The race for Ohio governor has gotten personal in recent weeks.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is out with a new ad where his wife shows off their new baby. In another ad, he goes after Democrat Amy Acton for her role in the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Acton has been left to explain an incident at her home in 2019. NBC was first to report that Bexley police responded to a report of a domestic dispute between Acton and her husband. The report said the couple had a verbal argument and a mirror fell from the wall and shattered. There was no evidence of physical violence and no charges were filed.
Acton said it was an argument over her long work hours. Acton’s campaign this week criticized Ramaswamy’s campaign for making an issue of her seeking counseling for sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
To get a look at where this race and the race for U.S. Senate stand, we turn to WOSU-TV’s "Columbus on the Record" panel: reporter Jessie Balmert of the USA Today Ohio Network, Republican strategist Terry Casey and Democratic strategist Stanley Gates.
Snollygoster of the week
The National Women’s Soccer League announced this week that it would put an expansion team in Columbus.
It was very dramatic. It sounded like for Columbus to land the team, the Columbus City Council and Franklin County commissioners had to chip in $50 million. It was very contentious whether to give billionaire owners public money for their team. It went right down to the wire. Columbus City Council voted Monday night to award its share, and the Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday morning.
Just a couple of hours later, league officials, Mayor Ginther, and the team owners were all on a stage announcing Columbus got the team.
It was amazingly quick work. The commissioner was in town. There was a stage and banners set at the stadium. There was a logo and a pre-produced video, all presented just moments after the last crucial political vote.
It makes you wonder one of two things: the votes were decided long before the meetings, or the public money was not really needed to make the business decision to put a pro sports franchise in Columbus, a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer.
Either way, for securing the public money and for quickly launching a glitzy announcement, the owners of the yet-to-be-named Columbus women's soccer team and the National Women's Soccer League get our Snollygoster of the Week award.