The Ohio Turnpike Commission has announced winners for their name a snowplow contest.
They are:
Ctrl-Salt-Delete
Plow Chicka Plow Wow
You’re Killin’ Me Squalls
The Big LePlowski
(cont'd)
Inbox: Dave Matthews, of Dave Mathews Band fame, is playing a free concert as a GOTV event for Tim Ryan in Columbus on Monday, Oct. 24. He joins Paul Simon and Dropkick Murphys as among the musical acts who have performed at Ryan events in recent weeks.
Something that strikes me about today's news: So much of what prosecutors call a corrupt scheme played out in public. Not that it was easy to connect the dots, but Ohio reporters (including my co-workers) did the dogged work of connecting them. Some examples:
State Rep. Jennifer Gross has asked legislative researchers to draft the "Issue 1 Implementation Act."
It would give the Ohio General Assembly "exclusive authority over implementing" Issue 1, and make it an impeachable offense for any judge to rule on or attempt to enforce it.
The TV stations moderating Monday's Republican U.S. Senate debate gave Sherrod Brown the chance to tee off on each of his potential opponents.
Of Matt Dolan, he said:
"I wish he’d spend the money he’s spending in this race on a power-hitting right fielder for Cleveland."
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission to say before Thursday why they shouldn't be held in contempt of court. By my count, this is the third time this has happened.
The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed Attorney General Dave Yost's appeal of the heartbeat bill lawsuit.
This almost certainly means Ohio's six-week abortion ban will be struck down as soon as a Hamilton County judge gets around to it.
Some personal news - I am stepping into the role of chief political reporter for and The Plain Dealer. Not much will change short term, but per the legacy of
@SethARichardson
, I will be growing shoulder length hair and buying some tie-dye tracksuits ASAP.
Although there are still outstanding absentee ballots to be counted, the final pre-Aug. 8 election early vote numbers are in. 695,561 Ohioans have voted early.
That's around 8.7% of overall voter turnout and more than the 638,708 that voted overall (8% turnout) in August 2022.
Ohio’s minimum wage might still be $5.15 an hour, casino gambling still would be illegal, and recent economic development and conservation programs would have failed, had a 60% approval threshold been in effect in previous decades.
Not that facts matter _at all_ for stuff like this but:
1. Ohio elections are run locally
2. LaRose fired a GOP elections leader in the county where this happened for incompetence
3. The Ohio Supreme Court overruled him
4. Kari Lake endorsed that GOP leader for Ohio GOP chair
Sound familiar?? Looks like they took a page out of the Maricopa County “selections” playbook.
Today is Election Day in Ohio and the machines don’t work. The swampy never-Trumper Ohio Secretary of State was too busy running for another office to do his job making sure Election
Montrose Group, a Republican public affairs firm in Columbus, has released a wide-ranging poll that includes
#OHGov
and
#OHSen
. It was conducted Sept. 6-11, the week Republicans ramped up their spending in the race.
Toplines:
DeWine 49 Whaley 37
Ryan 46 Vance 43
Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor writes she agrees fully with the Democratic justices' opinion, but adds a description of an action she says voters can take to reduce partisanship of redistricting process. I've never seen something like this in a legal opinion.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose missed a deadline yesterday to file a personal financial disclosure with the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee. He previously requested a 90-day extension on Aug. 16.
Some personal news (TM)
We have expanded our family through adoption once again — hooray! — and I am taking a couple months off for parental leave as we welcome her to the world.
I will return in early May, and hopefully will have gotten some sleep by then.
Rep. Jim Jordan was asked on NewsMax if he'd run for Portman's Senate seat. "I mean, we'll see. I'm focused on my work on the Judiciary Committee... And frankly, what I'm focused on is this crazy impeachment trial." h/t
@sabrinaeaton
Cuyahoga County elections officials are wrapping up verification of signatures the abortion-rights amendment today. They told me signature verification rate is around 65%, which is quite high and suggests that the issue will qualify overall.
Sabrina Warner, who ousted former Attorney General Betty Montgomery from her seat on the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee in 2022, has resigned her seat. She cited the passage of Issue 1.
Greetings from the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which just met and is planning to recess.
House Speaker Bob Cupp: "Any objections to a... 30 minute recess?"
Gov. Mike DeWine, audibly: "Oh my God."
Turnout in Cuyahoga County is just under 63%, compared to 69.5% in 2016. That includes just 48% turnout in Cleveland, around 10 points behind. I'm hearing concern from Ohio Democrats that it's not high enough, especially if there ends up being increased turnout around the state.
Some interesting quotes from former Ohio Supreme Court chief justice Maureen O'Connor here.
“It’s misleading. It’s deceptive. And if it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable.”
A CBS News investigation found a coordinated campaign, heavily funded by a Republican mega-donor, that could make it hard to pass amendments to protect abortion access in places like Ohio.
@CHueyBurns
' report shows how that effort was also used in other states.
The founder of the Ohio Business Roundtable penned an op-ed opposing State Issue 1.
"Issue 1 sends the wrong message to the nation, will be harmful to our business climate, and will make it far harder to attract and retain the 21st century talent..."
Gov. Mike DeWine and other Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission are responding to a request that they be held in contempt of court this morning.
You may be surprised to learn they don't think they should be found in contempt of court
J.D. Vance For Senate Inc. reports its Q2 fundraising numbers for his Senate campaign:
- $1m raised
- $1m spent
- $628,111 cash on hand
- $882,833 debts owed
Inbox: Sherrod Brown's non-management campaign staff have unionized under IBEW Local 1466. Brown issued a statement saying he's "proud" to recognize them. "They are advancing the Dignity of Work in Ohio and across the country every day and I stand in solidarity with them."
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has given members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission until Monday morning to explain why they should not be held in contempt for the state legislative map they passed on Monday night.
The fact that O'Connor felt strongly enough about the redistricting commission's failures that she wrote into her opinion how voters can abolish the commission shows that Republican legislative leaders really miscalculated here.
Thanks to the 15-20 emails I got today on this subject, I learned that some people do actually read to the end of my stories. From today's Plain Dealer:
Hi,
Great news! I am going to be taking the next six weeks off for paternal leave. I will probably be staying off This Site for the duration, although I can't rule out any sports tweets. Sorry in advance.
Here is the official statement from Republicans that seems to argue they would be legally justified to award themselves up to 81% of Ohio’s state legislative seats.
Ohio Republicans are preparing to offer a state legislative map that would create 57R-42D House districts and 20R-13D Senate districts. That proportion is almost identical to the 58R-41D and 20R-13D map Dems submitted as their final offer in September that Republicans rejected.
Inbox: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says that 355,483 people have voted early, by mail and in person, for the Aug. 8 election to decide State Issue 1.
That compares to the 288,707 people who voted early overall in the May 2022 primary election.
.
@nanwhaley
tells reporters it's "insane" teachers will have to do 180 hours of training to renew their licenses, but only 24 to carry a gun in school.
"For Mike DeWine, safety is just a campaign talking point. He doesn’t give a shit about whether you or your family are safe.”
Clark was fined $500 mostly for briefly not having her last name in her campaign committee name.
In contrast, Larry Householder, who spent almost $1 million in campaign money on his criminal legal defense, despite that not being allowed, has not yet and may not be punished.
🧵 Philip Richter, the Executive Director of the Ohio Elections Commission confirms Democratic Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark, who appeared in front of the OEC Thursday, has been found guilty of three state election law violations.
@SpectrumNews1OH
Democrats claimed there was no "grand deal" with Jason Stephens to get him elected Ohio House speaker last week.
Well judge for yourself, here is a major change under the Stephens regime:
.
@ninaturner
Bernie returns the favor, says there very few voices have spoken out for progressive causes with the "force and the decency" as Turner has.
Jen Miller, president of the Ohio League of Women Voters, says that voters have been turned away at four polling locations in Stark County after they ran out of ballots.
From yesterday: The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association will give its President's Award to Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor on June 16. O'Connor will attend a ceremony in Cleveland, the group says.
Rep. Max Miller says he’s rescinding his endorsement of Reidel due to this video. “Craig Reidel’s recent comments make clear that he is not committed to the America First agenda.”
I haven’t heard back yet from Reidel’s team about the video itself.
This is a follow-on to a press release Gross and three other House Republicans issued on Friday. Ohio Value Voters, a hard-right social conservative group issued a longer version of that press release earlier in the day.
Much of the increase is due to Cuyahoga County, where voters through last Friday had filed 15,400 requests for absentee ballots, compared to the 1,899 voters had requested at the equivalent time in 2022.
Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens: “I remain steadfastly committed to protecting life, and that commitment is unwavering. The legislature has multiple paths that we will explore to continue to protect innocent life. This is not the end of the conversation.”
J.D. Vance has announced his first major hires.
His chief of staff will be Jacob Reses, who previously worked for Sen. Josh Hawley.
And his state director will be Brian Gray, a former Ohio House GOP aide who might be the first person Vance hired when he launched his campaign.
Frank LaRose's Super PAC has a new biographical ad that features his military service.
Fun fact: It uses a stock image of Estonian soldiers to illustrate LaRose's military background.
In the throes of their lame-duck session, the Ohio House is about to ram through a measure that will designate the sugar cookie as Ohio's official cookie.
Unbelievable.
So without commenting on whether this all rose to the level of criminality, reading today's charges was like reading reporting from Ohio media over the past few years, plus wiretaps. Despite efforts to conceal it, it wasn't a secret who was behind this and why.
Every city in Cuyahoga County, even its conservative suburbs, voted against Issue 1. And in 8 east side communities, it went down with 90% of the vote. via
@ZackMS
With how last night's election went, I expect Ohio Republicans will look to see how far they can push the limits of redistricting reform voters approved in 2018 when they go back to the drawing board for 2024 congressional maps. 1/
.
@JohnKasich
on CNN says efforts by GOP-controlled Wisconsin legislature to weaken powers of incoming Democratic governor are “outrageous.” “You can’t reverse the election by manipulation.” Says there were “murmurs” of something similar in Ohio, and that he would have vetoed it.
Northwest Ohio is so confusing. Huron is not in Huron County, it's in Erie County, which is one of a dozen counties bordering Lake Erie, Sandusky is not in Sandusky County and don't even get me started on Upper Sandusky.
Shortly after he was elected again to the legislature, Householder flew the FirstEnergy plane to Trump's inauguration. Then he launched his bid to become speaker. via
@lbischoff