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!
A new online database shows for the first time how many of the more than 1,200 suspected cases of voter fraud the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office referred for investigation since taking office in 2019 have resulted in felony convictions: 16.
Early voting in Ohio at the Franklin County Board of Elections. (Photo by Megan Henry/Ohio Capital Journal)
By David Knox
A total of nine convictions for illegal voting represent 0.00003% among the more than 35 million ballots cast in Ohio in the decade covered by the dashboard.
By Marty Schladen
Ohio Haitian immigrants and their supporters embarked on a four-day pilgrimage to Columbus last week with a list of demands related to what they've been through since the start of President Donald Trump's second term.
By Nick Evans
Several thousand Ohioans packed the Cleveland Public Auditorium Saturday for a rally featuring former President Barack Obama. Several Democratic officials warmed up the crowd and the party’s entire down ballot slate appeared on stage briefly.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Ohio candidate for governor Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is attempting to reframe his controversial ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother as protestors have started gathering at his events.
By Susan Tebben
An Ohio village won’t have to consider the proposal from a new data center after putting a moratorium in place, according to a unanimous ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court.
COMMENTARY
Former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, left, will take on U.S. Senator Jon Husted, right, in 2026. (Photos by CSPAN/Morgan Trau)
By David J. Jackson and Dominic D. Wells
An Ohio Republican strategist told the New York Times that the campaign of Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted is trying to portray Sherrod Brown as the incumbent in the race amid backlash against the party in power in Washington. Will it work?
By Terry Smith
One unintended side effect of the attack ad being promoted by Ohio Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy is that it's now bringing attention to the American success story embodied by his opponent Amy Acton and the adversity she overcame.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Shalina Chatlani
The percentage of working-age adults without health insurance has increased in the past two years, largely because many people can no longer afford Obamacare coverage after Congress allowed federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year.
By Anna Claire Vollers
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report.
By Nada Hassanein
Federal regulators are cracking down on the nonprofits responsible for coordinating organ donations, aiming to begin shutting down substandard groups by early next year.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee Republican lawmakers are ready to change the state’s death penalty laws in the wake of two botched executions by lethal injection, including a renewed look at electrocution and firing squads.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Department of Justice is stepping up its legal campaign over the midterm elections, suing Alaska over its U.S. Senate election and appealing a lawsuit against suspected noncitizen voters in California.
By Jennifer Shutt
Fewer than 5% of U.S. House races are seen by a top political analysis as truly competitive heading into November’s midterm elections, giving relatively few voters the ability to determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years.
By Jonathan Shorman
As Election Day approaches, top Democrats on the intelligence committees in Congress are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump will allege foreign interference to discredit unfavorable results.
By Jacob Fischler
Dissatisfaction with high prices, made worse by President Donald Trump’s unpopular war in Iran, along with aggressive tactics on immigration, have Democrats in a favorable position less than two weeks from Election Day, polling shows.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Republicans for socialists? CNN' reports, “Conservatives funded efforts to undercut Sherrod Brown with Black voters in Ohio, filing shows.”
A mysterious group that has spent at least $2 million boosting a little-known socialist candidate in Ohio’s highly competitive Senate race is being funded by Republicans, according to a new campaign finance filing.
Enough Promises Ohio has poured money into ads and mailers that criticize Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, including messaging seeking to undercut his standing with Black voters, and back independent candidate Greg Levy, who denies any connection the group.Justice Department targets Ohio State. WCMH’s Katie Millard reports, “Justice Department says Ohio State discriminated based on race in medical school admissions.”
The Department of Justice alleged Ohio State University’s College of Medicine discriminated against white and Asian students when granting admissions for three consecutive years.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into the College of Medicine in March, examining claims that white and Asian students were discriminated based on their race in admitting the 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes. On Wednesday, it concluded OSU Medicine had violated racial discrimination law. An Ohio State spokesperson said the university “strongly disagrees with the findings.”Trump’s golf courses. Forbes reports, “Trump’s Golf Empire Is A Billion-Dollar Tax Shelter.”
For decades, the president has claimed charitable deductions on golf courses he never gave away. Now, facing one of the most significant tax bills of his life, he’s pushing the scheme even further—and appears to be using the presidency to get away with it.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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