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Mahoning, Trumbull counties shortchanged in funding bill

When you see the dollar amount, $31 million coming to Mahoning and Trumbull counties from the state’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund and the capital budget seems like a lot of money. But based on population, the counties come up short in terms of the money they will receive ...

Tiff mars Cutrona appointment

Overcoming an internal Republican political dispute that included significant pressure placed on those casting the deciding votes, Al Cutrona emerged as the successor to Michael Rulli in the Ohio Senate. It was a quick but not easy process that led to Cutrona, a Republican state ...

What went wrong with Mike Rulli’s winning campaign?

The day before the special 6th Congressional District election, a Republican I’ve known for years texted me: “You get the feeling tomorrow’s special is going to be a lot closer than people think? I do.” On the night of the election, the Republican texted me, “Looks like I even ...

Congressional records studied — with some surprising results

Various groups do studies of congressional members to paint a picture of the officeholders based on voting records and other actions they take. No study is perfect; the organizations looking at congressional records interpret them based on their political philosophies and biases. In just the past couple of weeks, a pair of studies stood out to me. I’ve written articles about the bipartisan studies done by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy for years. The study reviews every bill, excluding resolutions, to determine if those introduced ...

Rulli favored in Congress race

Republican Michael Rulli is the heavy favorite to win the June 11 special election for the open 6th Congressional District seat, but Democrat Michael L. Kripchak isn’t throwing in the towel. “I’m going to be a blue congressman in a supposedly red district,” Kripchak said. When you look at the numbers, there’s nothing supposed about the district being solidly Republican. The district has an 18% advantage for Republicans based on voting trends in partisan statewide elections over the past decade. National Democrats aren’t getting involved in this special election even ...

Biden ballot access in doubt

If President Joe Biden is going to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot in Ohio, his campaign is likely going to have to file a lawsuit and be successful. As it currently stands, Ohio will be the only state in the nation not to include the sitting president who is seeking reelection on the ...