Rotunda Rumblings
Abortion report: The number of abortions induced in Ohio last year was 22,000, with the number of out-of-state residents who came to Ohio for an abortion nearly doubled from recent years, Laura Hancock reports, at nearly 13%. Ohio enshrined abortion rights at the end of 2023, a year when many other states lost abortion access, including Indiana.
Veepstakes: The influx of Haitian immigrants to Springfield, Ohio, and GOP U.S. Sen. JD Vance’s portrayal of that community were an early talking point in Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate between Vance and Democrat Tim Walz, Sabrina Eaton writes. Vance has been among those who have amplified unsubstantiated claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield were eating their neighbor’s pets. Those claims didn’t resurface during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, as they did when former President Donald Trump broadcast them at a debate last month. “This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” Walz said before describing how Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who says he’s voting for Trump, “had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergarteners to school.
Abortion question: Vance also had to answer for his shifting position on abortion. Robert Higgs writes that Vance pointed to Ohio’s 2023 vote on the abortion amendment, supported by 57% of voters, as evidence that Republicans need to regain trust on the issue of reproductive rights. While Vance was answering the question, Trump posted on social media that he would veto a national abortion ban in his latest move to stake out a more moderate position on the issue than the GOP has traditionally held.
Who paid the bribes? When FirstEnergy paid for a $75 million lobbying effort to secure a bailout of its nuclear plants, which included two self-professed bribes to top politicians, the company paid for the whole thing without ratepayers’ help. As Jake Zuckerman writes, that’s according to a newly released audit from the regulators from the PUCO originally ordered more than four years ago as news of a historic public corruption prosecution developed.
Not up for debate? Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican opponent Bernie Moreno each say they want to debate each other ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. But as Jeremy Pelzer reports, neither side has reached out to the other about actually organizing any debates, even with early voting set to begin in earnest in less than a week. While debates aren’t as de rigueur as they once were in Ohio political campaigns, it would be notable if the candidates in what’s perhaps the nation’s most-watched Senate race didn’t square off publicly.
Panic buy: The state would purchase panic alert systems for all public and many private school staff, costing $25 million, under a new bill in the Ohio Senate named after a victim of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. Alyssa’s Law is designed so if there’s an active shooter incident, no time is spent calling police. Instead, the panic alert would notify the cops, and lock down the schools. The idea is that time is better spent moving students to safety, Hancock reports.
Time line: Ohioans are running short of time to register to vote in the 2024 election. Rick Rouan writes that the deadline is approaching on Oct. 7 and offers a how-to on checking your registration and getting registered.
Targeting Brown: The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund political action committee is launching a seven-figure ad campaign targeting Sherrod Brown, Fox News reports. The NRA gives Brown an “F” rating for his positions on gun issues. Its 30-second cable television ad that’s scheduled to run through the election urges voters to “vote like your life depends on it,” and praises Brown’s opponent, Republican Bernie Moreno, as a strong Second Amendment advocate.
IRA contribution: Despite U.S. Sen. JD Vance’s critiques of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ohio residents including those in his hometown of Middletown have been big beneficiaries, The New York Times reports. Many local leaders and residents say they do not want to see the new investments, which are already starting to revitalize the local economy, disappear. Among the companies benefiting is the steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs, whose facility in Middletown was awarded a grant of up to $500 million from the Energy Department.
In the Middle(town): The Washington Post’s Peter Jamison talked with Middletown business and civic leaders about their frustration with native son JD Vance having become like many politicians – visiting the city during campaign season and then ignoring it once in office. Before he was a politician, Vance even criticized the types of politicians who only paid towns like Middletown lip service. Leaders, who have been frustrated by the way their city is portrayed by Vance, have tried to get him involved in charities to help the city’s children, but he’s declined, saying he lacks the time.
Lobbying Lineup
Five organizations lobbying on Ohio House Bill 136, which would allow remote dispensing pharmacies, being regulated by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. The pharmacies use an electronic telepharmacy system to dispense drugs and drug therapy devices, counsel patients and provide other care. The Republican-sponsored bill is under consideration in a House committee.
1. Cardinal Health Inc.
2. Cleveland Clinic Foundation
3. Ohio Association of Health Plans
4. Ohio Pharmacists Association
5. CVS Health
Tick Tock
The 2024 election is approaching, where Ohioans will help decide the presidential race, control of the U.S. Senate, how the state draws state legislative and congressional lines and many other down-ballot races. Here are some key dates in the election countdown:
Voter registration deadline… 5 days (Oct. 7)
Early voting begins… 6 days (Oct. 8)
Deadline to request an absentee ballot… 27 days (Oct. 29)
Final day of early voting… 32 days (Nov. 3)
Last day to postmark an absentee ballot… 33 days (Nov. 4)
Election Day… 34 days (Nov. 5)
On The Move
Broad Street Bagels & Deli, a Capitol Square lunch fixture for years, appears set to close at the end of the month, as its landlord, Zion Christian Fellowship, reportedly has other, unspecified plans for the space, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Birthdays
State Sen. Vernon Sykes
Dillon Barto, legislative aide to state Rep. Roy Klopfenstein
Straight From The Source
“Gerrymandering is about as popular as STDs.”
– Ohio House Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, speaking with WOSU-FM’s George Shillcock about why many people he knows believe that Issue 1, a proposed redistricting reform measure on the ballot next month, will pass.
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