Despite a history of losing in Ohio, Democrats say they are optimistic about this year’s election. A Democrat has not won an executive branch race for state office since a 2008 special election for attorney general. That came two years after Democrats had remarkable gains in the state, ...
Neither U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican, nor his Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown, a former 18-year senator, lack confidence when it comes to believing they will win Mahoning and Trumbull counties during the November election. I spoke with both of them late last week about the election as well as their positions on a number of other issues. Husted was appointed to the Senate in January 2025 by Gov. Mike DeWine after serving six years as his lieutenant governor. Before that, he was secretary of state and speaker of the Ohio House. BROWN TOUTS VALLEY TIES The best-known ...
In Ohio, the lieutenant governor doesn’t have many responsibilities. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the latter leaves office. Also, the second-in-charge is usually a sounding board for the governor and if the governor chooses to, that person can be appointed as an administrative department head. If the governor doesn’t want anything to do with the lieutenant governor, the latter can spend most of his or her time collecting a paycheck and nothing more. But selecting a lieutenant governor running mate is always a big deal even though the most important quality that ...
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican responsible for overseeing elections in Ohio, often says that in this state “it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.” Yet Republicans continue to follow President Donald Trump’s lead by restricting voting despite the minuscule instances of fraud in Ohio. The latest law, approved Nov. 19 by the General Assembly and signed Dec. 19 by Gov. Mike DeWine, requires all mail-in ballots to arrive at county boards of elections no later than the same day as the election. Before that, voters had to have their ballots postmarked by the day ...
Don’t expect embattled Mahoning County Clerk of Court Michael P. Ciccone to voluntarily resign from his elected position despite the county Republican and Democratic parties united in an effort to have him removed from office. Ciccone, a Republican, has too much to lose to quit his job despite the mounting pressure. Ciccone’s finances don’t appear to be in good shape despite making $101,823 in annual salary as clerk of courts. I reported Nov. 8 that Ciccone owed $3,230.57 in delinquent taxes on three properties he owns, with most of it — $1,983.92 — for his personal ...
The only executive branch seats up for grabs in next year’s election in Trumbull County are for auditor and one of the three commissioner spots. With a Feb. 4 filing deadline for the May 5 primary, no one has submitted nominating petitions for any of the seats, but there are a number of people interested. Auditor Martha Yoder, a Republican first elected to the job in 2022, said she will run for reelection. Two other Republicans declared their candidacy for Trumbull auditor. They are Stacy A. Marling, Bazetta fiscal officer and Mahoning County chief deputy auditor, and Mike ...
