DeWine regrets he signed sports gambling legislation

January 30, 2026

While Frank Sinatra sang about “regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention,” Mike DeWine was quick to mention his biggest regret during his seven years as governor: signing the bill to legalize sports gambling. In a 60-minute interview earlier this week, DeWine said: “On the negative side, I’ve been pretty open about saying that if I had to do it over again I would not have signed the gaming bill. I don’t think I fully appreciated how many millions of dollars these gaming companies would spend coming into the state of Ohio to get more and more people ...

Sizing up state election, most Democrats face uphill battle

January 23, 2026

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, ...

Husted, Brown both count on Valley vote in Senate race

January 16, 2026

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 ...

Acton, Ramaswamy running mates play vital campaign role

January 9, 2026

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 ...

Late-arriving ballots won’t be counted

January 2, 2026

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 ...

Ciccone may stay put for year as removal drive plays out

December 26, 2025

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 ...