Matt Dolan Maintains Lead in Ohio U.S. Senate GOP Primary Race, New Poll Shows

Matt Dolan, Frank LaRose, Bernie Moreno

A poll conducted by East Carolina University’s Center for Survey Research published on Friday reveals how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 U.S. Senate race.

In the Republican primary election, the poll shows Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) with a 2-point lead over businessman Bernie Moreno and a 10-point lead over Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Losing Ground Against Republican Challengers: Poll

Ohio Senate Candidates

Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s lead over his three Republican challengers has narrowed since November anywhere from 2 to 8 points, according to a Thursday poll.

Brown was leading businessman Bernie Moreno by 10 points, Secretary of State Frank LaRose by 5 points and state Sen. Matt Dolan by 3 points in Emerson College’s last poll on the Ohio Senate race. The senator is now ahead of Dolan by only 1 point and has a 2-point advantage over both Moreno and LaRose for potential head-to-head general election matchups, according to Emerson College’s January survey.

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Unmasking DeWine: Ohio Journalist Jack Windsor Dissects Shocking Veto and Its Potential Ripple Effect on 2024 Senate Race

Ohio journalist and entrepreneur Jack Windsor joined host Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss the connections and divides behind the shocking decision by Governor Mike DeWine to veto measure that would prohibit genital mutilation of children and transgender males competing in girls’ sports. Windsor unveils the deep ties between the Buckeye State governor and the “medical industrial complex,” and how this particular veto – perhaps unbeknownst to DeWine – could influence the 2024 elections in Ohio. The Ohio Press Network journalist then breaks down the hotly contested republican nomination race for U.S. Senate to see who will face long time incumbent Sherrod Brown. TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: 12:33 p.m., broadcasting live from our studios in downtown Nashville on Monday, January 1st, 2024. We are broadcasting live. We’re the only talk station talk show in Nashville broadcasting live today. Another hard worker is our very good friend formerly with The Ohio Star now with the Ohio Press Network and the host of his own program in Columbus Ohio, our good friend, Mr. Jack Windsor. Jack, thanks for joining us. Jack Windsor: Michael, it’s great to be with you. Happy New Year. And thanks for allowing…

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Emerson Poll: Trump Up in Ohio, Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown Leads All GOP Challengers

Emerson College Polling and WJW-TV Fox 8 Cleveland published results of a poll on Thursday revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and Senate race.

In the 2024 presidential election, the poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 12-point lead (50 percent-38 percent) over incumbent President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the Buckeye State while 12 percent of voters remain undecided.

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Ohio Supreme Court Rules Term ‘Unborn Child’ Can Remain on Abortion Ballot Measure

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the term “unborn child” could remain in an abortion amendment set to go on the ballot in November after activists filed a lawsuit over the language.

The state’s ballot board, which includes Secretary of State Frank LaRose, voted 3-2 in August that the term “fetus” should be changed to “unborn child” in order to give voters a clearer understanding of the ramifications of the amendment, which would make abortion a constitutional right in the state. In response, Ohioans for Reproductive Rights (ORR) filed a lawsuit days later, arguing the board was ignoring rules that required the language to “not ‘mislead, deceive, or defraud’ voters, but the state Supreme Court determined that the use of the term “unborn child” could stay in, noting that even the plaintiffs did not argue it was “factually inaccurate.”

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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Jumps Into Race to Unseat Dem Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024

Frank LaRose

Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a run for Senate on Monday to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, according to a campaign launch video.

LaRose enters a growing GOP primary field where he will face businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who both unsuccessfully ran for Senate during the 2022 midterms. The secretary of state touched on issues he feels plague the country, like parental rights in education, the border crisis and inflation, when announcing his run for Senate, according to a Twitter video.

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Ohio Republicans Introduce Bill Codifying Election Integrity Office

Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are working to pass a law codifying the election-integrity office whose creation Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced last year. 

LaRose declared last October he would set up the Public Integrity Division in his office to improve the security, accuracy and accessibility of elections in the Buckeye State. The new department consolidates heretofore separate divisions dealing with campaign-finance administration, voter registration, election investigations and cybersecurity.

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Leftists Sue Ohio Secretary of State Over New Voter ID Law

Attorneys for the Elias Law Group announced over the weekend they are representing several left-leaning institutions seeking to nix Ohio’s new law requiring voters to show photo identification to participate in an election. 

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans and the Union Veterans Council are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R). The firm working the case is headed by Marc Elias who has handled cases for Democrats in the 2020 presidential contest and numerous other national elections. 

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Ohio Secretary of State Reports 630 Cases of Potential Voter Fraud During His Administration So Far

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) reported on Friday that his office discovered 630 cases of possible criminal voter fraud since he took office four years ago.

Incidents include 510 cases of potential voting by noncitizens, 97 instances of people possibly voting in more than one state and 23 allegations of election fraudsters using dead persons’ registrations. The department referred all of these cases to law enforcement, according to LaRose’s Year in Review 2022 newsletter.

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Ohio Elections Commission To Look Into Evidence Against Blystone Instead of Settling

The Ohio Elections Commission (OEC) announced last week it will hold a hearing on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to review evidence against former gubernatorial candidate Joe Blystone concerning alleged campaign-finance violations. 

Charges against the Republican former hopeful include failure to report contributions from small-dollar backers and breach of rules regarding corporate donations. The onetime candidate was engaged in negotiations with Commission Executive Director Philip Richter, but some GOP members of the commission, including D. Michael Crites and Christina Hagan, reportedly insisted on continuing the probe to achieve full accountability. 

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Ohio Election Day Roundup: Results for National Elected Offices, State Offices, and Statewide Ballot Issues

After a long campaign season for the Ohio midterm election, voting numbers from county boards of elections are pouring in and being added to the unofficial results on the Ohio Secretary of State’s Website.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State, results are unofficial until they have been reviewed and certified once the official canvass has been completed by November 29th.

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Ohio Secretary of State Readies Voters, Officials for Busy Election Day

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is making one last push to inform Ohioans of important voter information prior to their final opportunity to cast a ballot.

The Ohio secretary of state’s office indicates that there is only one official source for Ohio election information, which is voteohio.gov. To ensure all voters have the correct information ahead of Election Day, LaRose urges voters to only utilize voteohio.gov as an official resource for vital and accurate election information including finding a polling location, voter ID requirements, sample ballots, absentee ballot tracking, support for voters with disabilities, and election results.

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Ohio Election Eve Roundup: Statewide, District, County, and Municipal Races to Watch

Ohio are set to choose their next governor, U.S. senator, and three seats for the state supreme court this election cycle.

The big-ticket race in Ohio is to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by retiring Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). Republican nominee J.D. Vance was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and he is currently in a tight race with Democratic Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).

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Cygnal Ohio Poll Shows Vance and DeWine Getting Bigger Leads

A poll released this weekend by the data company Cygnal shows Ohio Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate widening their leads against their Democratic opponents. 

The survey of 1,776 likely voters shows J.D. Vance, the author, attorney and venture capitalist running to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman, with a 4.6-percent lead over Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). Among those polled, 9.2 percent said they were undecided. 

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Early Voting Higher in Ohio than in 2018

More Ohioans have requested absentee ballots and voted early in-person as of the close of business Tuesday than at the same point in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial election, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced.

“While not a significant increase over the same point in the 2018 election, Ohioans are showing confidence in Ohio’s abundant early voting opportunities,” said LaRose. “Our bipartisan boards of elections have done an incredible job making their early voting centers ready, and lines are short for anyone who wants to make sure their voice is heard.” While combined the number of ballot requests and in-person early voting totals pass the 2018 total 21 days before the election, the jump comes from in-person early voting.

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Progressive Ohio College Town Continues Push to Let Noncitizens Vote

Democratic officials who run the village of Yellow Springs, a progressive college town near Dayton, are persisting in their effort to legalize noncitizen voting. 

Mayor Pam Conine (D) is pushing for the enactment of a state constitutional amendment that would actualize the policy. Yellow Springs voters approved a referendum in 2019 allowing dozens of noncitizen residents of the village to participate in local and state elections, but the measure never went into effect. 

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Republicans Poised to Run the Table in Ohio as Vance, DeWine, Yost, and LaRose All Lead in New Poll

by Debra Heine   Republican author and lawyer J.D. Vance leads Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan 46 percent to 44 percent in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, according to GOP polling firm Cygnal. The survey of likely general election voters in Ohio also gave Republican Governor Mike DeWine a strong lead in the gubernatorial race, and Ohio Republicans leading in the races for Secretary of State, and Attorney General. Additionally, the poll showed that a near majority of Ohio voters (49.2) have a very unfavorably opinion of the job Joe Biden is doing. Overall, 57.2 percent of Ohioans disapproved of Biden’s job performance, the survey found. Vance did best among male voters, while Ryan performed best among female voters. Republican Governor Mike DeWine has a powerful +22 lead over Lt. Governor Jon Husted on the Gubernatorial ballot (56.9 percent to 34.6 percent) in the Cygnal poll. The survey also found that Republicans have a +6 advantage over Democrats (49.9 percent to 43.8 percent) on the generic congressional ballot in the state. Another 6.3 percent of likely voters were unsure of which party they preferred. Significantly, the poll found that most Ohioans are pessimistic about the direction of the country, with 63.8 percent…

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Candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive Backs Noncitizen Voting

Chris Ronayne, the Democratic candidate for Cuyahoga County executive, said in a public forum this week that he would support Ohio’s municipalities allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.

The former Cleveland city administrator and former president of University Circle, Inc., a community-development corporation, explained to attendees at the Global Cleveland panel discussion at Jukebox that he believed cities can use their home-rule powers to adopt that election policy.

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Ohio Secretary of State Supports Voter Fraud Prosecution for Four More People Who Allegedly Voted Twice

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has referred four additional people for prosecution after his office found evidence that appears to show they voted in two states.

His office partnered with officials in Iowa, Missouri, Nevada and Oregon to find individuals who allegedly voted in another state, then cast an illegal second ballot in Ohio in the 2020 election, LaRose announced Wednesday.

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Language Finalized on Proposed Ohio Referendum Banning Noncitizen Voting

This week the Ohio Ballot Board finalized the wording of a referendum on a proposed state constitutional amendment to prohibit noncitizens from participating in local and state elections. 

A majority of Ohio voters will need to approve the measure during the November 8 election for the amendment to become law. The ballot question informs electors that the amendment would “require that only a citizen of the United States, who is at least 18 years of age and who has been a legal resident and registered voter for at least 30 days, can vote at any state or local election held in this state” and that the law would “prohibit local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.”

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Ohio Secretary of State Announces Board of Education Districts; Democrats Object

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced this week that the state Board of Education district boundaries will conform to the plan Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued in January, spurring objections from Democratic lawmakers.

Nineteen individuals sit on the state Board of Education, with 11 of them standing for election. Five of the elected seats are up in this fall’s general election and those wishing to run must file by August 10.

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Ohio Business Startups Dip Again; LaRose Blames Inflation

Inflation is taking a toll on startup businesses in Ohio, dropping the state’s new business filings by more than a quarter from a year ago, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

LaRose pointed to two surveys from the National Federation of Independent Business that show inflation continues to be a significant factor for small business and small business optimism both nationwide and in Ohio.

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House Passes Bill Allowing Ohio Election Officials Limited Connection to Private Groups

Confusion for some Ohio boards of election forced a new bill that walks back at least part of a law stopping election officials from working with nongovernmental entities.

The Ohio General Assembly tacked the legislation onto its budget last year. Despite assurances from lawmakers and Secretary of State Frank LaRose the ban would not create an issue for local election officials, Attorney General Dave Yost issued an opinion in January that said the new law criminalizes partnerships with private groups, but most routine work is OK.

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Federal Court Imposes May 28 Deadline on Ohio Redistricting Commission

A federal court gave the Ohio Redistricting Commission until May 28 to draw state legislative redistricting maps that meet a court order, or it will implement a previously rejected map so the state can hold an Aug. 2 primary.

The three-judge panel, voting 2-1, said it would impose the commission’s third set of maps because the state had started preparing to use those maps before they were declared unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.

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Ohio Election Officials Say Second Primary Must Be August 2

Ohio election officials said the state could not hold its second primary any later than Aug. 2, despite an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that suggested the state could easily hold an election later in August or even September.

The Ohio Association of Election Officials said overseas and military ballots, along with other requirements for testing voting systems and proofing ballots, make Aug. 2 the last day to have a primary for state legislative offices if the same rules are to be met for the November general election.

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Ohio Redistricting GOP Say They Had No Options for State Maps

Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission say they did everything the state Supreme Court ordered them to do. Still, they say independent map makers ran out of time, leaving tweaks to a previously unconstitutional GOP plan as the only option for new state legislative districts.

The responses from Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, State Auditor Keith Faber, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, came at the 9 a.m. deadline on Monday the court gave to show cause why the group should not be held in contempt.

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