Are debates set for a comeback in Ohio?
Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy fielded a question from a voter on the topic of debates last week at the Butler County Fair. He said he’s game – if his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, is too.
“I will hereby say I’m ready to debate,” Ramaswamy said, according to C-SPAN. “But it takes two to do it. So get her to show up. I think it will be good for the state.”
Democratic former senator Sherrod Brown, who’s challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted this November, said Wednesday he hopes to debate, too.
“I assume we are,” Brown said. “I’ve debated in most of my campaigns.”
“Most” is doing some work there – Brown didn’t hold a debate in his most recent campaign, when he lost to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. It was the first Ohio U.S. Senate race in which this had happened since 1988. The two candidates blamed each other at the time, although it seemed to Andrew like more of a mutual decision. Brown disputed this on Wednesday, insisting it was Moreno’s fault.
Even before 2024, debates were on the ropes. In 2022, JD Vance debated Democrat Tim Ryan ahead of the Senate race, but Republican Gov. Mike DeWine didn’t debate his Democratic challenger Nan Whaley after he’d participated in several four years prior.
We’ll see whether they make a comeback in 2026. A candidate saying they want to debate isn’t the same thing as actually agreeing to one. And then there are the other candidates in these races. Acton’s campaign wouldn’t say whether she’d debate Ramaswamy. “There’s plenty of time to talk about that,” a campaign spokesperson said. A Husted spokesperson issued a noncommittal statement, saying she’d be “shocked” if Brown debates Husted this time after failing to debate Moreno in 2024.
Husted’s ‘firewall’ pitch
Sen. Jon Husted views his race as the “firewall” that will decide whether or not President Donald Trump gets impeached in 2027.
That’s how he described it anyway last Saturday to a VFW Hall full of Republican volunteers in the Dayton area. The event was organized by Americans for Prosperity Action, a conservative advocacy group that’s part of the Koch Brothers’ sprawling political network supporting Republican Senate candidates in Ohio in recent years.
Husted was there to deliver a pep talk to the dozens filling the room before they fanned out to surrounding neighborhoods to knock on doors and pass out political literature.
He asserted that Democrats have promised to impeach Trump on “day one” if they regain power in Washington, although caucus leaders have officially shied away from talk of impeachment.
“If they take control of the House and the Senate, that’s what’s going to happen. And this race in Ohio is ground zero for that whole process,” Husted said.
In an interview following his speech, Husted said the Trump dynamic is just one facet of his race.
“I know that that’s what this audience cares about. I think this election is about Sherrod Brown and me, and he’s had 52 years in office, the last 32 in Washington, and he hasn’t done anything to help people,” Husted said.
Trump could face weakening support in Ohio
Husted’s speech aside, Trump hasn’t directly factored as much into this year’s election as he has in the past. Husted did launch his campaign with an ad highlighting Trump’s all-important endorsement, which helped keep the primary election field free for the freshman senator. Since then, the president has been more of a background character, while Husted’s ads have pivoted to predominantly criticizing his Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Meanwhile, polls have shown Trump’s approval rating slipping in Ohio as “affordability” has been a concern for voters.
National Americans for Prosperity Action leaders, meanwhile, have warned that their polling and canvassing has found as many as one in five reliable Republican voters in Ohio and other swing states are either considering staying home or even voting for Democrats.
Donovan O’Neill, AFP Action’s top Ohio official, said he’s seen similar results on the ground. Andrew shadowed O’Neill as he braved the rain to knock on doors on Saturday. One Republican voter, a middle-aged man, described only “barely” approving of Trump, while another, a senior citizen who’d voted Republican in the past, said she planned to vote for Democrats, trusting them more to handle Social Security.
“There’s a lot of ‘em out there,” O’Neill said, describing the phenomenon of wavering Trump voters. “It’s taboo to talk about in our circles. It’s why we ask the questions. We want to understand it.”
In his speech at the VFW hall, Husted warned about the Democratic socialists gaining influence in the Democratic Party while describing Ohio’s race as closer than people might assume.
“Sometimes people say, ‘Well, this isn’t very important. They win by 10 points. This could very well come down to a dozen votes here or there.’ That’s how close this race is going to be. And every vote counts. It matters to the outcome of this.”
ODP’s deep cut
ICYMI, Andrew also attended the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual state party dinner on Saturday. While the main event was speeches delivered by governor candidate Amy Acton, Sherrod Brown and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, downballot candidates filled out the undercard.
Perhaps the least-known speaker was Stacie Baker, a Reynoldsburg city council member who’s challenging Republican state Sen. Michele Reynolds this November. Baker’s potential role in Democrats’ larger political calculations could explain why he got on stage. The district Baker’s running for – which Trump won by 10 points in 2024 – is the most Republican-leaning of the three GOP senate districts that Democrats would have to flip to break the supermajority in the chamber.
Baker used the opportunity to ask for donations, directing viewers to his campaign website.
“I need all the help I can get,” he said.
Should Max Miller resign? DeWine won’t say
Over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno called for the resignation of Max Miller, the Cleveland-area congressman accused of assaulting his wife, who is Moreno’s daughter, on multiple occasions. Two other women (one, a high school classmate, anonymous) have accused Miller of physical violence. Miller has forcefully denied the allegations and said he wouldn’t resign, making for an increasingly nasty political fracas that has ensnared a 2-year-old child in the crossfire.
Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday said he’s not getting in the middle of it.
Speaking to reporters at the state fair, DeWine emphasized that “it’s just sad” to see a young child wrapped up somewhere in a contested set of facts that includes accusations of Miller throwing boiling water at Moreno.
But DeWine emphasized that the underlying facts are contested, and it’s Miller’s decision, not his.
“I’m not gonna weigh in on it. These are very serious allegations that he vehemently denies,” he said.
At the state fair on Wednesday, Ramaswamy similarly avoided weighing in on Miller, who has endorsed him.
“I wish everybody’s family well. My prayers are with the granddaughter who’s involved in that situation. And I think that is the most important thing,” he said.
The political world is now waiting to see where things go from here. The deadline for Miller to withdraw from his race against Democrat Brian Poindexter is on Monday. If he were to do so later than that, Republicans couldn’t replace him on the ballot. Andrew checked with Republican sources this week and got the sense that Miller is dug in, even as Republicans increasingly hope he drops out.
Jim Trakas, the former chair of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party, said county party leaders are doing their homework about the replacement process but have been told Miller plans to stay in.
“I think he’s very angry with how this has gone down,” Trakas said.
Miller said during an interview on Newsmax Tuesday night that he won’t drop out, even if Trump asks him to. “There’s no chance I’m removing myself from this race,” he said.
Have you seen our time capsule?
In lighter news from the fair – DeWine confirmed some of what Jake would call nightmare fuel that was reported in the Columbus Dispatch recently.
State officials lost the time capsule their predecessors buried under the fairgrounds in 1976. Gone.
It’s a daunting omen as the state has loaded up its new, improved and modernized (ish) offering to our future selves.
“Somewhere out here is a time capsule,” DeWine said, later explaining that the 2026 capsule will not be buried underground for fear of disappointing our posterity with schadenfreude.
“It’s somewhere around here,” DeWine said. “There’s no evidence of where the time capsule was.”
In the news
“Bases loaded” Ohio Democrats embrace rare optimism at fundraising gala: The notes that Amy Acton, Sherrod Brown and other Ohio Democrats struck last Saturday at the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner were the most convincingly optimistic party leaders have sounded in years. Read more by Andrew Tobias.
Ballot language set for Issue 3, the Ohio voter ID amendment: A state panel finalized language for Issue 3, the voter ID amendment that will appear on the November ballot this week. The language cleared the Ohio Ballot Board in a 4-1, bipartisan vote, a less contentious outcome than other recent amendments. Read more by Andrew Tobias.
Electric bills hit new highs across Ohio, state data shows: An average Ohioan’s July electric bill will be 12% higher than 2025 and 62% higher than 2015, new cost data show. Experts don’t expect the trend to relent. Read more by Jake Zuckerman.
Vape sellers to Ohio Supreme Court: Crackdown is unconstitutional: The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in one of two lawsuits over state efforts to crack down on the sale of flavored vapes and e-cigarettes. The rulings could reshape state power on what some see as a looming public health crisis. Read more Read more by Jake Zuckerman.
Workforce grant: An expanded federal grant program aiming to help low-income Americans pay for some job training courses is off to a slow start. Read more by Amy Morona here.
U.S. Rep. Kaptur and campaign manager recovering after ‘hit-skip’ crash in Toledo Sunday morning: Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle told WTVG’s Shaun Hegart that Kaptur was “completely with it” when he visited her in the hospital following the crash, which Kaptur’s office said left her with non-life-threatening injuries. Kaptur’s campaign manager was also injured.
‘We’re dying:’ Pike County residents balance new nuclear jobs with past radiation, by Katie Millard, Isabel Cleary with WCMH.
Ohio governor candidates back online gambling expansion; Ramaswamy silent, from Jeremy Pelzer at Cleveland.com.
GOP lawmaker DJ Swearingen drops out of Ohio House race: State Rep. DJ Swearingen, of Huron County, is dropping his reelection campaign days ahead of a candidate deadline. He says he’s doing so to consider “a new opportunity with the federal government,” writes Morgan Trau with WEWS.
Hamilton County Republicans choose new candidate for Statehouse race: Nancy Aichholz will replace Elizabeth Maier as the GOP challenger to Democratic Rep. Rachel Baker, of Hamilton County, writes Erin Glynn for the Cincinnati Enquirer.
