Rotunda Rumblings
Reversal of fortunes: Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that if Donald Trump is elected and makes good on his promise to deport legal Haitian migrants from Springfield, some progress made in recent years to the town will go away. Springfield, a former manufacturing center that at one point counted 80,000 residents, lost about 20,000 of them in the last 60 years. The Haitians helped fill labor shortages and contribute to local economic growth, Laura Hancock reports.
Deaths down: For the second consecutive year, drug overdose deaths in Ohio decreased. In 2023, the deaths were down by 9%. Gov. Mike DeWine credited a number of initiatives his administration has undertaken in recent years for enforcement, treatment and prevention – including the distribution of free naloxone, an opioid reversal medicine, Hancock reports.
Title search: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost unreasonably and unlawfully rejected a proposed amendment that would enshrine voting rights into the state constitution because of supposed inaccuracies in its title, the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court ruled. As Jake Zuckerman reports, the justices said Yost can only reject proposals for inaccuracies in their summaries, not a problem with the title. Yost’s review of such proposals is among the first of several steps in the amendment process.
Splitsies: Even as Ohio House Republicans fight amongst themselves over control of their caucus’ campaign arm, the two sides have each found a way to spend money on their favored candidates this election season: have separate bank accounts. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the setup allows both supporters and opponents of House Speaker Jason Stephens to take advantage of special privileges given to legislative campaign funds under Ohio campaign-finance law. Ohio Elections Commission Executive Director Phil Richter asserts the move is legal, so long as all contributions and spending are reported. But the Ohio House Republican Alliance’s latest campaign-finance filing doesn’t include such data from Stephens’ side.
Late money: A Washington D.C.-based nonprofit said they dropped $600,000 in ads backing the three Republicans running for the Ohio Supreme Court. As Zuckerman reports, the money from the Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiatives could be a potent cash injection six days before Election Day.
Political delay? An attorney representing U.S. Rep. Max Miller in his divorce from Emily Moreno Miller on Tuesday accused the other side of “bad faith gamesmanship” and trying to delay production of her financial documents until the U.S. Senate contest between her father, Republican Bernie Moreno, and Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown is resolved,” Sabrina Eaton and Lucas Daprile report. “From the beginning of this case, Defendant has displayed more concern about how this case may impact her father’s election than about the best interests of (the couple’s infant daughter) and allowing this litigation to proceed expeditiously,” said a document filed Tuesday by Max Miller’s lawyer, Larry Zukerman.
What not to wear: While heading to the polls to cast your vote in the 2024 election, make sure you have everything you need but, as Molly Walsh writes, leave your political spirit wear at home. Ohio has strict regulations on conduct and attire at polling locations to maintain neutrality, with the goal of ensuring voters can cast their ballots free from outside influence.
Trash talk: GOP U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio responded to a comedian at a weekend rally for ex-President Donald Trump who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” by telling reporters at a Monday visit to Wisconsin that “we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States.” Trump’s vice-presidential running mate changed his tune after President Joe Biden responded to the comedian’s remark by saying on Monday “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s.” The Trump campaign interpreted that remark as Biden calling its supporters garbage. In a social media post to denounce Biden, Vance wrote: “This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There’s no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it.” The White House says Biden did not call Trump’s supporters garbage. It said Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe’s comments as garbage.
Another try: In the year since Champaign County GOP Rep. Jim Jordan lost his U.S. House of Representatives speakership bid, the House Judiciary Committee chairman has been traveling the country and trying to make inroads with colleagues who once told him they couldn’t back him for their top job, CNN reports. Recently, he hit the campaign trail in six states in seven days in an effort to soften his hardline image and curry favor with more traditionalists within the party after 17 years in the House. If House Republicans lose their majority next week, all eyes will be on whether Jordan is prepared to challenge a sitting member of leadership to lead Republicans in the next Congress.
Motion denied: Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young denied Tuesday a motion by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to dismiss a lawsuit brought by abortion providers over several anti-abortion laws that the clinics and doctor say are no longer constitutional with the new reproductive rights amendment. Young on Aug. 23 put an indefinite hold on the laws, which notably include the state’s 24-hour waiting period between a woman’s first visit to a doctor and her abortion. In his Tuesday order, Young determined the doctor and clinics have standing, or the right to sue, since they exercise abortion rights when performing the procedure, and can be injured by criminal and civil penalties if they violate the laws. The laws’ overall constitutionality will be decided at a yet-to-be scheduled trial.
Let the CHIPS fall: Work on Intel’s new $28 billion computer-chip plant outside Columbus may again be delayed, as the computer giant and the Biden administration are still negotiating the release of $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in low-cost loans under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. As Mark Williams of the Columbus Dispatch reports, the holdup in the federal funds was criticized by several Republicans, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, U.S. Senate nominee Bernie Moreno, and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. The office of Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Moreno’s opponent, says he’s pushing Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to release the money. On Wednesday, Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters he was confident that Intel would stay in Ohio and called the White House Wednesday to implore them to release funds.
Mark your calendars: Ohio House Republicans will vote Wednesday, Nov. 20 on their caucus’ pick for House speaker next session, according to state Rep. Jim Hoops of Napoleon, who as House dean traditionally has control over setting the date for caucus leadership votes. Outgoing Senate President Matt Huffman, who’s running unopposed for the House this year, is looking to unseat Stephens, a Lawrence County Republican who was elected speaker this session with the help of House Democrats even though he lost an earlier House GOP caucus vote to state Rep. Derek Merrin of suburban Toledo. Hoops said in an interview that he will send a meeting advisory to his fellow Republicans soon.
Full Disclosure
Five things we learned from the Feb. 19, 2024, ethics disclosure form filed by Jim Colopy of Akron, the Democratic nominee for Ohio House District 32, about his 2023 finances:
1. Colopy works for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s office as an executive assistant for the Department of Law and Risk Management.
2. He also was paid last year to conduct contracted inspections for the Stark County Community Action Agency (where he previously served as director of the agency’s Home Weatherization Assistance Program) and the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County.
3. He rented out two apartment homes he owns in Akron.
4. At some point in 2023, Colopy owed at least $1,000 to Huntington National Bank, Capital One, Discover, American Express, and the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), a student-loan servicer.
5. His investments worth more than $1,000 included two retirement accounts: an Ohio Deferred Compensation mutual fund and an IRA with Vanguard.
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:
Final day of early voting… 3 days (Nov. 3)
Last day to postmark an absentee ballot… 4 days (Nov. 4)
Election Day… 5 days (Nov. 5)
Also, make sure to check out our Ohio guide to the 2024 November election
Birthdays
Jill Del Greco Donahue, communications adviser, Gov. Mike DeWine’s office
Straight From The Source
“We’re at the point in the election cycle where ads for ulcerative colitis treatments are a welcome break from political ads.”
– Michael Li, redistricting and voting counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, in a Wednesday social media post.
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