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Here in Ohio, the TV ad war between U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and his Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown, is heating up. Gov. Mike DeWine, who supported a big tax break for data centers, has killed the tax break, at least temporarily, after it came out that the tax break is costing the state a lot of money.And then there is the fight against fraud, which suddenly is top of mind for Republicans here in Ohio and across the country.For these topics, we’ll turn to our panel discussion from WOSU-TV’s "Columbus on the Record." We are joined by reporter Sarah Donaldson from Ohio Public Radio, Republican strategist Terry Casey, and Democratic strategist Stanley Gates.We’ll start with Ohio’s fight against fraud.For weeks, DeWine has faced criticism from his fellow Republicans over allegations of widespread fraud in the state’s Medicaid system. It started with a report in the conservative outlet The Daily Wire, which accused home health agencies of fraudulently billing the system that pays for healthcare for low-income and disabled people.House Speaker Matt Huffman said the DeWine administration was not doing enough to prevent fraud.DeWine released a list of steps he’s taking to address the allegations. They include a moratorium on new home healthcare companies accepting Medicaid reimbursements, using electronic monitoring to verify visits by home healthcare workers, and other measures.The nation’s top Medicare and Medicaid official, Dr. Mehmet Oz, recently visited Ohio. He defended DeWine but said Ohio needs more safeguards.

With Ohio’s primary behind us, focus shifts to the November election, in particular, the race for governor.The primary did not change much. Democrat Amy Acton was unopposed, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy easily defeated his long-shot opponent, Casey Putsch. It was already expected to be Acton versus Ramaswamy in November, and now it is official.With six months to go, campaigns are ramping up as reporters and voters pay more attention.To reset the scene, Mike DeWine leaves office at the end of the year. Term limits prevent him from running again. For the first time in eight years, Ohio will have a new governor. It will be someone from outside government: tech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, who briefly ran for president, or Amy Acton, who served in government for about a year. Acton famously served as Ohio health director at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she has not held elected office.The latest polls have the two candidates tied as the summer months approach. National politicos are keeping an eye on this race. Earlier this spring, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the Ohio governor’s race from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican."Joining us to discuss that rating and provide an Ohio native’s national look at the race, we welcome back Kyle Kondik, who serves as managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball.(photo: Carolyn Kaster and Jay LaPrete / AP)

The candidates are set for Ohio's general election in November. There were no big surprises in this week’s primary.Sherrod Brown easily beat his Democratic primary opponent and will face Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted.In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton was unopposed. Vivek Ramaswamy easily beat his Republican challenger, Casey Putsch. Ramaswamy says Republicans are unified to take on Acton, whom he calls a socialist. Hyperbole aside, here is a significant contrast between the tech billionaire and the former Ohio director of public health.In other races, the favorites in the secretary of state primaries won. Current Treasurer Robert Sprague will face former House Democratic Leader Allison Russo.In the Republican primary for state treasurer, J.D. Vance-backed Jay Edwards beat Ramaswamy-backed Kristina Roegner by a comfortable margin.In a closely watched Republican primary in northwest Ohio, former state Rep. Derek Merrin won the chance for a rematch with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo.To help break down the races, especially that congressional contest in the 9th District in northwest Ohio, we welcome University of Toledo political science professor Sam Nelson.Snollygoster of the weekThis week was a difficult one for Melanie Leneghan of Delaware County, located just north of Columbus.She sat on the Delaware County Board of Elections and was a member of the Republican State Central Committee. However, a fellow Delaware County Republican accused Leneghan of living in South Carolina rather than Ohio.While Leneghan sold her Powell home last year, travels often for work, and owns properties in South Carolina, she maintained that she still lives in Delaware County. She registered to vote at the address of a friend. Eventually, the friend transferred partial ownership of that home to Leneghan for free.The controversy moved through the courts and the Delaware County Board of Elections over the past few months.This week, the Ohio Supreme Court ended the matter. The court ruled 7-0 that Leneghan no longer lives in Ohio. This means she must be removed from the voter rolls and cannot run for her seat on the Republican State Central Committee. Because she is no longer a registered voter, she also cannot sit on the Delaware County Board of Elections.The situation is complicated. In the 2018 primary for Congress, Leneghan nearly defeated Troy Balderson.For getting every member of the Ohio Supreme Court to agree on a controversial political issue, Melanie Leneghan receives the Snollygoster of the Week award.(photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP)

An important election is just around the corner. Ohio will elect a new governor and decide who will represent the state in the U.S. Senate. A new poll provides a snapshot of what voters are thinking, and the results are interesting.The big headline from the Bowling Green State University poll is that the governor’s race is a dead heat. The BGSU poll shows Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton are basically tied. Ramaswamy has 48% support while Acton has 47%. That 1-point margin is well within the poll’s 3% margin of error.In the race for the U.S. Senate, the same poll showed that the contest is also basically tied. Jon Husted has a 3-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown. This also remains within the poll’s margin of error.Given the political angst and polarization in the country, the results should come as no surprise. However, the poll gives Democrats hope and Republicans pause that deep-red Ohio could see tinges of blue after the November election.Joining us to dissect the poll is Bowling Green State University political science professor Robert Alexander. He directs the BGSU Ohio poll.

The race for Ohio governor has gotten personal in recent weeks.Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is out with a new ad where his wife shows off their new baby. In another ad, he goes after Democrat Amy Acton for her role in the COVID-19 shutdowns.Acton has been left to explain an incident at her home in 2019. NBC was first to report that Bexley police responded to a report of a domestic dispute between Acton and her husband. The report said the couple had a verbal argument and a mirror fell from the wall and shattered. There was no evidence of physical violence and no charges were filed.Acton said it was an argument over her long work hours. Acton’s campaign this week criticized Ramaswamy’s campaign for making an issue of her seeking counseling for sexual abuse she suffered as a child.To get a look at where this race and the race for U.S. Senate stand, we turn to WOSU-TV’s "Columbus on the Record" panel: reporter Jessie Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network, Republican strategist Terry Casey and Democratic strategist Stanley Gates.Snollygoster of the weekThe National Women’s Soccer League announced this week that it would put an expansion team in Columbus.It was very dramatic. It sounded like for Columbus to land the team, the Columbus City Council and Franklin County commissioners had to chip in $50 million. It was very contentious whether to give billionaire owners public money for their team. It went right down to the wire. Columbus City Council voted Monday night to award its share, and the Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday morning.Just a couple of hours later, league officials, Mayor Ginther, and the team owners were all on a stage announcing Columbus got the team.It was amazingly quick work. The commissioner was in town. There was a stage and banners set at the stadium. There was a logo and a pre-produced video, all presented just moments after the last crucial political vote.It makes you wonder one of two things: the votes were decided long before the meetings, or the public money was not really needed to make the business decision to put a pro sports franchise in Columbus, a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer.Either way, for securing the public money and for quickly launching a glitzy announcement, the owners of the yet-to-be-named Columbus women's soccer team and the National Women's Soccer League get our Snollygoster of the Week award.

We look back at a time when Ohio was blue politically, or at least purple. And explore the reasons why Ohio has become pretty deeply Red.We will play an interview I did on WOSU TV’s Columbus on the Record with longtime Democratic activist Dale Butland.For 20 years, Dale worked for U.S. Sen. John Glenn, a Democrat. He also worked briefly for Ohio's other longtime U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, another Democrat.When Glenn left the Senate, Butland worked for many years helping progressive candidates and campaigns in Ohio.Dale is out with a new book, When Ohio Was Blue: My 20 Year Journey with John Glenn. It's a personal inside look at how the system works or is supposed to work.Snollygoster Of The WeekWe could give it to JD Vance for putting a picture of a Methodist church in rural Virginia on the cover of his new book, which describes the Ohioan’s conversations with the Catholic Church, but that might not be shrewd.Instead, we’ll give it to Samuel Ronan, who was running in the Ohio U.S. House District 15 Republican Primary against Rep. Mike Carey of Columbus.The problem is that Ronan appears to be a Democrat. Here’s a look at some of his positions:No one making less than $100,000 a year should pay federal taxesHe supports higher taxes on the rich Complete divestment from fossil fuels by 2035Wide expansion of high speed rail Turning all of our paved areas into solar energy-creating surfacesYou get the idea. Oh, and he once ran an unsuccessful campaign to be Democratic National Chairman.Well, a federal judge looked at Ronan’s background and determined he’s not really a Republican and should not run in the GOP primary. Ronan has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but as of now, he's off the ballot.It was a long-shot campaign for sure. But for a pretty far left progressive trying to run in the Republican primary for Congress, Samuel Ronan gets our Snollygoster of the week award.

The 2028 presidential campaign likely will start about a year from now, but Democrats are not waiting to take on a likely candidate: Ohioan and Vice President JD Vance.Late last month, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took a road trip to Ohio, where he spoke to a crowd of fellow Democrats in Vance’s home turf of Butler County.Beshear, who is considering a run for president himself, said Vance has abandoned his home region. He called Vance’s memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," hillbilly hate and poverty tourism.Other potential Democratic candidates for president have also taken swipes at Vance.A spokesman for Vance told The Associated Press that when Beshear seeks publicity, he ends up humiliating himself.To preview Vance’s likely presidential campaign, we turn to the "Columbus on the Record" panel. Joining us are reporters Jo Ingles from Ohio Public Radio and Andrew Tobias from Signal Statewide, Democrat Joseph Mas from the Ohio Hispanic Coalition and Republican former state legislator Gene Krebs, who gives us the view from far western Ohio.Snollygoster of the weekThe Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the state park rangers, what kind of shrewd politics are they up to?As Signal Statewide and the Columbus Dispatch first reported, they want to change the name of the Charles O. Trump Wildlife Area in Pickaway County, south of Columbus.Technically, ODNR would not change the name but shorten it to the Trump Wildlife Area.A spokesman declined to say what prompted the agency to offer the option of eliminating "Charles O." from the area’s signs and marketing materials.As for Charles, he was a local farmer who died a bachelor 20 years ago and donated 128 acres of land for conservation purposes. He was not related to the president of the United States.For whatever reason, by trying to change the name of the Charles O. Trump Wildlife Area, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources gets our Snollygoster of the Week award.(Photo: Elizabeth Frantz / AP / New York Times)

JobsOhio is in the news not because of a big new project, but because of the role, however small, it played in the sudden resignation of Ohio State University President Ted Carter.Carter resigned after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a podcaster sponsored by JobsOhio. The agency gave her $60,000 for four episodes of a little-watched podcast on veterans' employment.Former Gov. John Kasich, who helped create JobsOhio, took to social media to criticize the deal and accused JobsOhio of mission creep. That brought a response from Attorney General Dave Yost, who criticized Kasich for creating a publicly funded agency that operates with no oversight.Yost urged his fellow Republican to look in the mirror. Yost said that as auditor of state, he worried about such things. He told Kasich that the former governor ignored a subpoena and twisted every arm in the Legislature to pass a law to stop Yost from auditing JobsOhio. Yost then asked what other things have not come to light.To help us better understand this story, we turn to the Columbus on the Record panel from WOSU. Joining us are progressive activist Morgan Harper, Republican strategist Mike Gonidakis, and Statehouse reporters Jessie Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network and Karen Kasler of Ohio Public Radio and Television.Snollygoster of the weekAs you probably know, Congress and the president have partially shut down the government. Democrats in Congress will not approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security until it changes its immigration enforcement practices.The White House and Republicans so far have refused to budge. Among other things, that means TSA agents at airports are not getting paid. After a month of not getting paid, many have stopped coming to work.That has led to long lines at airports and many passengers missing their flights. Airlines then have to clean up the mess and rebook those passengers.Delta Air Lines announced it no longer will provide special services to members of Congress. Those services included airport escorts and a dedicated reservations line that allows lawmakers to make last-minute changes.That is over, at least until the shutdown ends, TSA agents get paid and lines shorten. Senators and representatives now have to line up in zones four through eight and gate-check their carry-on bags.(Photo: Al Behrman / AP)

Data centers are shaping up to be a very important topic in the 2026 midterms.Ohio has become fertile ground for data center construction. The state has some 200 data centers. At first, companies were building them near cities. The Columbus area has more than half of the state’s data centers, while metro Cleveland and Cincinnati have a couple dozen each.But more computer companies are looking to rural areas to locate the centers.These data centers need a lot of power to run the computers and keep them cool. Utilities struggle to keep up. They must expand the grid and bring new generation online. The question is who is going to pay for it. Residential electrical bills have already risen because of the increased demand.These centers also need water to help keep servers cool.At first, communities and the state fell over themselves to attract data centers. It is considered cool to have Google and Meta in a small town, and the thinking goes that data centers will bring in other companies.Local communities offered tax breaks and the state offered incentives. The state does not charge sales tax to data center firms when they buy equipment for their facilities.But as electric bills rise and the data centers start to encroach upon suburbs and swallow up farmland, suddenly, they are not so cool. Politicians are hearing from voters and starting to ask if data centers are worth it.This week, a group of people in far southern Ohio along the Ohio River submitted petition language and signatures in an effort to win passage of a new constitutional amendment to ban large data centers in Ohio. It is the first step in a difficult process. The group must collect more than 400,000 valid signatures in the next three and a half months to get on the November ballot.Joining us to discuss this effort is Nikki Gerber, co-organizer of the group.Higher EdNo matter what you think of his positions, Vivek Ramaswamy is not afraid to take bold stances. The Republican started his campaign for governor, looking to eliminate income taxes and property taxes.He and his campaign later clarified his position, stating that he wants to lower property taxes.This week, he was caught on video targeting Ohio colleges and universities."We have too many of them," Ramaswamy said, "They need to be consolidated. And when you consolidate them, they can actually be centers of excellence who are actually the best in their respective domains, instead of trying to create replicas and clones of one another throughout the state.”After the clip went viral and criticism followed, the Ramaswamy campaign said he does not support eliminating universities. Instead, the campaign stated he wants to cut the bureaucracy that burdens them to make college more affordable.Still, Democrats say the comment shows that Ramaswamy is out of touch with Ohioans.According to the Ohio Depar

A presidential bombshell dropped this week. No, this is not about President Trump calling the Iran war a "short-term excursion." This is not even about the president of the United States.The focus is on the president of Ohio State University, who resigned this week, or was forced to quit.Ted Carter’s resignation came after he acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with a woman seeking public resources to support her personal business.While all details are not yet known, the university says the matter is under investigation. It is looking into Carter’s relationship with a podcaster who produced shows on post-military jobs. Carter is a retired Navy vice admiral.The podcaster produced some of her shows here at WOSU under a private client contract.It has been a strange few days at Ohio State and WOSU as the situation unfolds.The resignation ends Carter's short two-year stint as OSU president. It was an eventful tenure. He took office as Palestinian protests were occurring at OSU and campuses around the country. Trump was threatening schools that did not crack down on protesters or eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Tens of millions of dollars in federal research money was on the line.At the state level, the Ohio legislature passed a new law banning DEI programs. Carter eliminated the OSU diversity office even before the bill became law. He also banned chalking on campus sidewalks, presumably for fear of controversial slogans. He did, however, get to enjoy last year’s football national championship.While its end was unusual, Carter’s tenure may not be all that uncommon. The job has always been difficult, but it seems to be increasingly challenging in recent years.To examine the practices and politics of being a college president, we turn to Josh Moody. He is a reporter for Inside Higher Ed who covers money and management in higher education.State of the State - (22:30)Gov. Mike DeWine gave his final State of the State address this week. Next year, he will be retired, and we assume Democrat Amy Acton or Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will address the legislature.It should come as no surprise, but DeWine played it safe in this final address. He spent about a quarter of his hour-long speech talking about the science of reading, which is basically phonics, and how a new state law mandating it is paying off with better reading scores.He called for tougher seat belt laws, especially for children. He also asked lawmakers to ban AI child pornography, which is going to be a tough sell. He also wants to double the amount of recess time in school from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.Perhaps he is trying to soften the blow for those students who can no longer use their phones in school because of a law he signed.It is safe to

The United States once again is waging war in the Middle East. President Trump ordered the U.S. military to join Israel in a massive bombing campaign in Iran. It has killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, many other Iranian leaders, and hundreds of civilians.Given that this is an Ohio politics podcast, we will focus on how Ohioans are reacting to this.Ohio’s congressional delegation largely split along partisan lines in reacting to the attacks.But the guy many were watching was Ohio’s JD Vance. The former senator and now vice president once strongly said the United States should not get involved in endless wars.But soon after the attacks, Vance called Iran a major threat and defended President Trump’s starting a war in the Middle East.Critics say the president and his administration have not laid out a clear justification or strategy going forward. The justification shifted to supporting Iranian protesters, to Iran’s nuclear threat, to ballistic weapons, to regime change. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said we had to protect American forces because Israel was going to attack.Maybe it is one of those, all of those, or none of those.Death PenaltyGovernor Mike DeWine has less than a year left in his term. He has long expressed serious reservations about the state’s death penalty.Ohio has not executed an inmate in his nearly eight years as governor. He has postponed every execution to come before his desk, citing the inability to get lethal injection drugs. The governor now hints he may ask lawmakers to permanently end the death penalty in the state.To dig a little deeper on this, we turn to a panel of statehouse insiders: reporter Andrew Tobias of Signal Statewide, OSU political scientist Herb Asher, and Republican strategist Mike Gonidakis.Snollygoster of the weekTime now for our Snollygoster of the Week segment, where we honor the shrewdest politician or political move of the week. This week we give it to Delaware County Board of Elections member Melanie Leneghan, who is also running for re‑election to the State Republican Central Committee.Her opponent for the committee seat, Rebecca Norse, messed up. As first reported by The Columbus Dispatch, Norse put the wrong date on her filing paperwork. At first, the Delaware County Board of Elections said the rules are the rules, and they took Norse’s name off the ballot. Norse appealed, and the board reconsidered it at this meeting. The board split. The two Democrats voted to put her name on the ballot, the two Republicans said no, and one of the Republicans was Norse’s opponent, Melanie Leneghan.So instead of recusing herself, Leneghan voted to take her opponent off the ballot. It is now up to Secretary of State Frank LaRose to break the tie.For not recusing herself when there was an obvious conflict of interest, Melanie Leneghan gets our Snollygost

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has had strong ties to Central Ohio. Last week, the congressional investigation into Epstein’s associates came to New Albany.Limited founder Les Wexner gave a deposition to the House Oversight Committee. He answered questions from members of the House Oversight Committee for about five hours about how much he knew about the sex offender and what role he may have played in Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.Before the session began, Wexner submitted a long statement in which he said, “I was naïve, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”Wexner’s name appears in the Epstein files thousands of times. They had a long relationship. Epstein controlled Wexner’s money for years. Wexner says Epstein stole from him. During the deposition, Wexner maintained that his relationship with Epstein was just business.Our panel of statehouse insiders this week includes reporters Jessie Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network and Sarah Donaldson of Ohio Public Radio, Democratic strategist Stanley Gates, and Republican strategist Bob Clegg.Snollygoster of the weekThe state of Ohio pays the private school tuition of school kids who opt for private schools. Lawmakers over the years have widened the program, so now basically every family in Ohio can get assistance. The awards are income‑based to some degree.Public school advocates strongly oppose the vouchers and say the money would be better spent improving public schools.But now some shrewd school districts and parents have found a way to use a private school tuition tool to pay for all‑day kindergarten in public schools. Parents have to pay an extra fee for all‑day kindergarten in most districts.To help parents pay those fees, and to pay for the programs, those districts are using a little‑known tax credit that rewards Ohioans who donate to private school scholarship funds. Those Ohioans get a dollar‑for‑dollar tax credit, which basically means they get their money back.As Cleveland.com first reported, a small handful of districts have set up the private scholarship funds. Parents donate, the funds award scholarships to pay for all‑day kindergarten, and the parents get their money back in the form of a tax credit.So the bottom line is that a state program designed to pay for private school tuition with tax dollars is also being used to pay for public all‑day kindergarten.

It was quite the day in New Albany. The state’s richest man, and some say one of the state’s most powerful men, was questioned under oath about his relationship with convicted pedophile and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.As the proceedings began, Wexner released a long statement in which he said that while he and Epstein were friends and Epstein managed all of his personal finances, he had no idea of Epstein’s illegal activities. Wexner said in his statement, “I was naïve, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”Committee member Rep. Dave Min from California was not buying it.The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, said the committee has more questions for Wexner, and he said Ohioans should as well.Closely watching the news surrounding the deposition is the Ohio State University and its president, Ted Carter. Last week, Carter said that university officials are considering all the facts, and they have a process to consider the more than two dozen requests to remove Wexner’s name from the medical center, the arts center, and the football complex.For more on this topic, we turn to our panel of experts: reporter Jake Zuckerman of Signal Statewide, Democratic strategist Brian Rothenberg, and Republican strategist Mark Weaver.Snollygoster of the WeekThe House Oversight Committee questioned Les Wexner this week in New Albany. We could give the award to Wexner for making them move the deposition to his home turf, but instead, let’s give it to the committee members who were not there.There are forty-six members of the committee; five showed up for the Wexner deposition, all of them Democrats, and notably all from outside Ohio. Ohio Republicans Jim Jordan and Mike Turner and Democrat Shontel Brown decided not to make the short drive to Central Ohio from their districts. Congress was not in session. Brown said she had a scheduling conflict. There is no word on what kept Turner and Jordan from attending.What their absence did mean is that they did not have to confront one of Ohio’s most prominent citizens, and they did not have to answer reporters’ questions after the session.For that, Representatives Jordan, Turner, and Brown get our Snollygoster of the Week award.

The big issue of the 2026 campaign likely will be affordability: the affordability of groceries, the affordability of health care, and the affordability of housing. Candidates are falling all over themselves trying to tell us how they are going to help us make more money and help us save money.A big piece of the housing affordability equation is property taxes. Because of rapidly rising property values over the past ten years, and voters’ willingness to pass levies, property taxes have increased sharply.The median Ohio property tax bill has jumped about 25 percent in recent years to stand at just more than three thousand dollars a year. Obviously, many homeowners pay a lot more than that, while others pay less.The Tax Foundation says Ohio has the eighth-highest effective property tax rate in the country.With each revaluation notice and with each new property tax bill, politicians hear from their angry constituents.Some of those constituents say their lawmakers have not done enough to control property tax rates, so they want to go to the voters.The group Citizens for Property Tax Reform is collecting signatures to put a proposed state constitutional amendment on the ballot. If it gets on the ballot and if it passes, it would eliminate property taxes in the state of Ohio.State and local government officials say that would be devastating to local schools and services. Right now, property taxes generate twenty-four billion dollars a year, which is more than is collected through the state’s income and sales taxes combined.Joining us this week on Snollygoster is one of the leaders of the group, Beth Blackmarr.Snollygoster of the weekPresident JD Vance and Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy, in a move that statehouse insiders have noted, are involved in the GOP primary fight for state auditor. JD Vance has endorsed former state Rep. Jay Edwards, and Vivek Ramaswamy has endorsed state Senator Kristina Roegner. The insiders smell the first skirmish in a budding rivalry between two potential candidates for president in 2028.

A federal judge in Washington extended Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants living in the United States. Judge Ana Reyes' decision to allow the Haitians to remain legally came hours before Tuesday's deadline.The Trump administration says it will appeal the judge's ruling, and the case continues in federal court.Advocates say they are ready to mobilize again should ICE's attention drift away from Minnesota and toward Ohio.So while that storm passed us by, we are still left with the remnants of last week's major winter storm. Much to the relief of parents, schools reopened this week. The leftover piles of snow and frigid temperatures caused most schools, at least in central Ohio, to close all of last week.AEP seemed to survive the storm pretty well, at least in Ohio. No major power outages here. But the utility made news when Governor DeWine mentioned his administration is trying to keep AEP's headquarters in Ohio. The company is looking to possibly move out of its 31-story headquarters in Columbus.To discuss these stories, we turn to this week's panel: Statehouse Reporter Jo Ingles from Ohio Public Radio, Democratic Strategist Stanley Gates, and Republican Strategist Mike Gonidakis.Snollygoster of the weekThis week, testimony began in the trial of former FirstEnergy executives charged with bribing state officials to bail out two nuclear power plants. Former CEO Chuck Jones and former Senior Vice President Mike Dowling face charges that they bribed former Public Utilities Commission chair Sam Randazzo as part of the scheme.In his opening statement, the attorney for the former executives argued that the $4.5 million they gave to Randazzo was not a bribe, but a payment Randazzo was supposed to use to settle claims with clients. The defense claims Randazzo instead pocketed the money.Here's the thing: Randazzo cannot refute the claim. He died by suicide soon after he was indicted for his role in the scandal.The jury will decide, but it's a pretty shrewd legal maneuver to shift the blame to a dead man.Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(03:12) - Snow Days(06:55) - Keeping AEP in Ohio(12:37) - Snollygoster of the week

It has been an eventful year for the Trump–Vance administration. We’ve focused more on Trump than Vance, but Vance has been more visible than many vice presidents.

Protests continue in Minnesota and across the country. Here in Central Ohio, there is no sign of intense ICE activity, but detentions continue. Ohio State students protested the school, including the Border Patrol, at its career fair this week. Officials continue to warn protesters not to get in the way of any enforcement activity.

The new year started with a firehose-like stream of political news. Venezuela, ICE activity, the tragic shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis and false daycare fraud claims in Ohio have dominated the news.

A new poll from Emerson College in Boston shows some interesting trends that likely give Ohio Democrats hope and give Republicans pause.

The public authority that owns the arena says it needs 400 million dollars—more than double the original cost—to renovate it. And it’s looking for taxpayers to pick up much of the tab.

Tim Ryan, the former congressman, former presidential candidate and former U.S. Senate candidate said he will not run for governor.

President Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files and then refused to do so. He tried hard to persuade Congress to drop its demand to release them, but he failed. Then, the president reversed course and told Republicans in Congress to vote to release the files.

To examine the implications of the Democrats’ wins and look at how Ohioans voted on higher taxes for government services, we welcome our panel of experts: Statehouse reporters Laura Bischoff, of the USA Today Ohio Bureau, and Jo Ingles, of Ohio Public Radio, as well as Democrat Jo Mas and Republican Mike Miller.

For those of us tired of talking about redistricting, we’re happy. The Ohio Redistricting Commission has approved a bipartisan map and the issue appears settled for six years. But we might be the only ones who are happy.

We have a good snapshot of how Ohio voters are feeling, a year out from the election that will decide the governor’s office and Congress. Bowling Green State University is out with its latest poll.

For homeowners worried about skyrocketing property tax bills, a radical solution is gaining traction, but experts warn that abolishing these taxes could cause Ohio's income tax to increase drastically.

There’s no sign of a compromise in the government shutdown. Democrats in the Senate are blocking a funding bill, demanding that Republicans agree to reverse looming Medicaid cuts and extend Obamacare health insurance subsidies.

It’s a Politics and a Pint edition of Snollygoster. As we did in August, we gathered about 200 of our closest friends at Seventh Son Brewing in Columbus, where we talked politics while enjoying craft beers.

The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk fueled a lot of hyperbolic rhetoric and some serious consequences.

It has been more than a week since an assassin shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah. President Trump and Vice President Vance have implied the violence was the result of far-left rhetoric, and they promise to crack down on liberal groups.

Lawmakers have begun the arduous process of drawing congressional districts for Ohio. Ohio Democrats did not support the two congressional maps passed four years ago. Because of that, the state’s constitution requires lawmakers to draw new ones this year. Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn joins the show.

Lawmakers have begun the arduous process of drawing congressional districts for Ohio. Ohio Democrats did not support the two congressional maps passed four years ago. Because of that, the state’s constitution requires lawmakers to draw new ones this year. Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn joins the show.

In this episode, we revisit last week’s Politics and a Pint event held at Seventh Son Brewing in Columbus.

With a campaign video and email early Monday morning, the former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown announced he will take on Senator Jon Husted next year.

Brown is going to run for the U.S. Senate, the place he walked out of just eight months ago after losing a re-election bid to Republican Bernie Moreno.

The drama over legislative district mapmaking isn’t limited to Texas, where Republicans and Democrats are in a standoff over efforts to redraw lines. Once again, Ohio lawmakers are drawing legislative districts.

There have been major developments in the ongoing lawsuit against Ohio State University by sexual assault victims of former OSU team doctor Richard Strauss.

Ohio is in the early stages of a major fight over property taxes. Thanks largely to rapidly rising home values, property taxes have jumped on average about 25–30% in recent years. Homeowners are mad, especially those on fixed incomes who have no plans to move and cash in on their home’s equity.

Once labeled a cow-town, known mainly for its college football team, Columbus is asserting itself as a major regional and national city and the growth projections are kind of startling. But is Columbus ready?

Gov. DeWine signed the biennial budget into law and made 67 line-item vetoes. He nixed a plan to allow counties to reduce property taxes if school districts had a lot of money in their savings accounts. But the richest Ohioans get a 20% income tax cut.

The Ohio Democratic Party has a new chair. Amy Acton is building a campaign to run for Ohio governor. And everyone is waiting for Sherrod Brown to announce his plans.

The third version of the state budget is out, and it proposes cutting taxes for any Ohioan making more than $100,000 a year. The State Senate would do that by flattening the state income tax.

Taxes have come to dominate the political debate in Washington, and they loom as a growing concern at the Ohio Statehouse.

Attorney General Dave Yost has dropped out of the campaign for governor. Yost said his steep climb to the nomination had become a vertical cliff. For now, Vivek Ramaswamy’s path to the Republican nomination for governor looks clear.

A panel of experts breaks down President Trump's falling approval numbers in polls and the uncertainty over tariffs.

A new poll shows Trump has a 47% approval rating while 48% disapprove—a statistical tie—but that number is down 7 points from February. The poll’s co-director, Bowling Green State University political science professor Robert Alexander, joins the show.

The Browns are looking to move to a new domed stadium in suburban Cleveland. And state lawmakers seem eager to help. The governor wants to tax sports betting companies and use the money to help the Browns and other teams. The Ohio House wants the state to borrow $600 million to just help the Browns. Kennesaw State University economics professor J.C. Bradbury joins the show.

Last week, former Sen. Sherrod Brown announced the formation of the Dignity of Work Institute. The goal, he says, is to help Democrats and Republicans better understand the lives of American workers. It also keeps him in the spotlight as he considers whether to run for office again.

If you're a politician who wants to get elected, promising tax cuts is a popular strategy. Republican candidates for governor are doing just that, floating the idea to eliminate Ohio's income tax.

The Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, could be coming to Ohio. We discuss what that might look like with a panel of political observers.