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Ohio stands at an important crossroads this upcoming election. Decisions made by our state lawmakers and local officials will determine whether families can afford to live here, businesses can grow, schools can prepare students fand communities can maintain services.

It's time to vote. Early voting began Tuesday, Oct. 6. Absentee voting is underway. Election Day is Nov. 3. If there is one lesson Ohio's political campaigns should have learned by now, it is this: This election will be decided less by who has the best television commercial and more by who can actually get their voters to the polls. In other words, this election will be about turnout.

When President Trump comes to Dayton this weekend to rally for U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, it won't be because Ohio has suddenly become a swing state again. It will be because Republicans believe they have a race on their hands. For the past 10 years, Ohio has steadily moved to the right. Trump carried Ohio comfortably in both of his presidential victories. Republicans hold every statewide executive office. The GOP dominates the Ohio General Assembly. In many ways, Ohio has

Every election cycle brings a new list of issues politicians insist should dominate the conversation. Some focus on education. Others emphasize healthcare, public safety, or economic development. National political debates consume television news and social media feeds. If you ask Ohio families what issue matters most to them, the answer is increasingly clear: It’s affordability.

I’m sure you are sick of political ads. Turn on the television and there they are. Open your phone and another one. Check your mailbox and you'll find another glossy mailer telling you why one candidate is the answer to every problem and the other is a threat to civilization. The frustrating part is nearly everyone claims to dislike political advertising. Yet every election season, Ohio voters are flooded with it.

There are moments when politics needs to stop. The death of 20-year-old Pierre Damas Bel is one of them. Bel was a Haitian immigrant, a Springfield High School graduate, JROTC student, soccer player and new student at Wright State University. He was beginning his adult life and he is now dead.

Want to cash a check? Show ID. Open a bank account? Show ID. Get on an airplane? Show ID. Rent a car? Show ID. We routinely verify who we are. So why is verifying eligibility to vote so controversial? That's the debate Ohio is having today.

For most of the past decade, Ohio politics has been fairly predictable. Republicans have won. Democrats hoped to keep it close. Donald Trump carried Ohio by eight points in 2016, eight points in 2020 and 11 points in 2024. Republicans hold every statewide executive office, control the Ohio General Assembly and occupy most of Ohio’s congressional seats.

In a time when public trust often feels in short supply, it can be easy to become cynical about public service. We see political dysfunction and partisan gridlock. Yet despite all of that, there are still people who answer a simple calling: service above self. Service above self means putting the needs of others ahead of personal convenience.

Every election cycle, we rediscover our frustration with the two-party system. Republicans complain the Republican Party isn't conservative enough. Democrats complain the Democratic Party isn't progressive enough. Independents complain neither party represents them. Then comes: We need a third party. It's an appealing idea. More choices sound better than fewer choices. Competition is supposed to improve outcomes. Why should politics be any different? Americans certainly like

I've never met a beaver who cared much about trademarks. Beavers are generally busy building dams, chewing wood and minding their own business. They don't spend a lot of time worrying about intellectual property law. Big corporations, however, are a different story. That brings us to the legal showdown involving Buc-ee's, the Texas travel center giant known for its enormous convenience stores, pristine restrooms, beef jerky and smiling cartoon beaver. The company is suing Bea

When voters send someone to Congress, they are not electing a spokesperson for a president. They are electing a representative. This distinction is worth remembering as U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson once again finds himself at odds with President Donald Trump and Republican leadership over federal spending.

The Buckeye state is experiencing something we have not seen in decades: a full-scale taxpayer revolt. Across Ohio, homeowners are opening their property tax bills and asking a simple question: How much longer can this continue? Personally, my property value went up 10 percent, and I just experienced voters passing one of the largest 37 year school bond levy beginning in 2027.

Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 20, commonly known as the "Halo Law." The legislation creates a 15-foot safety zone around first responders who are actively performing their duties and increases penalties for those who interfere with emergency operations. The law takes effect in October. Some praised the law as a long-overdue protection for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and probation officers. Others claimed it was an attack on fre

If you're looking for certainty in Ohio politics, this isn't the year. Despite Ohio's Republican past decade of success, both statewide races remain remarkably competitive heading into the fall campaign season. According to the RealClearPolling average, Democrat Amy Acton holds a narrow 47.3% to 47.0% edge over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor. The U.S. Senate contest is even tighter, with former Sen. Sherrod Brown leading incumbent Sen. Jon Husted b

The U.S. Supreme Court issued one of the most significant constitutional rulings in decades this week, rejecting President Donald Trump's effort to limit birthright citizenship and reaffirming children born on American soil are citizens of the United States regardless of their parents' immigration status. This week, in a 6-3 decision, the high court struck down Trump's executive order and reaffirmed a principle that has been part of American law for more than a century. Ch

If you've lived anywhere near Springfield over the past few years, the city has become the center of a national immigration debate. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and others who have been living and working in the United States under a program originally intended to be temporary.

Last year, 157 Ohioans lost their lives in domestic violence-related incidents making it the highest number ever recorded by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network. Ohio cannot prevent every act of domestic violence. However, lawmakers have an opportunity to provide families with another tool to protect themselves. A bipartisan bill pending in the Ohio General Assembly, House Bill 846, would create a registry for repeat domestic violence offenders. The legislation is spons

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s announcement that he now supports abolishing the death penalty marks one of the most significant reversals of his long public career. DeWine, a former Greene County prosecutor and one of the architects of Ohio’s modern death penalty law, says he no longer believes capital punishment deters murder. He also points to the practical difficulties Ohio has faced in carrying out executions and the lengthy appeals process that often stretches for decades.

America’s student loan crisis is no longer just a problem for recent college graduates. It has become an economic issue affecting families, employers and communities across the country.