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David Skolnick

Matt Dolan learned from 2022 Senate race

State Sen. Matt Dolan learned a lot during his unsuccessful bid last year for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. One is that support from former President Donald Trump means much in the party’s primary. Dolan of Chagrin Falls didn’t seek Trump’s endorsement and wouldn’t have received it anyway. Trump’s support of J.D. Vance played a huge role in the political newcomer winning the Republican primary last May. But Dolan’s third-place finish in a crowded primary helped him gain statewide name recognition and showed there is a lane in the Republican Party for someone ...

Secrecy shrouds GOP selection

The Trumbull County Republican Party forwarded the names of three candidates — only one lives in the county — to Gov. Mike DeWine to consider for a vacancy on the 11th District Court of Appeals. But how the selection process played out hasn’t been publicly disclosed. David Engler of Weathersfield, an attorney for the past 37 years and a Republican central committeeman, said he tried to contact Chairman Michael Bollas to apply for the position last month, but Bollas never returned his calls. “If there was a process, it was shrouded in secrecy,” Engler said. “I have no idea ...

High cost for failing to follow up

State Rep. Derek Merrin was a shoo-in as next Ohio House speaker, but according to a legislator from the Mahoning Valley, his refusal to reach out to fellow Republicans after the GOP House caucus selected him and efforts to punish some cost him one of the most important positions in state ...

Valley delegation goes red

In a period of four years, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will have gone from every state legislative member being a Democrat to having five of its six members being a Republican. That transformation will be official Monday when the Legislature starts its new term. Republicans typically had ignored legislative races in Mahoning and Trumbull counties for years because the districts were Democratic strongholds. There was an occasional surprise Republican win, but that was usually short lived with a Democrat capturing the seat in the next election. In other cases, Republicans held ...

Ryan leaves his mark on Valley

The first time I met Tim Ryan, he was announcing his plans to run for the state Senate. It was early 2000 and after listening to Ryan, who was 26 years old at the time, I wasn’t impressed. Few gave Ryan a chance to win the Democratic primary, but he pulled off a victory and went on to win the general election. When the area’s congressional seat opened up in 2002 after James A. Traficant Jr.’s convictions and subsequent expulsion from the U.S. House, Ryan asked me and others about his potential candidacy. I told him it was a no-lose situation because he didn’t have to give up ...

Brown faces uphill re-election bid

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the lone statewide officeholder elected as a Democrat, has a target on his back. Brown, D-Cleveland, is up for re-election in 2024 in a state that has swung significantly in favor of Republicans in the past decade and particularly since Donald Trump was elected ...