voting, Republican Sen. Jon Husted is facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Springfield, Ohio, also has a large Haitian immigrant population that has been repeatedly attacked by Trump, who is seeking to deport them.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader who founded the National Action Network, suggested on Tuesday’s press call that some Americans in Ohio fear they could also be detained or even deported by ICE because of their skin color.

“‘You don’t understand, any Black looks like a Haitian in Ohio,’” Sharpton said, recalling a previous conversation with a journalist in Ohio. “You’ve got to prove you were from Alabama, not Port-au-Prince, after you’re deported.”

ProPublica reported on Tuesday that more than 500 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. About a dozen citizens, mostly children, have been deported.

What Trump has said

Trump, who has long made false claims about stolen elections and voter fraud, has maintained ambiguity surrounding what election-related actions he may take after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked his plan to use the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail ballots. Congress also didn’t pass the SAVE America Act, a measure he championed that would require voters to offer documentary proof of citizenship.

In a recent TIME magazine interview, Trump said he hadn’t thought of deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents to the polls. 

But he also left open the possibility of declaring a national emergency, which legal experts say would give him no power over elections. Under the Constitution, states administer elections, not the federal government.

Earlier this year, Trump told reporters he would “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said ICE agents can serve warrants at election sites, despite a ban on armed federal personnel at polling places. At the same time, DHS has denied any plans to target polling places.

DOJ election monitors

The Department of Justice’s plans to deploy 1,000 election monitors at polling places has also fueled concern among Democrats and voting rights advocates — and some Republicans. 

While the DOJ regularly dispatches monitors each election cycle, the scope of the effort and Trump’s history of pressuring election officials has led to unease about how the monitors will behave. 

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, earlier this year expressed reservations about Justice Department monitors, calling their actions “very odd” after DOJ personnel watched voting in the state’s primary election. 

On Monday, the NAACP sued the Justice Department for records about its election monitor program, alleging the DOJ didn’t comply with Freedom of Information Act timelines.

“Americans deserve to know whether the Justice Department is abusing its law enforcement powers to the detriment of voters and the election officials tasked with running our elections,” Kristen Clarke, the NAACP’s general counsel, said in a statement.

Justice Department spokesperson ​​Kiersten Pels wrote in an email to States Newsroom that monitors comply with all legal and ethical requirements. Pels added that they don’t interfere with the voting process and that their work “is consistent with longstanding Department practice of monitoring elections for compliance with federal law.”

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed concerns about the monitors in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” While confirming plans for about 1,000 monitors, he emphasized that the department sends out monitors every federal election.

“They’re not going to Republican states, they’re not going to Democrat states. They’re going to every state to make sure that our elections are carried out legally, fairly and appropriately,” Blanche said.

After Election Day

The preparations by civic groups also include post-election planning for potential disruptions to vote counting or attempts to overturn losses.

The FBI seized ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, in January. The then-director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was present at the raid at Trump’s request, underscoring its importance to the president. 

The Justice Department also spent months seeking information on election workers in Fulton County during the 2020 election before a federal judge quashed the subpoena in July.

The raid raised questions among activists and election experts about whether federal law enforcement would seek search warrants to obtain ballots after Election Day.

Ballot seizures are a point of concern, said Andrew Walchuk, senior policy director and counsel for voting and fair representation at Common Cause, a voting rights group. The raid was “an alert” to election offices that a seizure is something they need to prepare for, Walchuk said.

“It is definitely something that groups across the country are ready for, that we’re watching,” Walchuk told reporters last week.

Like other groups, Common Cause’s election preparations include training a network of volunteers who can help voters and identify potential problems. In Texas alone, more than 400 volunteers are already, said Marliza Marin, Common Cause’s Texas program manager. 

“It’s kind of unheard of to have this many volunteers already trained,” Marin said.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Senate Majority PAC, which is run by allies of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, has bought ad time, or has commitments to do so, in nine states, Lauren French, the group’s chief spokesperson told reporters Tuesday. 

Those states — Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — show Democrats are competing this cycle in typically Republican places. Elections analysts generally say those states are toss-ups or lean Democratic.

The Democratic super PAC’s slate, though, is not as expansive as some of the latest public polls and forecaster ratings show could be in play.

The group is “watching really closely” the races in GOP strongholds of Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Kansas, French said. 

At least one of those states, Kansas, could be in play for the first time in decades, according to elections forecaster The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, which moved it into the toss-up category Tuesday.

“Broadly, we are very pleased with the state of the race right now,” French said. “We are invested in nine battleground states and are looking very closely at some of the expansion states that are coming (into) play as we get four weeks from the election and the environment continues to be increasingly rough for Republicans.”

An expanded Senate map is available to Democrats because of President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, especially tied to the Iran war and related high gas prices, French said. Trump’s approval rating is lower than his disapproval rating “in every battleground state,” she added.

North Carolina moves

Opportunities for Republicans appear to be shrinking, with North Carolina moving further toward Democrats. 

Cook shifted the race from lean Democrat to likely Democrat on Tuesday, after the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, said last week it was freezing future spending in the state.

French said the Senate Majority PAC also canceled its television and digital spending this week in the race for the seat left open by retiring Republican Thom Tillis. The group has not made decisions on spending in the Tar Heel State beyond this week, she said.

Republicans hold cash edge

While the national political environment favors Democrats, the GOP and its fellow campaign groups maintain a massive cash advantage against Democrats.

Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., held more than $400 million at the end of August, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Senate Majority PAC showed around $57 million on hand in the same report.

Fundraising numbers for official party committees also significantly favor Republicans. 

The Republican National Committee and the party’s campaign groups supporting House and Senate candidates outraised their Democratic counterparts by about $100 million through Aug. 31, according to an analysis by nonpartisan elections analyst Ballopedia. 

Republicans have largely aimed to portray Democrats as too far to the left to capably manage Congress.

“Voters have a clear choice this November between Republicans who will fight for them and radical, socialist Democrats who would serve as rubber stamps for Chuck Schumer’s Washington machine,” Bernadette Breslin, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.

Rare pickup opportunities

Still, the Senate Majority PAC’s bullish sentiment broadly matches expert opinion, as forecasters continue to see a strong case for Democrats to pick up Senate seats. Republicans now control the Senate with 53 seats.

The elections handicapper Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved two Senate races in Democrats’ direction Tuesday. 

The group labeled Alaska as leaning toward Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in her challenge to incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, and shifted U.S. Sen. Darline Graham’s race in South Carolina from safe Republican to likely Republican. Graham was appointed to the seat when her late brother died, won a Republican primary election and is now seeking a six-year term.

Overall, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, which operates at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, rates 49 seats, including those of incumbents not on the ballot this year, as at least leaning toward the Democrat, with four seen as toss-ups. 

Democrats, who now hold 47 seats, would need to net 51 seats to win a majority because Vice President JD Vance casts tie-breaking votes.

A flip in control of the chamber would significantly slow Trump’s nominees to the federal bench and executive branch posts. 

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

As President Donald Trump’s war with Iran has continued, the rising cost of diesel fuel has been felt by all consumers, even if they don’t buy diesel fuel at the pump.

That’s because 96.8% of commercial semi-trucks, nearly all U.S. freight trains, and virtually all cargo ships are powered by diesel or its distillate cousin, fuel oil. Jet fuel, too, is a “middle distillate,” and competes with diesel and fuel oil for refinery output.

So nearly all the food and consumer goods that Ohioans buy traveled most of the way to their house on the power of diesel or a related fuel.

In Ohio on Sept. 22, diesel hit its highest average price on record — $6.80 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.

Those prices appear to be getting more volatile and heading generally upward at a time when diesel prices are already playing a big role in the affordability crisis that’s plaguing millions of Americans, said Dayton-based data analyst Eric Pachman.

He built a data visualization showing that as diesel goes up, so does the fuel surcharge for everything consumers buy.

In September 2025, the surcharge was 11% to 14%, depending on whether goods are shipped by truck or rail. By this September it was 21% to 27%.

If diesel goes to $10 a gallon, the fuel surcharge will be 30% to 37%, according to Pachman’s model.

He now runs the nonprofit Data 4 the People, which seeks to use high-level analysis to inform journalism and public policy. He previously held senior roles doing data analysis, modeling and engineering in a number of fields, including energy, transportation and finance.

According to another data visualization Pachman built, diesel reserves are the lowest they’ve been for this time of year at least since 1980. 

That, Pachman explained, makes the entire system vulnerable to all kinds of potential problems.

One is that global demand for U.S.-produced diesel shot up because of supply disruptions caused by the war with Iran. 

Refineries are highly complex facilities and they periodically shut down to do scheduled maintenance in a process called “turnaround” that typically takes place in the spring or fall.

Now, with global demand so high, refineries are delaying their turnarounds to take advantage of the huge profits that are available, Pachman said.

“They’re saying, ‘We’ll take our chances,’” he said. “And guess what just happened? A refinery broke down and it was one in the Midwest. When you saw a big jump in diesel prices, it was because of that. This is going on everywhere. You’re laying one risk on top of the next risk on top of the next risk.” 

He was referring to the ExxonMobile refinery in Joliet, Ill., that went offline Sept. 13 and took weeks to restart. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, diesel prices in the Midwest jumped from $6.25 a gallon on Sept. 14 to $6.68 a week later.

Pachman said refineries are running full bore and reserves are at an all-time low at exactly the wrong time of year — heading into winter. Particularly in the Northeast, fuel oil is widely used for heating, and demand for it will go up as temperatures go down.

“If we use more heating oil we have less diesel and that’s why refineries try to stock up, and you can clearly see from this chart going into the winter,” he said, referring to his reserve visualization. “Week 38 (of 2026) is where we try to peak out on our inventories and drop down from there.”

As the stresses in the system grow, it becomes more volatile, making progressively crazier outcomes more likely, Pachman said.

“The reason I think $10 is a distinct possibility is because things don’t move linearly,” he said. “At a certain point, people just freak out about stuff. We haven’t reached that point. Things have gradually risen as supply has drained to the lowest levels on record. There’s been no freakout yet. But I’d say it’s a distinct possibility or even a reasonable probability.”

As for finding a way to post such prices on truck-stops’ signs, Fortune on Sept. 10, reported that in California, they hadn’t. The story was titled “$9.999 and maxed out: California diesel prices overwhelm pump displays as global supply crunch worsens.”

Diesel retailers Marathon Oil, Pilot Travel Centers and BP were asked if they thought diesel could go to $10 in Ohio, and whether they planned to adjust their signs if it did. None responded.

With no resolution of the war in sight, measures have been proposed to ease the pain at U.S. truck stops. Neither effectively addresses the underlying problem, Pachman said.

Ohio last week suspended the 47-cent-a-gallon diesel tax until Jan. 2. That means the state will lose about $725 million from gasoline and diesel taxes.

It’s money that builds and maintains roads, bridges and waterways. The state will replace any funds local governments might lose, but that’s still public money that won’t be available for any other purpose.

That’s happening as more than 500,000 Ohioans are expected to lose health coverage due to changes at the federal level. More than 100,000 Ohioans had already lost federal food assistance by July as a consequence of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Pachman said the fuel tax holiday also warps the proper functioning of the marketplace. 

When goods become scarce, they get more expensive, and that motivates people to use less, find alternatives, or both. When the Ohio legislature artificially made diesel 47 cents cheaper, it short-circuited part of that dynamic, Pachman said.

Partly due to its refining capacity, the U.S. is the largest diesel exporter in the world. Present circumstances make that a problem.

“The war screwed all that up,” Pachman said. “Not only do we not have enough for us, we’re also still exporting it.”

Some farm-state lawmakers are still pushing an export ban on diesel even after Trump said he wouldn’t support one. Pachman said such a ban is a lot more complicated than it might sound.

“On the surface it might sound like a good idea,” he said. “But it could make everything worse because it could create such a global shortage that in Europe it could shoot prices through the roof and create chaos and raise prices here because we’re all linked.”

There are reasons to believe that even without a ban, diesel won’t go to $10 a gallon in the Buckeye State. But one would be bitter medicine if it happens.

Escalating global debt — due partly to spiking energy costs — is creating volatility in the bond markets. And worries are growing that the entire economy is propped up by a tech bubble that’s about to burst.

If the economy tanks due to those dynamics, diesel probably won’t reach $10, Pachman said. But it isn’t something to look forward to.

“One reason I think it might not happen is you may destroy demand,” he said. “At a certain point in time, people may stop buying because it’s too expensive.”

He added, “But that’s not a reason to celebrate — if we go into another Great Recession.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

In June, the Ohio Capital Journal reported the Ramaswamy campaign had racked up nearly half a million dollars on a credit card without reporting details about the expenditures.

Since then, Ramaswamy’s team has revised its campaign finance reports. Expenditures previously obscured behind a single credit card reimbursement are now broken down into individual line items.

The secretary’s office has also fulfilled Ohio Capital Journal’s public records request for supporting documentation related to the campaign’s reports.

Despite that, there’s room to quibble with the no violation finding, Smith said. The revised reports, for instance, list the payees and amounts, but instead of reporting those transactions on the date they occurred, each one is listed on the date the campaign paid its credit card statement.

Smith is also frustrated the secretary’s office still hasn’t responded to his request for correspondence with Ramaswamy’s campaign.

“There’s one of two conclusions,” Smith said. “(Ohio Secretary of State Frank) LaRose is letting the billionaire candidate skate on the rules, or LaRose and his office, to the best of their ability, are trying to make Ramaswamy come into compliance, and he’s completely ignoring it.”

“You would think that the correspondence between the offices would satisfy that curiosity,” he added.

The Capital Journal sought comment from the Secretary of State’s office and Vivek Ramaswmay’s campaign for this story. Neither responded.

The background

Starting with its very first campaign finance report in 2025, Ramaswamy’s campaign reported thousands of dollars in monthly campaign expenditures as a single credit card reimbursement.

Early on, those expenditures were relatively small. In April of 2025, for instance, the campaign reported about $6,700 on its American Express card.

A year later, the campaign reported more than $96,000 on its credit card in one month.

State law requires campaigns to report what they spent, who they paid, what they purchased and when it happened. By reporting its monthly credit card statement, the campaign was able to obscure nearly all those reporting requirements.

The Ohio Capital Journal first reported the campaign’s unusual credit card use in April ahead of the primary election and filed a public records request with the Secretary of State’s office.

The Ramaswamy campaign’s pattern of credit card use continued on its post-primary campaign finance report in June.

The Capital Journal again requested public records from the Secretary of State and asked a series of questions about his office’s efforts to correct the campaign’s reporting.

In August, the secretary’s office responded to the records request with supporting documents for the campaign’s reports. The secretary never responded to the Ohio Capital Journal’s questions.

The complaint process

Following the Capital Journal’s story, Sen. Smith filed complaints with the Ohio Election Integrity Unit and requested correspondence between the secretary and the Ramaswamy campaign.

He described getting pushback to his complaint from the secretary’s office, explaining that Ramaswamy’s team was correcting its reports.

Smith didn’t retract his complaints, and on Sept. 16, the Ohio Election Integrity Unit sent him its findings of “no violation.”

Unlike the Ohio Elections Commission, which was a politically independent body charged with overseeing campaign finance law, the Ohio Election Integrity Unit operates within the secretary’s office.

The Ohio Elections Commission was eliminated by Republican state lawmakers and the new unit was put under the partisan elected office of the Secretary of State.

The letters emphasize the secretary’s role in the decision.

“After careful consideration of the evidence,” they read, “the Election Integrity Unit has recommended, and the Secretary of State adopted, the following finding(s).”

LaRose, who is running as the Republican candidate for state auditor this November, has endorsed Ramaswamy and appeared alongside him at several campaign events.

Catherine Turcer from the government watchdog group Common Cause Ohio, doesn’t see a problem with the unit’s finding.

The goal of campaign finance law, she explained, often isn’t to penalize committees who get their filings wrong — it’s to get them to fix the problem.

“It makes sense for the Secretary of State’s office to alert them as soon as possible,” Turcer said, “and to try to get the information as quickly as possible, so that voters actually have information when they can use it.”

Under the previous system, she said, audits or commission decisions could come a year or more after the fact. Turcer also has no immediate issue with the secretary’s role in the decision-making process.

“I always appreciate when it’s honest,” she said. “It makes it very clear that at the end of the day, the secretary of state is deciding — that the unit made a recommendation, the secretary of state is making a decision.”

“What is a problem,” she added, “is that it’s not clear that the person who complained can actually appeal this to the commission.”

When lawmakers nixed the Ohio Election Commission they replaced it with a new five member Ohio Election Integrity Commission. The secretary chooses the commission chair, and majority and minority leaders in the General Assembly each get one nominee.

While the secretary’s election integrity unit investigates, and the secretary decides on fines or referrals to county prosecutors, the new commission has the final say if a complainant appeals.

The letter Smith received makes no mention of an appeal. Instead, it advises that “no further action is needed from you” and includes contact information if he has questions.

“If it’s not clear that, hey, the next step is you could go to the commission with an appeal, well that’s a problem,” Turcer said.

Appeal coming?

For Smith, the gaps in Ramaswamy’s campaign finance reports are less concerning than what those gaps might suggest.

“Has my campaign lost receipts over 25 years? Oh God, yes,” Smith said. “Has everybody lost receipts? Of course. Should any candidate be prosecuted for lost receipts? No.”

“But again,” he continued, “when the problem gets egregiously worse, that says to me the problem was never corrected. And that is either a failure of the Secretary of State’s office to tell the Ramaswamy campaign, no, you can’t do this, or the Ramaswamy campaign has been told and they’re ignoring it.”

Smith says he’s still “considering every additional option” but has yet to formally appeal the secretary’s decision.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

“Don’t open the refrigerator!”

When the power goes out, people lose more than electricity. We were lucky: we were on vacation with yesterday’s barbecue in the fridge. Often, people lose power and that means they can’t make it to work, they lose their week’s groceries, lose air conditioning during a heatwave, or have essential medicine go bad overnight.

When a customer pays her electricity bill, she is not only purchasing power. She is also purchasing reliable access to power. And she is making decisions based on that: what to buy, how to spend her time, trusting that when she plugs an appliance in and she flips a switch, she will have power.

Power companies don’t always have to live up to this, though. They often have to make decisions between grid reliability, service maintenance, and other priorities. And often, it is cheaper to leave customers with the costs of intermittent power outages.

Last month, a bipartisan group of 18 Ohio House members introduced a bill to change this.

Ohio House Bill 1014 would require utilities to provide electric bill credits to customers after sufficiently long outages at their homes.

After a 16-hour outage under normal conditions, a household would receive a credit of the greater of either $50 or their monthly bill plus additional credits for additional days, plus reimbursement for lost food and medicine. Businesses would be reimbursed with a less generous formula.

The bill also stipulates that utilities will not be able to recover those payments through higher rates to customers.

Essentially, the bill puts a price on grid reliability.

This payment is larger than some estimates of household willingness to pay to avoid outages.

According to analysis done by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, residential customers have an average willingness to pay of $57 to avoid a 24-hour blackout. The average monthly electricity bill in Ohio was $135 in 2024 and is likely higher now.

But this isn’t just about compensating households in the case of a power outage. It’s also about preventing power outages in the first place.

If utility decision makers are mulling over whether to make grid improvements or invest in other changes, this could be a tool for encouraging prevention of power loss, which could lead to a more reliable grid overall.

Having a compensation rate at this level could also help improve equity of power outages.

The way the compensation scheme is designed, it makes the timeline for eligibility shorter for smaller blackouts. Restoring service to isolated or difficult-to-support customers can be expensive, while much of the cost of leaving them without power falls on those customers. Under this bill, these costs would show up in a utility’s bottom line.

Excessive fees could backfire, however. If the fee level is set too high, it could give incentives for utilities to spend more preventing outages than customers value, or divert resources from other grid investments.

Putting a price on outages, though, would give utilities a reason to account for costs that currently fall largely on customers.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.