Michael Sweeney

Ohio’s governor race is being described as a coin flip between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton. That description misses the real story. Ohio is not divided into two enthusiastic camps. Committed Republicans have largely chosen Ramaswamy. Committed Democrats have largely chosen Acton. Party leaders and political consultants treat everyone else as though they naturally belong

People demanding the abolition of the Electoral College keep starting from a false premise: that the United States is one giant national democracy and the presidency should therefore go to whoever collects the largest pile of votes nationwide. That is not the country the Constitution created. America is a federal republic, a union of states

Ohio likes to describe its election administration system as balanced, bipartisan, and professional. That sounds reassuring. It sounds like everyone gets a fair shake, the rules are neutral, and the public comes first. Reality looks less like a neutral public service and more like a carefully managed duopoly that would really prefer not to be

HB 228 changed Ohio self-defense law by moving the trial burden to the prosecution once evidence supports self-defense, defense of another, or defense of residence. It also covered firearm preemption, local-government liability, law-enforcement carry rules, weapons transactions, and other firearm-related sections. HB 108 keeps the HB 228 self-defense framework but adds a new pretrial motion and hearing process.