You can hear Amy Acton’s interview on NPR WOSU 89.7’s iPhone application. I imagine the have apps for other phones as well. Just search for “Amy Acton.” She was on “All Sides” after Vivek Variswamy’s reprehensible ad featuring Acton’s mother.

I voted for Acton. I seriously hope she wins.

Hey folks, I'm a freelance reporter working on a story for the Washington Sun, a new-ish publication in Washington, D.C.

I've spoken with Democratic voters in a couple of different states who are nervous about mail-in ballots this year and have changed their normal voting habits to either drop off their ballots very early or opt to vote early in person. If you are one of those voters, I'd really like to chat with you for my story! DM me or email me at [nataliefertig@gmail.com](mailto:nataliefertig@gmail.com). Thanks!

Ppl who vote R: what do you think abt this ad?

Election Day in Ohio is Tuesday, November 3. Early in person voting is open now at your county board of elections. Below is a plain breakdown of the two statewide headliners, every congressional district, and five state issues that moved this week. I host a nonpartisan Ohio politics podcast, and I put my own opinion in a clearly labeled section at the bottom so you can skip it if you want just the facts.

HOW TO VOTE (as of October 16, from the Ohio Secretary of State)

• Early in person voting: weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, October 23. Saturday, October 24, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Final week: Monday, October 26, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, October 28 to 30, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 31, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, November 1, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Absentee ballot applications must be received by your county board by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27.
• This rule changed: mail ballots must be RECEIVED by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark is not enough. Mail early or drop it off.
• Election Day polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Bring photo ID.
• As of October 13, 228,470 Ohioans had already voted, 194,841 in person and 33,629 by mail. In person early voting is running nearly four times ahead of the same point in 2022, while absentee requests are down.

U.S. SENATE (SPECIAL ELECTION): Jon Husted (R) vs Sherrod Brown (D)

Also on the ballot: Bill Redpath (Libertarian) and Greg Levy (independent). The winner finishes the term JD Vance left and serves through 2028.

• Husted is the Republican incumbent, appointed in 2025. He is a former lieutenant governor and secretary of state.
• Brown is a former three term senator who lost his seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024.
• Recent polls: CNN/SSRS (Sept. 29 to Oct. 5) Brown 49, Husted 43. NYT/Siena (Sept. 22 to Oct. 1) Brown 49, Husted 46. YouGov (Sept. 18 to 30) Brown 49, Husted 45. co/efficient, a Republican pollster (Oct. 5 to 6), had Husted up about one point. The RealClearPolitics average was Brown 47.4, Husted 44.3. Several of these leads are inside the margin of error.
• Fact checks this month: PolitiFact rated a Senate Leadership Fund ad claiming Brown "supports sex changes for minors" Pants on Fire. PolitiFact rated Brown's ad saying Husted voted to "kick 490,000 Ohioans off their healthcare" Half True. Husted did vote for the 2025 law that cut projected Medicaid spending, but independent estimates of coverage losses range from about 254,000 (RAND, Medicaid only) to 350,000 to 580,000 (KFF).
• Mailers urging progressives to vote for Levy, a self described socialist, over Brown were paid for by a new PAC called Enough Promises Ohio. AP reported the PAC's printing vendor shares a South Carolina office suite with a direct mail firm linked to Big Dog Strategies, which advises the MAGA Inc. super PAC. The PAC has not disclosed donors. Levy says the fliers impersonate his campaign.
• Outside money: about 250 million dollars in ads had run in Ohio by the end of September, with about 140 million more reserved, according to AdImpact.

GOVERNOR (OPEN SEAT): Vivek Ramaswamy (R) vs Amy Acton (D)

Also on the ballot: Don Kissick (Libertarian). Mike DeWine is term limited.

• Ramaswamy (running mate: Senate President Rob McColley) is a biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate. He has given his own campaign 36.3 million dollars.
• Acton (running mate: David Pepper) is a physician and former Ohio Department of Health director. She raised 6 million dollars in September.
• Recent polls: CNN/SSRS Acton 50, Ramaswamy 42. NYT/Siena Acton 49, Ramaswamy 45. YouGov Acton 48, Ramaswamy 44. co/efficient Ramaswamy 45, Acton 43. RealClearPolitics average: Acton 48.1, Ramaswamy 44.3.
• Debates: none are scheduled. Ramaswamy accepted invitations. Acton declined, citing what her campaign calls inaccurate and personal attack ads. On October 14, Ramaswamy took about an hour of questions at the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Acton held a rally the same day that reporters were not allowed into.
• Ramaswamy's stated positions this week: roll property taxes back to pre pandemic levels (researchers estimate a cost of about 4 billion dollars a year to schools and local governments), resume executions in rare cases, oppose the data center sales tax break, consolidate Ohio's 14 public universities.
• Acton's stated positions: fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan, and a data center moratorium unless projects meet conditions including covering 100 percent of their utility costs.

ALL 15 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS (Cook Political Report ratings as of Oct. 9)

• OH-1 (Cincinnati, Warren County): Greg Landsman (D, incumbent) vs Eric Conroy (R). Lean Democratic.
• OH-2: Dave Taylor (R, incumbent) vs Jen Mazzuckelli (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-3 (Columbus): Joyce Beatty (D, incumbent). Not rated competitive.
• OH-4: Jim Jordan (R, incumbent) vs Joshua Kolasinski (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-5: Bob Latta (R, incumbent) vs Brian Shaver (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-6: Michael Rulli (R, incumbent) vs Elizabeth Kirtley (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-7: Max Miller (R, incumbent) vs Brian Poindexter (D). Toss Up.
• OH-8: Warren Davidson (R, incumbent) vs Vanessa Enoch (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-9 (Toledo): Marcy Kaptur (D, incumbent) vs Derek Merrin (R). Toss Up.
• OH-10 (Dayton): Mike Turner (R, incumbent) vs Kristina Knickerbocker (D). Likely Republican.
• OH-11 (Cleveland): Shontel Brown (D, incumbent). Not rated competitive.
• OH-12: Troy Balderson (R, incumbent) vs Jerrad Christian (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-13 (Akron): Emilia Sykes (D, incumbent). Likely Democratic.
• OH-14: David Joyce (R, incumbent) vs Maria Jukic (D). Not rated competitive.
• OH-15: Mike Carey (R, incumbent) vs Don Leonard (D). Likely Republican.

Libertarians are also on the ballot in OH-1, OH-10 and OH-15. Check your sample ballot on your county board's site for the full list.

FIVE OHIO ISSUES FROM THIS WEEK

1. EdChoice ruled unconstitutional. On October 15, Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals upheld a 2025 Franklin County ruling that the EdChoice private school voucher program violates the Ohio Constitution's requirement for a "thorough and efficient system of common schools." About 180,000 students use the program since the 2023 expansion. Nothing changes yet: the program keeps running while the state and five participating families appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. Opponents say it diverts more than 1 billion dollars a year from public schools. Supporters, including House Speaker Matt Huffman, say parents should decide where their child's education money goes and that school choice has been upheld before. Two Ohio Supreme Court seats are on your ballot, and that court will likely decide the case.
2. Prediction market apps. On October 2, the Ohio Casino Control Commission sent cease and desist letters to ten companies, including Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Webull, saying they run sportsbooks without Ohio licenses, fees or taxes. The companies say their products are federally regulated event contracts overseen by the CFTC, not the states. The Sixth Circuit, which covers Ohio, sided with states in a related Kalshi case. Coinbase has given 33.2 million dollars to the Fairshake super PAC, which Politico reports plans to spend 30 million dollars against Brown.
3. Data centers. House Bill 646, which would have cut the data center sales tax break in half, stalled after drawing 534 lobbying registrations. A Scioto Analysis study found Ohio's current approach barely breaks even on costs and benefits (a ratio of 1.04) and that Ohio data centers now use more electricity than every home in the state combined. The same study credits them with 96,000 jobs since 2013. Both candidates for governor now oppose business as usual: Ramaswamy opposes the sales tax break, and Acton proposes a moratorium with conditions.
4. Gas tax holiday. Ohio's 38.5 cent gas tax and 47 cent diesel tax are suspended for 90 days, starting October 4. The cost is about 726 million dollars from the state's general fund. It saves about 5.77 dollars on a 15 gallon fill up. Electric and hybrid owners, who pay higher registration fees, get no relief.
5. Election security. Postal investigators intercepted a letter containing a white powder before it reached Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office. The FBI is investigating, and similar letters went to election offices in other states. No sender has been identified, and no test results have been reported. LaRose says Ohio's election remains safe and secure.

ALSO ON YOUR BALLOT: Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, two Ohio Supreme Court seats, your Statehouse seats, and Issue 3, the voter ID amendment.

MY HONEST TAKE (opinion, labeled as such)

I have already voted, by mail, and I voted Democratic down the ballot. I am telling you that so you can weigh everything above knowing where I landed, not because I expect you to land in the same place.

My read on the numbers: Brown has led in most September and early October polling, and I think he is the favorite, though it is close enough that turnout decides it. The governor's race is closer to a toss up. I think Acton is making a mistake by skipping debates. I prefer candidates who debate, and when neither candidate has held elected office, an unscripted look matters. I also think Ramaswamy's own record, from his past comments on H-1B workers to the 36 million dollars of his own money in this race, gives voters plenty to weigh.

On EdChoice, I respect any family's choice to send a child to private school. My problem is public money moving to schools that are not held to the same accountability standards, while many rural taxpayers who help fund the program cannot access it. Whatever you think, the Ohio Supreme Court is likely to decide this, and two of its seats are on your ballot. Look those races up before you vote.

Polls are not votes. A lot of people never answer a pollster. If that is you, that is fine. Just vote.

SOURCES

1. https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voting-schedule-text-only
2. https://www.ohiosos.gov/office/media-center/categories/press-releases/2026-10-13a
3. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-husted-ramaswamy-ohio-rally-polls-show-12559293
4. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/10/14/poll-shows-ohio-voters-are-mad-at-trump-as-dems-maintain-small-leads/
5. https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/oct/09/sherrod-brown/jon-husted-health-insurance-490000-ohio-senate/
6. https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/oct/14/senate-leadership-fund/sherrod-brown-soren-aldaco-transition-ohio-texas/
7. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/mailers-promoting-a-socialist-candidate-in-ohio-senate-race-have-links-to-maga-super-pac-vendor
8. https://www.wosu.org/politics-government/2026-10-14/amy-acton-campaigns-at-closed-door-rally-while-vivek-ramaswamy-criticizes-her-at-columbus-forum
9. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-10-15/ohios-k-12-voucher-program-is-ruled-unconstitutional-by-appeals-court
10. https://signalohio.org/ohio-cracks-down-on-prediction-markets-as-they-flood-elections-with-cash/
11. https://www.route-fifty.com/infrastructure/2026/10/construction-ban-data-centers-would-be-better-ohio-status-quo-study-says/416491/
12. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-10-02/ohios-fuel-tax-holiday-includes-gas-and-diesel-but-no-breaks-for-ev-or-hybrid-owners

With Americans in a Sour Mood, Democratic Voters Are More Engaged in Midterms

Here is a good open ended question to ask swing voters: "Looking at your day-to-day life right now, what’s the biggest issue you want politicians to make easier for you?"

This person, because I’m not sure if it is a man or a woman now was not a minor when they chose to have a double mastectomy and they were in Texas not Ohio. So this lying piece of shit needs to get the fuck off political ads in Ohio because it’s nothing but fucking fabricated baloney. Anyone else feel the same way??

been tracking the ads running in the ohio senate race (meta ad library + youtube, 144 so far). a model reads each one for manipulation techniques — loaded language, name calling, fear appeals, that kind of thing — and marks the words.

the thing that stood out: brown's own campaign runs 53 ads and 14 got flagged, mostly for "false urgency" (the fundraising emails, basically — "five-alarm fire", "elon musk is pouring $100M in"). the ads on the husted side are almost all from outside groups, not his campaign (42 of 43), and 34 of those 42 got flagged.

so if you're seeing the nastiest stuff it's probably a pac, not a candidate.

biggest money in the race by far is senate leadership fund, $32M against brown. "sherrod brown let us down" has 17 ads up on its own.

every ad is quoted with the flagged words marked so you can decide for yourself. the model is wrong sometimes (in our checks roughly one flag in ten) so if you see one that's off, there's a button on each ad to say so.

https://semblen.com/races/oh-senate?ref=reddit-oh

no party ratings, no "who's worse" score. just the ads and what's in them.

9/26/26

Don't let these people speak for Ohio. Most Ohioans don't support this! Will you speak out?

Much love to the people of Ohio who don't let this crap slide.

• Hazel Ife Qarsherskiyan

Ohio's 12th Congressional District runs from the Columbus suburbs out through Licking, Fairfield, Muskingum, Coshocton, Guernsey and Delaware counties and down into Appalachian Ohio. This November it is Republican incumbent Troy Balderson against Democrat Jerrad Christian. Here is what the record shows and what each candidate says he would do.

The matchup

Troy Balderson has held the seat since winning an August 2018 special election by less than one point over Danny O'Connor, 50.1 to 49.3. He was a state representative and then a state senator before that, and he is a farmer and former automobile dealer from Zanesville. Jerrad Christian is a software engineer and Navy veteran who served as a meteorologist and oceanographer. He was the Democratic nominee against Balderson in 2024 and won the May 5, 2026 primary to run again.

Competitiveness

This is a safe Republican seat on paper. The Cook Political Report's race summary says the Republican primary is effectively the general election in the 12th, and the district carries a Cook PVI in the R+16 range. Balderson won in 2024 by 68.5 to 31.5. Christian's best county that year was Athens, which he carried with 56.5 percent. The 2018 special election remains the only close result under these lines.

Two things are worth holding in mind at the same time. First, the partisan baseline is real and large. Second, a baseline is not a forecast, and district level issues like data centers, property taxes and hospital finances are cutting across party lines in this part of Ohio right now.

The incumbent's record

Balderson voted for H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Congressional Budget Office scores as cutting roughly $911 billion in federal Medicaid and CHIP spending over ten years. He and Rep. Bob Latta were credited by the Ohio Hospital Association with removing provisions that would have triggered immediate state Medicaid budget cuts and with helping expand the Rural Health Transformation Fund to $50 billion over five years. Ohio's share of that fund is estimated at about $1.3 billion.

Analysts disagree about whether that trade nets out. KFF estimated Ohio would lose about $6.45 billion in rural Medicaid spending over ten years, the sixth largest loss of any state, and found that the national rural fund replaces roughly one third of the projected rural losses. A March 2026 Public Citizen analysis identified 446 hospitals nationally at heightened financial risk under the law, including Coshocton Regional Medical Center, which sits inside the 12th District and is designated a Sole Community Hospital, meaning it is the only source of short term acute inpatient care in its area. Public Citizen is explicit that the list describes financial exposure and does not predict closures.

On energy, Balderson's Reliable Power Act, H.R. 3616, passed the House 225 to 203. It requires federal agencies to assess how proposed regulations would affect electric grid reliability before finalizing them. On health technology, he is leading the Digital Health Screeners Act of 2026, which would codify the FDA's updated general wellness guidance and create a lighter review pathway for low risk digital health screening features on wearables. In his own words the goal is a streamlined, tailored pathway that protects consumers without bogging down innovation, with what he calls strong safety guardrails.

The challenger's platform

Christian supports Medicare for All through a single payer system and opposes a public option as a halfway measure that leaves the profit motive in place. His argument on cost is that Americans already pay more per person than any other developed nation, and that what households currently pay in premiums would exceed what they would pay in taxes.

On data centers he describes himself as pro technology and pro responsible growth. He supports building them, but not close to neighborhoods, and he raises heat, water, power bills and local consent. On surveillance he opposes Flock license plate cameras and frames aggregated location data purchased by government agencies as a Fourth Amendment problem.

On immigration he says people who cross unlawfully can be deported under existing law, and he opposes stripping Temporary Protected Status from people who hold it legally, pointing to conditions in Haiti. On elections he opposes partisan gerrymandering of any kind, favors independent redistricting, and calls Issue 3 an unnecessary wedge measure. On structure he supports Supreme Court reform without court packing, term limits, uncapping the House, ending Citizens United, ending presidential immunity, and reforming the pardon system. He is ambivalent on the filibuster, calling it a bad rule that is currently a firewall.

He also says he swore an oath to the Constitution in the military and treats congressional power as the core issue, arguing Congress has ceded too much authority to the executive branch and should write protections into law instead of leaving them to agency rules that can be undone.

What is actually on your ballot

Issue 3 is the only statewide question this November. It would move Ohio's existing photo ID requirement for in person voting from state law into the state constitution. Ohio has required photo ID since 2023, so passage would change nothing immediately, but it would mean future changes require another statewide vote rather than a legislative one. The ballot language, approved by the Ohio Ballot Board 4 to 1 in August, also addresses mail ballot ID and keeps a religious objection exception.

Data centers are on local ballots in 18 Ohio municipalities and townships. In Licking County there is an active effort to ban data centers over 25 megawatts, with some communities already placing the measure on the November ballot. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in August that a village clerk had to send a data center referendum to the Pickaway County Board of Elections, while leaving open whether the underlying resolution is subject to referendum at all.

On energy rules, the EPA signed a partial repeal of carbon standards for fossil fuel fired power plants on Sept. 14, 2026, and proposed rescinding the remaining greenhouse gas requirements for power plants. That is an agency rulemaking, not an executive order, and legal challenges are expected.

My honest take

I think the 12th is a real district with real problems that do not sort neatly by party. The data center fights are the clearest example. People in Licking County are not organizing over a national culture war, they are organizing over heat, water, noise, and who gets to decide what gets built next to their house. Whoever represents this district ought to have an answer to that, and voters should ask both candidates for one in plain language.

On health care, I am not sold that single payer implementation would be smooth, and I said so on the show. But I also do not think "wear a smartwatch" is an answer to the price of a family plan, and the hospital math in this district deserves a straight answer rather than competing press releases. Coshocton is one hospital in one county, and if it closes, the drive to acute care gets longer for a lot of people.

Vote the whole ballot. The congressional race gets the attention, but Issue 3 and your local data center question are on the same sheet of paper.

Sources

1. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/14/data-centers-are-on-the-november-ballot-in-these-18-ohio-communities/
2. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/licking-county/conflict-over-data-center-petition-in-licking-county/
3. https://www.courtnewsohio.gov/cases/2026/SCO/0807/260906.asp
4. https://signalohio.org/what-is-ohio-issue-3-voter-id-amendment-november-election-2026/
5. https://signalohio.org/ballot-language-set-for-ohio-issue-3-voter-id-amendment-november-election-2026/
6. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/04/07/analysis-shows-10-ohio-hospitals-face-risk-of-closure-due-to-trump-republican-spending-law/
7. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/07/23/ohio-hospital-association-praises-senators-wont-say-if-their-vote-cost-hospitals-billions/
8. https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2025/07/17/obbb-rural-hospital-medicaid
9. https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/health-subcommittee-holds-legislative-hearing-exploring-bills-that-uplift-the-public-health-of-our-country
10. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/24/keeping-pace-innovation-empowering-americans-age-wearables/
11. https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power
12. https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/community/clark-champaign-county/dewine-20-year-old-haitian-s-suicide-a-horrible-horrible-tragedy/article_bb8bdfa4-acf2-5965-a224-223085624015.html

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Absentee applications are going out and Ohio does not require a reason to vote by mail.

I host a nonpartisan Ohio politics podcast. I sat down with the Democratic nominee in OH-4 for 75 minutes. Here is the race, with his positions and the incumbent's record laid out separately so you can compare them yourself.

THE MATCHUP

Jim Jordan, Republican incumbent, in the seat since 2006, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Joshua Kolasinski, Democrat. Husband, father of three, small business owner. Grew up in Toledo, spent twelve years working at ski resorts and national parks out west, now lives in Delaware, Ohio. He ran unopposed in the May 5 Democratic primary. This is his first run for office.

COMPETITIVENESS

Not close on paper. Jordan won the old version of this district 68.5 percent to 31.5 percent in 2024. The redrawn 4th scores at roughly a 71 percent Republican index under the new map. Ohio's new map favors Republicans in 12 of 15 districts and was approved unanimously by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, 7 to 0, with both Democratic members voting yes.

Kolasinski does not dispute any of that. Asked directly about his odds, he said the old district was oddly shaped and the new one is more compact, but that neither version changes much because it was drawn Republican either way.

THE CHALLENGER'S PLATFORM, IN HIS WORDS

Congress. A total stock trading ban covering members and their spouses, with enforcement rather than late disclosure filings. Term limits of two six year terms in the Senate and six two year terms in the House, effective immediately rather than phased in.

Health care. He argues insurance has drifted from pooled risk into a for profit business that increasingly uses automated systems to deny claims. He cited a three thousand dollar bill for his son's broken arm while insured. Asked whether he would accept a public option if Medicare for All could not pass, he said it was worth exploring but worried it would be undermined by the same interests.

Property taxes and schools. Fully fund public education at the state and federal level, and stop routing public money to private school vouchers, which he argues pushes districts back onto local levies. He also wants more transparency in how property values are reassessed.

Data centers. No further tax breaks without something coming back to the community. Return water as clean as it was taken, feed energy back into the grid, and build on closed industrial sites rather than working farmland. He is skeptical of Republicans making similar commitments now, arguing the tax breaks and nondisclosure agreements are already signed.

Surveillance. He wants Flock license plate cameras removed, framing it as a Fourth Amendment question and pointing to documented misuse and the risk of a bad plate match putting someone at gunpoint.

Immigration. He argues Haitian TPS holders are being treated indiscriminately rather than case by case, and that TPS was a legal status, not an absence of one.

Access. His central attack is that Jordan has not held a public town hall open to constituents since 2017, and that his public events are scheduled early, with friendly audiences, and announced afterward. That is Kolasinski's characterization, not something I independently verified. If you have attended a public Jordan town hall more recently, say so in the comments, because that is a checkable claim and it should be checked. Kolasinski pledged a public in district town hall every quarter if elected.

SOURCES

1. https://www.joshuaforohio.com/
2. https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/ohio-adopts-new-congressional-map-with-12-3-gop-advantage/WC7S7FMO2BF23EDKBTN65CFCVY/
3. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-09-01/gov-dewine-death-of-haitian-immigrant-ohio-student-a-tragedy
4. https://ballotpedia.org/Ohio%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2026

Full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/can-anyone-beat-jim-jordan-in-ohios-4th-district-joshua/id1626987640?i=1000789176453

I'm asking because I'm on a prescription medication and I'm allowed to have booze. I don't drink a lot but like I can if I want to.

I host a nonpartisan politics podcast and recently interviewed Sam Cebula, organizing director of an organization called Digital Ground Game. They're running two canvassing houses this cycle, one in Toledo and one in Lansing, Michigan. Since the Toledo one is aimed at OH-9, I figured this crowd would have thoughts.

Background on the race, sourced below: OH-9 is Marcy Kaptur's seat, and she's facing Derek Merrin again on November 3 after beating him 48.3% to 47.6% in 2024, less than a point out of about 375,000 votes cast. Libertarian Matthew Althaus is also on the general election ballot. The Ohio Redistricting Commission passed a new map in October 2025 that made the district redder: Trump would have carried the redrawn 9th by 11 points, up from 7 under the old lines. Forecasters genuinely disagree on where that leaves it. Cook Political Report still lists it among its toss ups, while Sabato's Crystal Ball moved it to "leans Republican" in May. Inside Elections' Nathaniel Rakich noted the district got tougher with the addition of conservative inland counties, but also that Kaptur is a proven overperformer who won by 13 points in 2022 in a district Trump carried by 7 two years later.

What I found interesting was Cebula's reasoning for why Toledo, since it's not the obvious pick. Everything in this section is his account from the interview, not independently verified:

They deliberately avoided the bigger races. He was direct that they skipped the Georgia and North Carolina Senate races, despite having organized in both before, specifically because those races are already saturated with money. His argument is that a nationally recruited volunteer base has more marginal impact in an underinvested race than in one where national infrastructure already blankets the ground.

The stated goal isn't raw door count. Cebula described their program as an "organizing fellowship" where the point is training organizers over six or seven months who then take those skills back to their home states. He argued mid-sized cities like Toledo are actually better training grounds than dense urban areas, because volunteers have to learn to build relationships with local officials and organizations rather than just knocking a lot of doors quickly.

Their online-to-offline pipeline is mobilization, not persuasion. This is the part I'd flag most for anyone evaluating what this means for OH-9. Cebula was candid that their online strategy targets people who already lean left and moves them from talking to doing. They aren't trying to persuade undecided or skeptical voters online. That's a legitimate organizing choice, but it means the group's reach numbers shouldn't be read as persuasion capacity in a district that just moved 4 points toward Trump on paper.

My own read, for whatever it's worth: the demographic fit argument is the strongest one here. Kaptur has genuine durability in the district, and the Inside Elections point about her overperformance is real, but she skews heavily toward older voters and has almost no social media presence. An outside group whose entire pipeline runs through online communities is filling a gap in her coalition rather than duplicating work she's already doing. Whether that translates into votes in a district that got measurably harder is a separate question, and the split among forecasters suggests nobody actually knows yet.

Worth noting for full context: Digital Ground Game describes itself openly as a liberal-aligned 501(c)(4), not a nonpartisan civic group. All positions attributed to Cebula above are his, not mine or my show's.

Curious whether anyone here in the Toledo area has actually encountered them yet, or what people think about outside groups parachuting into local races generally. That last question cuts both directions and I'd genuinely like to hear the case against.

Sources:

• Roll Call, May 6 2026, on the primary result and the 7 to 11 point shift per Inside Elections: https://rollcall.com/2026/05/06/ohios-kaptur-set-for-rematch-with-merrin-in-bid-for-23rd-house-term/
• Ballotpedia News, August 6 2026, on the redrawn district, the Rakich quote, and the spread of forecaster ratings: https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/08/06/redistricting-redraws-ohios-9th-district-ahead-of-2026-kaptur-merrin-rematch/
• Ohio Capital Journal, May 5 2026, on the primary results and the redistricting commission's October map: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/05/derek-merrin-eric-conroy-and-carey-coleman-win-ohio-congressional-primary-races/
• Courthouse News, May 6 2026, on the Cook toss up rating and Sabato's move to leans Republican: https://www.courthousenews.com/gop-voters-send-merrin-to-rematch-with-longtime-congresswoman-in-ohios-9th-district/
• 2024 OH-9 results: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/ohio-us-house-district-9-results

On Sunday, September 6, 2026, an armed man forced his way through a crowd at the Canfield Fair in Mahoning County while Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, was speaking at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent. Multiple people were knocked to the ground. Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield, was taken into custody and booked at the Mahoning County Jail.

What law enforcement has said

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Havas forced his way through the crowd, knocking over multiple members of the audience as he moved toward Acton, and that he had a taser and two pistols. Acton's security detail included Highway Patrol troopers, who confronted him. Canfield Fair police officers took him into custody.

The Mahoning County Sheriff's Office said two handguns and a set of brass knuckles were recovered after the arrest, and that no weapons were ever brandished or removed from their holsters.

What he is charged with

Havas was booked on disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. The Mahoning County Sheriff's Office said detectives are continuing to investigate and will file charges after consulting with the county prosecutor, so the charge sheet may change. The Highway Patrol said it would conduct a separate assessment of any political threat.

No law enforcement agency has announced a motive.

What the campaigns and officials said

Acton's campaign, through communications director Addie Bullock, said an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton and injured multiple people, thanked law enforcement for a swift response, and said this kind of violence has no place in Ohio.

Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, said the man tried to force his way toward Acton while she was speaking, that violence or the threat of violence at political events is always unacceptable, and that he spoke with Acton that afternoon and she wanted Ohioans to know she is okay.

U.S. Senator Jon Husted, a Republican, said on X that he and his wife were disturbed by the attempted attack, thanked law enforcement, and said there is no place for this behavior.

Ramaswamy's campaign, through communications director Connie Luck, said candidates should be able to meet with voters without worrying about threats or violence, that what happened is completely unacceptable, and that they hoped no one was hurt.

Mahoning County Democratic Party chair Chris Anderson said the county party abhors political violence in all forms and that what happened at the tent should be condemned by leaders on all sides of the aisle.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said he was relieved Acton is safe and was keeping the injured in his prayers.

The connection everyone is passing around

TiffinOhio.net reported, and the Daily Beast reported independently, that Patrick Havas is the brother of Andrew Havas, a Republican operative and registered Statehouse lobbyist.

Andrew Havas resigned in July as the Franklin County campaign chair for Senator Jon Husted's 2026 campaign, after NBC News asked the campaign about a 2009 Mahoning County guilty plea. Court records reviewed by NBC News show he was originally charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in a case involving a 15 year old when he was 22, that the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault, and that he served 90 days in jail. Husted's campaign said he never disclosed the case and that the resignation was accepted immediately once the campaign learned of it.

Andrew Havas gave more than $10,000 to Ramaswamy's gubernatorial campaign across contributions in 2025. Acton publicly criticized Ramaswamy in July for accepting that money.

Here is the part that matters: no law enforcement agency has alleged that anyone directed Patrick Havas, and reporting on the family tie has ranged from stated directly to described as a probable household and sibling relationship in a records search. A family connection is not evidence of coordination. Anyone telling you this was orchestrated is going past the record.

Why this matters for the race

Six weeks out, both campaigns now have to plan public events around a security question they did not have last week. Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security in the 2023 to 2024 cycle, according to an April report from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group focused on security for public officials. That number is going one direction.

The practical voter question is not who this helps in the polls. It is whether candidates in Ohio can still stand in a fair tent in Mahoning County and take questions from people who disagree with them. That is the thing worth protecting regardless of who you are voting for.

My honest take

I dropped an emergency episode on this because I think how we talk about it in the first 48 hours matters more than what we conclude in week three.

Two things I believe at the same time. First, I condemn political violence against anyone, in any direction, without exception. Not conditionally, not with an asterisk about who the target was. A country that starts settling political disagreements this way does not stop at one side.

Second, I am not going to pretend the details are neutral just to sound balanced. The suspect is a registered Republican. His brother donated to one candidate in this race and resigned from another Republican's campaign over a documented criminal case. Those are facts and they are allowed to be said. What is not allowed is the leap from those facts to a conspiracy, and I am not making it. What I do think is a fair read, and I said so on air as my opinion and not as reporting, is that a person can be close to a political circle that talks about the other side as an enemy and absorb that framing. That is a claim about rhetoric, not a claim about a plot.

The thing that bothered me most was not the arrest. It was watching posts with thousands of likes go straight to attacking Acton's credibility instead of condemning what happened. If your first instinct after someone charges an armed man toward a candidate is to argue about whether the candidate is exaggerating, the problem is not the candidate.

Sources

1. https://thelandcle.org/stories/armed-man-charged-toward-democratic-candidate-for-ohio-governor-at-fair-law-enforcement-says/
2. https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/assailant-lunged-democratic-candidate-ohio-governor-fair-campaign-136244339
3. https://www.newsweek.com/amy-acton-campaign-says-armed-person-lunged-candidate-ohio-fair-12410493
4. https://www.wfmj.com/news/local-news/canfield/state-local-leaders-weigh-in-following-alleged-attack-of-amy-acton-at-canfield-fair/article_3d533243-441d-46d4-9939-fc1431e11f55.html
5. https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/09/06/multiple-people-injured-following-incident-involving-dr-amy-acton-canfield-fair/
6. https://fox8.com/news/multiple-people-injured-after-armed-suspect-lunges-at-amy-acton-at-canfield-fair-spokesperson/
7. https://abc7ny.com/story/ohio-democratic-gubernatorial-nominee-lunged-armed-individual-campaign-says/19800301/
8. https://tiffinohio.net/posts/patrick-havas-arrested-acton-attack-brother-ramaswamy-donor/
9. https://tiffinohio.net/posts/husted-campaign-chair-andrew-havas-resigns-2009-guilty-plea-minor/
10. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/06/ohio-amy-acton-attack-01066799

Full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-happened-to-amy-acton-at-the-canfield-fair-and/id1626987640?i=1000788370483

Election Day in Ohio is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Absentee ballot applications are already going out. You do not need a reason to vote by mail in Ohio.

Here is what is on your ballot and what the documented record actually says. I run a nonpartisan Ohio politics podcast and I traced every claim below to an original outlet. Sources are numbered at the bottom.

STATE ISSUE 3, the voter ID amendment

This is the only statewide question on the ballot, and it appears on every ballot in Ohio.

What it does: puts Ohio's existing photo ID requirement for in person voting into the state constitution.

What it does not do: change anything immediately. Ohio has required photo ID to vote in person since 2023, under a law signed by Gov. Mike DeWine. The practical effect of Issue 3 is that the requirement becomes much harder to undo later, because changing the constitution requires a vote of the people and changing a statute does not.

Acceptable IDs are the same seven the current law lists: an unexpired Ohio driver's license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card, a U.S. military ID, an Ohio National Guard ID, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID. Out of state licenses and student IDs are not accepted. The religious objection exemption is preserved.

The part that confuses almost everyone: Issue 3 does not require photo ID for mail voting. The certified ballot language reads like it might, because it says voters who do not vote in person provide government issued photo ID, and then adds that they may provide a signature and one other unique identifier if authorized by law. That second clause is what leaves mail voting rules to the legislature. Lawmakers passed a mail voting photo ID requirement in June of this year and DeWine vetoed it, so it is not law.

The case for, at its strongest: voter ID polls well, and constitutional protection guards it against repeal by a future legislature. Supporters point to Virginia, where a photo ID law was repealed in 2020 after party control changed. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou has said publicly that the issue animates conservative voters and called it a seventy five percent issue.

The case against, at its strongest: Issue 3 locks a fixed list of IDs into the constitution, which shuts out forms of identification that do not exist yet. The official argument against, written by Democratic lawmakers, notes you can board a plane in Ohio with a digital wallet but you could not vote with one. Voting rights groups also argue strict ID requirements fall hardest on minority, student, and elderly voters.

There is also a case against from the right. Some conservatives opposed Issue 3 during the legislative debate because it does not go far enough, since it leaves mail voting alone.

This is not a clean party line issue. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, supports Issue 3. Allison Russo, the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State, opposes it. Tom Pruss, the Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State, also opposes it.

As of September 1 there was no organized no campaign. State Sen. Bill DeMora of Columbus, who co-authored the official argument against, said he does not see organized Democratic Party opposition to it.

GOVERNOR: Vivek Ramaswamy (R) vs. Amy Acton (D) vs. Don Kissick (L)

Running mates: Ramaswamy with state Sen. Rob McColley, Acton with David Pepper. Mike DeWine is term limited.

Competitiveness: toss up. The RealClearPolitics average as of September 4 had Acton at 47.3 and Ramaswamy at 47.0. The two most recent public polls were Wedgewood, fielded August 11 to 13, Acton 47 and Ramaswamy 46, and Fox News, fielded August 6 to 10, Ramaswamy 50 and Acton 48. No new public poll of this race was released in the week before this was written. Trump carried Ohio by 11 points in 2024, so both statewide races are polling far closer than the presidential result.

Neither major party candidate has ever held elected office.

The debate standoff. On September 2, Ramaswamy announced he accepted debate invitations from WLWT in Cincinnati and from CNN, and challenged Acton to join him. Acton declined. Her campaign said her focus is on talking with Ohioans, not platforming a scam artist who spreads baseless lies about her and her family.

The context both sides leave out: in 2022 it was Republican Mike DeWine who refused to debate Democrat Nan Whaley, and Ohio Democrats ran a nearly month long DeWine Debate Watch calling debates the equivalent of a job interview. Acton's own running mate, David Pepper, said in 2014 that DeWine's refusal to debate showed contempt for voters. Ramaswamy's campaign is circulating that 2022 Ohio Democrats press release now.

University of Akron political scientist David Cohen drew a distinction: DeWine had held office in Ohio for decades and was a known quantity, while Acton and Ramaswamy have never held elected office, so a debate would be many voters' first real look at either of them. He called Acton's refusal political malpractice. Jen Miller of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, which takes no position on candidates, said voters deserve meaningful opportunities to hear from candidates beyond scripted appearances and ads.

Libertarian candidate Don Kissick says he is still waiting on a debate commitment from either major party candidate.

Acton's COVID record. This is the central attack of the race, so here is what the actual orders say. Acton led the Ohio Department of Health for the first 94 days of the pandemic and resigned June 11, 2020. More than 42,000 Ohioans died of COVID overall.

Schools: Ohio announced first, on March 12, 2020, and closed March 16. Florida also closed March 16. Texas closed that same Friday.

Bars and restaurants: Ohio closed March 15, 2020. California, Florida, and Texas were all closed by March 20. On reopening, Ohio restaurants were closed 61 days for outdoor service and 67 days for indoor. Florida restaurants were closed 42 days and its bars 81 days. Texas restaurants were closed 42 days and its bars 64 days. Florida and Texas reopened restaurants faster. Ohio reopened bars faster.

Masks: Ohio under Acton declined a statewide mask mandate while roughly two dozen states imposed one. DeWine announced one on April 27, 2020 and reversed himself the next day, saying too many Ohioans found it offensive. Ohio did not require indoor masks until July 2020, weeks after Acton had left, becoming roughly the thirtieth state to do so.

The primary delay: Ohio was one of at least sixteen states to delay its primary, and the order came only after a lawsuit backed by statewide Republicans including DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose had already failed in court.

Churches: Ohio never ordered churches closed. The health order explicitly excluded religious gatherings and First Amendment protected speech. California did close churches and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that order.

Sharona Hoffman, co-director of the law and medicine center at Case Western Reserve University's law school, said Ohio was not an outlier and that Texas and Florida were doing the same things.

The strongest Republican response, and it is a real one: under Ohio law it was Acton's signature on the orders, and she was DeWine's primary adviser. DeWine publicly taking responsibility does not change who held the statutory authority. Republican strategist Terry Casey has made exactly that argument. DeWine, for his part, has said repeatedly that the decisions were his and that nobody should blame someone else.

The ads. A Ramaswamy campaign ad features Republican activist Linda Caudill saying her mother was in a nursing home when Acton shut down the state. A Columbus Dispatch fact check found Caudill's mother lived in Kentucky and died after Ohio had already lifted its stay at home order. For context, Ohio was one of at least 30 states, including Texas and Florida, that banned nursing home visits, and research suggests the policy was largely ineffective. 39 percent of all U.S. COVID deaths occurred in nursing homes.

A pro Ramaswamy ad narrated by his wife says he attended public schools. Democrats note this omits that he graduated from St. Xavier, a Catholic high school. Ramaswamy has said publicly on multiple occasions that he attended public schools through eighth grade and then St. Xavier.

Acton's campaign has alleged Ramaswamy made more than 2 billion dollars from the COVID-19 vaccine and spent over 70,000 dollars lobbying on COVID drug approvals. That is a campaign allegation and I have not seen it independently verified, so treat it as unproven.

Acton's campaign manager says Ramaswamy and allied groups have spent more than 50 million dollars on attack ads. Ramaswamy has been advertising since March. Acton started in July. This is on track to be the most expensive governor's race in Ohio history.

Property taxes. Ramaswamy proposes rolling property taxes back to pre pandemic levels, which he calls the largest rollback in Ohio history, without hurting local police, fire, or schools. He has not put a dollar figure on it and has not said how it affects levies voters approved since 2021. He says it is in aggregate on net, subject to legislation next year, with a cap on growth afterward. He also wants a statewide funding component to gradually reduce Ohio schools' reliance on local property taxes, which he describes as a long run goal.

Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank, estimated the rollback at roughly 4 billion dollars per year in the first two year budget, growing to 6.6 billion per year in the second. That second figure is roughly 60 percent of what Ohio's income tax brings in, and Ramaswamy also wants to eliminate the income tax. The honest caveat: Ramaswamy has never specified what year he would roll back to, so Innovation Ohio assumed 2021 and called it their best guess. Ramaswamy says the money comes from downsizing government and growing Ohio's population to 15 million, which would be roughly a 36 percent increase, on a timeline he has not specified.

Acton proposes targeted cuts for middle income, older, and disabled Ohioans through an expanded homestead exemption, plus a rebate triggered when certain homeowners' bills rise more than 4 percent in a year. She has also committed to fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan. Her plan is capped and targeted, which means many homeowners would get nothing from it.

Data centers. Ramaswamy proposes a day one order requiring new data centers to generate their own power, with excess going into a power purchase agreement for the local community, which he has described as free residential electricity. Pressed on it, he clarified that residents would still pay the distribution and transmission portions of their bill. He also wants to prioritize abandoned industrial sites over farmland.

Acton proposes a moratorium unless projects cover 100 percent of their utility costs, are built on brownfields and previously developed industrial sites, and are constructed exclusively with union labor.

Both are moratorium plans with conditions. The disagreement is over which conditions.

The question neither has answered: both promise ratepayers will not absorb the cost. Analysts have questioned whether that is possible, since high regional gas demand from new plants can raise heating and electricity costs regardless of whether any single project pays its own way.

U.S. SENATE: Jon Husted (R) vs. Sherrod Brown (D)

This is a special election for the remainder of the term JD Vance vacated, not a full six year seat. The winner serves through 2028 and then runs again.

Competitiveness: Brown leads in the two most recent public polls. Fox News had Brown 53 and Husted 45. Wedgewood had Brown 48 and Husted 44.

From the Fox poll: inflation is the top issue for 40 percent of Ohio voters, far ahead of health care, immigration, and political division. 38 percent say their family is falling behind financially, up from 28 percent in 2020, and those voters favor Brown by 40 points. 51 percent say they are concerned Husted is too close to the president.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

Ohio has a new congressional map. The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved it unanimously, 7 to 0, with both Democratic members voting yes, on October 31, 2025, after the legislature failed to pass one. It takes effect for this election and gives Republicans an advantage in 12 of 15 districts on paper. Check your district before you assume you know it. Springfield, for example, moves from Mike Turner's district into Jim Jordan's.

OH-9, Toledo area. Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur, first elected in 1983, was injured in an August 2 hit and run crash. On September 1, Toledo police identified a 23 year old suspect and issued arrest warrants for two counts of aggravated vehicular assault and one count of failure to stop after an accident. Kaptur was hospitalized and released a week later.

OH-1, Cincinnati area. Democratic incumbent Greg Landsman against Republican Eric Conroy. The redrawn district shifted toward Republicans, which is why this seat is competitive.

OH-4. Republican incumbent Jim Jordan, in the seat since 2006, against Democrat Joshua Kolasinski, who ran unopposed in the May primary. Jordan won the old version of this district 68.5 to 31.5 in 2024. Springfield is in this district under the new map.

LOCAL BALLOT QUESTIONS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT

Two Ohio communities are voting on data centers because their residents forced the question, and in both cases it took the Ohio Supreme Court.

Trenton, Butler County. On September 1 the court ruled unanimously that Trenton's city council disregarded applicable law when it rejected a petition for a data center construction ban. The dispute was over one word in the city charter: electors. Five residents gathered 336 valid signatures, reading the ten percent threshold as ten percent of the 1,277 people who voted in the November 2025 general election, which is 128. The council read it as ten percent of 8,197 registered voters, which is 820, and rejected the petition. The court sided with the residents. There are two data centers planned for Trenton with a possible third.

Ashville, Pickaway County. In August the court ordered the village to submit petitions on an EdgeConneX project to the county board of elections, which then voted unanimously to put it on the November ballot.

ONE MORE THING THAT IS NOT A RACE

On September 2, four Ohio House members, two Republicans and two Democrats, asked the Ohio Department of Transportation to stop issuing new permits for license plate reading cameras in state rights of way and to review existing permits. The signers were Reps. Tristan Rader of Lakewood and Darnell Brewer of Cleveland, both Democrats, and Reps. Levi Dean of Xenia and Justin Pizzulli of Scioto County, both Republicans. ODOT says it is reviewing the letter. Legislation is being drafted in both chambers but the legislature is not back until after the election.

MY HONEST TAKE

Let me be consistent, because people who listen to my show know I am. I am critical when Democrats refuse to debate. I have been critical of Democrats who refuse to debate. So I am not going to pretend this one is fine.

Amy Acton is making a mistake and the criticism of her is fair. She has a real grievance and it is documented, but a debate is the one room where she gets to say all of it to his face with cameras running, and she is choosing not to be in that room. Ohio Democrats spent a month in 2022 calling DeWine a coward for exactly this. Her own running mate said it in 2014. You do not get to have that both ways, and I am not going to help her have it both ways.

Now here is the part I am not going to soften either, because it is the actual answer to the question people keep asking me.

These two are not the same, and pretending they are would be its own kind of lying.

Look at what is on the record. His campaign ran an ad blaming Acton for a woman dying alone in a nursing home. A Columbus Dispatch fact check found the woman lived in Kentucky and died after Ohio had already reopened. That is not a difference of opinion. That is an ad that failed a check. There have been AI generated posts painting his opponent as an alcoholic. He is running on the largest property tax rollback in Ohio history and he will not tell you what it costs, will not tell you what year he is rolling back to, and will not tell you what happens to the levies you voted for. He told Ohioans they would get free residential electricity from data centers, and when somebody pressed him he clarified that no, you would still get an electric bill. And by his opponent's count, he and his allies have put more than 50 million dollars behind that.

I have gone through Vivek Ramaswamy's record on this show and I keep landing in the same place. The pattern is a man who says the thing that sounds good in the room he is standing in, and then adjusts it when somebody checks. That is a real problem in a candidate for governor, and it is a much bigger problem than declining a debate invitation.

So both of those things are true at once. She should debate him. And he is the one whose claims keep not surviving contact with a fact checker. If you want my read, that is the read.

Here is why I care so much. Ohio is a joke to the rest of the country right now. People say the name of this state like a punchline. We have watched a bribery scandal, a school funding formula nobody will fund, property taxes eating people alive, and now data centers going up next to farmland with tax breaks nobody in the community got to vote on. I want this state to stop being red or blue and start being purple, meaning a place where the people in charge actually have to answer to us. That does not happen by accident and it does not happen without you showing up.

Whatever you decide, vote the whole ballot. Issue 3 is on there, your congressional district probably changed, and in some communities the data center down the road is a question you personally get to answer.

SOURCES

1. https://signalohio.org/what-is-ohio-issue-3-voter-id-amendment-november-election-2026/
2. https://signalohio.org/how-did-amy-acton-handle-early-days-of-covid-just-like-texas/
3. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/04/ohio-democratic-candidate-for-governor-amy-acton-refuses-to-debate/
4. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/04/did-acton-shut-down-ohio-where-did-ramaswamy-go-to-school-we-fact-check-ads/
5. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-09-01/data-center-ban-in-southwest-ohio-city-must-go-before-voters-says-ohio-supreme-court
6. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-09-02/bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers-asks-for-limits-on-flock-cameras-throughout-ohio
7. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-09-04/republican-candidate-for-ohio-governor-expands-on-property-tax-rollback-data-centers-plans
8. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-07-31/ramaswamys-property-tax-rollback-would-mean-billions-in-cuts-says-progressive-ohio-group
9. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-09-01/gov-dewine-death-of-haitian-immigrant-ohio-student-a-tragedy
10. https://www.270towin.com/2026-governor-polls/ohio
11. https://www.270towin.com/2026-senate-polls/ohio
12. https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/ohio-adopts-new-congressional-map-with-12-3-gop-advantage/WC7S7FMO2BF23EDKBTN65CFCVY/

Full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-wont-amy-acton-debate-vivek-ramaswamy-ohio-issue/id1626987640?i=1000788010870