The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio!
Given the amount of data center construction already in Ohio, the best economic deal now would be to require all new ones to use 90% renewable energy, a new cost-benefit analysis found. The next-best deal would be to ban new construction altogether, it said.
A server room in a data center. (Photo by Getty Images)
By Marty Schladen
Ohio has the fourth-most data centers of any state, and after being forced to provide $2.3 billion in subsidies via tax breaks, taxpayers are questioning whether they're really a good thing.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Republicans in Ohio are trying to reshape the data center narrative as voters head into the polls. Activists say it's too late.
By Megan Henry
Bayer is building a $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in New Albany, Ohio, the company has announced.
COMMENTARY
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
By Marilou Johanek
The Nov. 3 election is essentially a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the status quo. You either like the way things are going or you don’t. The outcome of this midterm election will show as much about Ohio voters as it does the candidates on the ballot.
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
STATELINE
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
New preliminary research from the University of Michigan shows women living in states with post-Dobbs abortion bans may be more likely to shoulder costs for employer-sponsored health insurance premiums.
By Sofia Resnick
As they await a federal decision on a potential nationwide ban on telehealth abortions, anti-abortion activists plan to push more states to require women to visit a doctor’s office, get an ultrasound or wait before they can get abortion pills.
By Alex Brown
With Election Day less than a month away, lawmakers in several states are suspending gas taxes or rolling back regulations on diesel fuel as voters grow increasingly frustrated with rising fuel costs amid President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
By Shalina Chatlani
Facing a surge of measles cases in New York state’s rural counties, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on Monday allowing paramedics, pharmacists, midwives and other non-physicians to administer vaccines.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
Tenn. Republicans: Legislature to investigate other execution methods after failed lethal injections
By Cassandra Stephenson, Tennessee Lookout
Republican leaders in Tennessee’s legislature say they will investigate the reliability of lethal injection as an execution method after the state failed to execute two death row inmates in the span of five months.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jonathan Shorman
As President Donald Trump refuses to rule out taking extreme action in the midterm elections, voting rights advocates and civil rights leaders are bolstering their voter protection efforts in anticipation of possible federal interference.
By Jennifer Shutt
The number of women in the U.S. Senate is unlikely to increase and may decline following the November midterm elections, though there are still opportunities for candidates to make history in the upper chamber.
By Jacob Fischler
A leading Democratic campaign committee is projecting confidence in U.S. Senate toss-up races four weeks before Election Day, though it has yet to commit resources to the reddest states that have recently entered the Senate map.
HISTORY THURSDAY
In the history of voter suppression in the United States, including attempts to stop Black and Latino people from voting, Republican tactics in the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial race stand out.
That November, voters in several cities saw posters at polling places printed in bright red letters: “WARNING. This area is being patrolled by the National Ballot Security Task Force.”
About 200 patrols were deployed statewide, many of them uniformed and carrying guns. Read more from The Conversation
CATCHING OUR EYE
In closing. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports, “Candidates for Ohio governor roll into final weeks of campaign with closing messages.”
Acton said as governor, she'll push for a tax cut for working families and would help with health care costs by making drugs more affordable, alleviating medical debt. And she said ensuring data centers pay their fair share would making costs lower for everyone, including small businesses…
Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy has also been traveling the state, promising to lower costs. One thing he’s touting is how he worked with his running mate, Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), to bring the legislature back in session last week to pass a 90-day suspension of the state's fuel tax.Refugees. WYSO’s Shay Frank reports, “'There is no place to go.' Ukrainian family battles red tape trying to remain in the U.S.”
The family came legally through a two-year renewable admission program called parole, which is granted to immigrants on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons.
They’re among the estimated 240,000 Ukrainians who received parole as of 2025, when the “Uniting for Ukraine” program was paused. Many, like Tetiana’s family, are stuck in legal limbo, waiting to find out if they’ll be able to renew their parole and remain in the U.S.
“Going back to Ukraine isn't an option for many and for most and going to Europe, a lot of programs have closed and so these people are in limbo. There is no place to go," Tetiana said.Husted embracing Trump. Cleveland.com’s Anna Staver reports, “In tight Ohio Senate race, Husted embraces Trump support, but that comes with risks.”
President Donald Trump keeps coming to Ohio to lend Sen. Jon Husted the one thing he can’t get on his own: Trump’s turnout. “I’m going to ask you to just pretend that I’m running,” Trump told the crowd Saturday at Butler High School near Dayton.
But that support comes with risks. The closer Husted stays to the president, the more he risks absorbing blame for voter frustration over the cost of living, the war in Iran and data centers.Mail-in ballot requests. Signal Ohio’s Andrew Tobias reports, “Ohio mail-in ballot requests plummet compared to recent midterm elections.”
The drop comes as President Donald Trump has made unfounded claims that voting by mail is rife with fraud while also trying to exert federal control of the process. In-person early voting meanwhile was up in all 56 counties where data is available.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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