Top races to watch in Tuesday's Ohio primary
From House District 88 to Ohio Supreme Court, here are the top 2026 primary races to watch. Polls open Tuesday, May 5th from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Elections
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Ohio’s Republican supreme court candidates make a bid to unseat 6-1 court’s only Democratic justice
Four Republican candidates in Ohio’s Supreme Court primary highlight legal experience and judicial philosophy as they compete to unseat the court’s lone Democrat.
Formal complaints filed against Sandusky County judge over Venmo campaign funds
A Defiance man has filed formal complaints with 2 Ohio regulatory bodies alleging Sandusky County Judge Brad Smith violated state campaign finance law by accepting campaign contributions through a personal Venmo account — allegations Smith has not addressed publicly.
Ramaswamy backed COVID 'segregation' as firm got $2.25B
Vivek Ramaswamy backed a national COVID registry that would 'segregate' Americans, while his biotech firm got $2.25B from Moderna over vaccines.
Ohio treasurer looking to play musical chairs with statewide office spreads false election hysteria
Ohio’s state treasurer, Robert Sprague, is a term-limited Republican musical chair politician who hopes to grab another statewide seat for…
Ohio Gun Owners drops Gary Click to F rating days before primary
Ohio Gun Owners downgraded State Rep. Gary Click from a C-minus to an F rating Thursday, citing what the organization calls unreturned campaign contributions from gun-control lobbyists — a last-minute blow 5 days before the May 5 Republican primary.
Beth Tischler rates Jon Ickes '9 out of 10' as he faces discipline for n-word, child rape trial texts
Sandusky County Prosecutor Beth Tischler rated Judge Jon Ickes a 9 out of 10 in disciplinary proceedings that found he repeatedly called an 18-month-old rape victim's case the "baby cocksucker case," used the n-word in the courthouse within earshot of a Black defendant, and sent sexual texts to staff during the trial.
Ohio data center ban advocates are trying to get 413,000 signatures by July 1
A volunteer-driven effort to ban large data centers in Ohio needs more than 413,000 signatures across 44 counties by July 1 — organizers say they're confident they'll make it.
Amy Acton hosts roundtable with Cincinnati constituents over affordability concerns
Democratic governor candidate Dr. Amy Acton met with Cincinnati residents last week to discuss housing, health care, and energy costs as part of her "ActOn" affordability agenda ahead of Tuesday's primary.
This Ohio county put a ban on wind and solar. Will voters reverse it?
Richland County residents vote May 5 on whether to overturn a commissioner-imposed ban on large-scale wind and solar projects — a decision that could set a precedent for clean energy fights across Ohio.
Ohio Republican state lawmakers still want to rob Ohio voters of fundamental Constitutional power
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to try again to rob voters of our fundamental power over the Ohio Constitution. They haven’t…
Gary Click spent months dismissing Eric Watson. Now he's holding emergency rallies.
After months of dismissing Watson's challenge, Click is now holding emergency rallies and warning of a coordinated attack with six days until the Republican primary.
Jon Husted launches first ad campaign of U.S. Senate election in Ohio
The Republican senator faces no primary challenger but is already on the air in Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo ahead of a likely fall matchup with Democrat Sherrod Brown.
US Supreme Court limits use of race in congressional district remaps, diluting Voting Rights Act
A 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais has severely weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to racial gerrymandering across the South and potentially shifting dozens of congressional seats to Republicans.
Tischler's campaign treasurer is the sheriff who helped erase Smith's $33K audit finding
Sandusky County Sheriff Christopher Hilton — who serves as Beth Tischler's campaign treasurer and co-signed the letter that helped erase a $33,300 state audit finding against Judge Brad Smith — appeared in uniform on video Tuesday urging voters to support Tischler's bid for judge one week before the May 5 primary.
Scandals roil OH-9 GOP primary in final 8 days
Eight days from the May 5 primary, three of Ohio's 9th Congressional District Republican candidates — Derek Merrin, Josh Williams, and Madison Sheahan — are facing damaging headlines.
Click brands Watson 'the Arizona Kid' — but he himself moved here from Indiana
State Rep. Gary Click is closing his primary campaign by branding challenger Eric Watson "the Arizona Kid." Click himself moved to Ohio from Indiana in 2006 — about a year before Watson's family marked 175 years in Seneca County.
Fossil fuel promoters tied to campaign to keep Ohio county renewable ban
Richland County voters are deciding whether to reject a wind and solar ban. Organizations linked to pro-gas interests have given money to keep it in place.
Husted campaign cuts $1,500 check to anti-LGBTQ+ hate group
Sen. Jon Husted's reelection campaign paid $1,500 to the Center for Christian Virtue, an SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group, an FEC filing shows.
Forced out of court clerk job over politicking and bungled cases, Sandusky County GOP chair appointed to commissioner seat
Justin Smith was reprimanded in 2019 for using county work time on political business and turning in inaccurate work before resigning. Seven years later, the Sandusky County GOP he leads named him to fill a commissioner vacancy.
