Ohio Politics Explained: Ohio House GOP infighting continues – The Columbus Dispatch
The Ohio House was back in session this week for the first time in three months − while Republicans are suing each other.
We broke down the lawsuit and other big issues on this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained, a podcast from the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau to catch you up on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less.
This week, Haley BeMiller was joined by reporter Jessie Balmert.
House Republicans sue over campaign cash
A group of GOP lawmakers is suing House Speaker Jason Stephens over who has the keys to their campaign account.
Reps. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, and Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, say Stephens doesn’t have the authority to manage the campaign fund, according to the suit filed in Franklin County court. The move was the latest escalation in a feud that began in January, when Democrats helped elect Stephens as speaker.
Stephens and Rep. Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Township, who is also named in the lawsuit, called it a distraction: “Frankly, this lawsuit is nothing more than the desperate antics of a handful of self-promoting individuals who seem to be more interested in filing baseless lawsuits than they are in defeating Issue 1 to protect innocent lives and defend our conservative family values.”
Ohio Supreme Court scraps local drag ban from ballot
The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled to scrap a proposed drag show ban from the ballot in Bellefontaine, delivering a win to the city’s LGBTQ community.
A group of citizens submitted a proposed ordinance for the Nov. 7 ballot to classify drag shows as adult cabaret performances and prohibit them in public spaces or anywhere viewable by a minor. But petitioners changed the ballot language after circulating petitions to get voter signatures, prompting a complaint to the Logan County Board of Elections.
The board deadlocked on a decision and kicked the matter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who argued the language was valid. The state Supreme Court disagreed.
“Secretary LaRose and the board of elections abused their discretion and disregarded the law in overruling relators’ protest,” the court wrote in its decision.
Where Ohio Senate candidates stand on abortion
LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and businessman Bernie Moreno want to kick Sen. Sherrod Brown out of office next year. In the lead-up to the March primary, the three Republicans are talking a lot about abortion and publicly opposing Issue 1.
But their positions on specific policy vary.
Moreno wants to see a national 15-week ban. Dolan thinks it should be left to the states and won’t vote for anything with no exceptions for rape or incest. LaRose opposes abortion and only supports exceptions for the life of the pregnant person, but his position beyond that isn’t clear.
Brown, meanwhile, backs Issue 1 and said he liked the standard under Roe v. Wade.
Signature gathering can begin on redistricting reform
A group that wants to reform Ohio’s redistricting process − again − can start gathering signatures for the November 2024 ballot.
Citizens Not Politicians, spearheaded by former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, wants to remove politicians from the process of drawing new statehouse and congressional maps and replace them with a 15-member citizen commission.
The group cleared another hurdle on Thursday when the Ohio Ballot Board decided to keep the proposed amendment as one issue on the ballot, instead of dividing it into multiple measures. Now, the heavy lifting begins: Advocates must collect 413,487 signatures from at least 44 counties by July.
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The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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