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David Skolnick

Ramaswamy rises to the top

Even before he officially joined the governor’s race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy had all of the momentum on his side. While the biotech entrepreneur and short-lived presidential candidate has never held elected office before, he was seen as the 2026 gubernatorial front-runner before his Feb. 24 announcement. Then just a few hours after declaring, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social about Ramaswamy: “I know him well, competed against him and he is something SPECIAL. He’s Young, Strong and Smart! Vivek is also a very good person who truly loves his Country. He will be a ...

After communities protest, bill on marijuana revised

A proposal to take away the funding revenue stream for communities with adult recreational marijuana dispensaries located there was pulled from a bill, but the state Legislature is still expected to move ahead with other major changes to the law. Also, just because the funding for communities that have marijuana dispensaries is out of a Senate bill doesn’t mean the idea is dead. Removing funding from communities with marijuana dispensaries raised numerous objections from officials in those localities. Struthers City Council recently voted to oppose the proposed funding ...

Tressel could be hard to beat

Before Gov. Mike DeWine met with Jim Tressel on Feb. 1, he already made up his mind to offer the former football coach and retired Youngstown State University president the opportunity to be his lieutenant governor. A little more than 48 hours after DeWine announced Monday that Tressel, a fellow Republican, would be his lieutenant governor nominee, the state House and Senate overwhelmingly confirmed him to the position. It’s perhaps the fastest rise in Ohio’s political history. Tressel is keeping things close to his sweater vest when it comes to a 2026 gubernatorial ...

Covering White House visits can be unpleasant, exhausting

Covering visits from presidents and vice presidents — or those running for those offices — can be exhausting. It’s not the actual events that are difficult, but the hoops journalists often have to jump through primarily before it that make it so challenging. I learned last Friday that Vice President J.D. Vance, a Republican and former U.S. senator from Ohio, would be returning Monday to East Palestine to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the horrific train derailment in the village. Memories of covering Republican Donald Trump in East Palestine as he was running for ...

Candidates line up for state races

The Republican candidates for next year’s statewide races are starting to come into focus. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, the former lieutenant governor appointed to Congress’ upper chamber by Gov. Mike DeWine, will seek election to the seat next year. Husted will have to run again in 2028 for a full six-year term should he win in 2026. Husted likely won’t get a serious challenge in next year’s Republican primary. Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026. He wasn’t scaring off any opponents and at least three viable Republicans plan to run for governor. Attorney General ...

Husted’s ‘improbable’ post

Hardly anyone, including Jon Husted, pictured him as a U.S. senator. But the Republican, who has eyed the Ohio governor’s seat for many years, just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Husted, lieutenant governor for the past six years, gave the vice-presidential nominating speech for J.D. Vance on July 17 at the Republican National Convention. When he got the appointment last week from Gov. Mike DeWine to succeed Vance in the Senate, Husted harkened back to that day at the RNC and said someone asked him at the time about filling that potential vacancy. “That seems so ...