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David Skolnick

Democrats face uphill climb in Valley races for Congress

Thanks to gerrymandering and the financial advantages of incumbency, only four out of the 15 U.S. House races in Ohio on the Nov. 3 ballot are considered competitive. Among the safe Republican districts are the two that include the Mahoning Valley: the 14th Congressional District, a seat held by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who is seeking his eighth two-year term; and the 6th, which has been represented by Congressman Michael Rulli, R-Salem, since he won a special June 2024 election. The 14th District favors Republicans 58.5% to 41.5% for Democrats based on partisan statewide ...

It’s beginning to look a lot like a close governor’s race

It’s premature to handicap the Ohio gubernatorial race in July as a lot will happen between now and the Nov. 3 election. But it looks like the state will have one of its most-contested governor’s races in a number of years. Ohio governor races aren’t typically close. Since 1982, there’s only been three races that could fall into that category. In 1998, Republican Bob Taft beat Democrat Lee Fisher by 5.3%. In 2010, Republican John Kasich beat Democrat Ted Strickland, who was the incumbent, by 2%. In 2018, Republican Mike DeWine defeated Democrat Richard Cordray by ...

Sun won’t shine on JobsOhio

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Sandra O’Brien requiring JobsOhio to comply with open records and meetings laws seems to make a lot of sense — and has little chance of being passed. Several of O’Brien’s fellow Republicans in the state Legislature, including the most-powerful ones, don’t want to see changes to JobsOhio, created in 2011 as a private nonprofit agency to provide incentives to companies to locate and remain in Ohio. The agency is funded through lucrative state liquor profits. O’Brien, R-Lenox, whose district includes all of Trumbull County, on April 9 ...

Gov. DeWine has a knack for vetoing Thomas’ bills

It’s become almost a running joke with state Rep. David Thomas that every time he comes across Gov. Mike DeWine he is met with a veto. DeWine, a Republican, vetoed five property tax reform items on July 1, 2025, that Thomas, R-Jefferson, had sponsored in separate bills that were put into the state budget. The state Legislature overrode one veto and after making some minor changes; the General Assembly approved the others with the governor signing them into law Dec. 19. Then, DeWine vetoed a Thomas bill on June 24. The bill would have created consumer protections for those who pay ...

Moreno doesn’t hold back on Democrats

When U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno spoke to a crowd at the Mahoning County Republican Party headquarters, he didn’t hold back. Moreno, a Republican, took direct aim at Democrats. That included Democratic Congressional leadership in Congress — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — as well as a few Democratic candidates for federal office. Moreno also targeted Sherrod Brown, who he defeated in the 2024 election and is running in this year’s Senate race against Republican Jon Husted, and Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who ...

Taking a deeper dive into Trump Reflecting Pool mess

There are two variations on an old saying about the Mahoning Valley and news. One is “All roads lead to the Mahoning Valley,” and the other is “There’s always a Valley connection.” While it’s certainly not the case, it does happen considerably more times than you’d expect — ...