It’s summertime—but unlike U.S. House members looking to avoid the Epstein controversy, Ohio politics does not go on vacation.
This week, we’ll look at three big topics:
- Those power-hungry and water-thirsty data centers—are they a good deal for Ohio?
- The 2026 campaign and what early fundraising totals tell us.
- The OSU–Strauss sex abuse scandal.
There have been major developments in the ongoing lawsuit against Ohio State University by sexual assault victims of former OSU team doctor Richard Strauss. Strauss, who died 20 years ago, is accused of abusing hundreds of OSU athletes in the 1980s and 1990s.
NBC4 was first to report that attorneys deposed former OSU Athletic Director Andy Geiger for several hours. Then on Friday, they deposed Congressman Jim Jordan, who was an assistant wrestling coach at the time of the assaults, and athletes say he knew about the abuse and did not report it.
Jordan’s office issued a statement saying, “As everyone knows, Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it.”
Ohio State declined to comment on the lawsuit, but continues to say the university has reached settlements with some 300 victims totaling $60 million.
We turn to a panel of experts: Republican and former Franklin County Prosecutor Mike Miller, Democratic strategist Brian Rothenberg, and reporters Sarah Donaldson from Ohio Public Radio and Julie Carr Smyth of the Associated Press.
Snollygoster of the week
Democrats often complain that Republicans rig the system at the Statehouse through aggressive gerrymandering. But at Columbus City Hall, it’s the Democrats now in charge who stand accused of rigging city elections.
“Rigging” is a strong word—after all, voters do have the final say—but political moves have impact.
For those outside the city: there is a very competitive race for City Council in District 7. Assistant City Prosecutor Tiara Ross narrowly beat local attorney Jesse Vogel in a multi-candidate spring primary. The two candidates now advance to the November general election.
Rather than stay neutral, the Franklin County Democratic Party this week chose to endorse Ross. That’s because Ross is the chosen candidate of the Democrats at City Hall. Last year, those same Democrats did not endorse in the county prosecutor’s race—at the request of their chosen candidate, Shayla Favor.
The endorsement is very important, because those candidates receive the party’s full support—in mailers and on Election Day candidate cards.
It’s not a done deal. Jesse Vogel has run a spirited campaign so far. He’s knocked on a lot of doors and raised a decent amount of money. But for putting their thumbs on the scale and picking one Democrat over another competitive Democrat, the Franklin County Democrats get our Snollygoster of the Week award.