The candidates are set for Ohio's general election in November. There were no big surprises in this week’s primary.
Sherrod Brown easily beat his Democratic primary opponent and will face Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted.
In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton was unopposed. Vivek Ramaswamy easily beat his Republican challenger, Casey Putsch. Ramaswamy says Republicans are unified to take on Acton, whom he calls a socialist. Hyperbole aside, here is a significant contrast between the tech billionaire and the former Ohio director of public health.
In other races, the favorites in the secretary of state primaries won. Current Treasurer Robert Sprague will face former House Democratic Leader Allison Russo.
In the Republican primary for state treasurer, J.D. Vance-backed Jay Edwards beat Ramaswamy-backed Kristina Roegner by a comfortable margin.
In a closely watched Republican primary in northwest Ohio, former state Rep. Derek Merrin won the chance for a rematch with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo.
To help break down the races, especially that congressional contest in the 9th District in northwest Ohio, we welcome University of Toledo political science professor Sam Nelson.
Snollygoster of the week
This week was a difficult one for Melanie Leneghan of Delaware County, located just north of Columbus.
She sat on the Delaware County Board of Elections and was a member of the Republican State Central Committee. However, a fellow Delaware County Republican accused Leneghan of living in South Carolina rather than Ohio.
While Leneghan sold her Powell home last year, travels often for work, and owns properties in South Carolina, she maintained that she still lives in Delaware County. She registered to vote at the address of a friend. Eventually, the friend transferred partial ownership of that home to Leneghan for free.
The controversy moved through the courts and the Delaware County Board of Elections over the past few months.
This week, the Ohio Supreme Court ended the matter. The court ruled 7-0 that Leneghan no longer lives in Ohio. This means she must be removed from the voter rolls and cannot run for her seat on the Republican State Central Committee. Because she is no longer a registered voter, she also cannot sit on the Delaware County Board of Elections.
The situation is complicated. In the 2018 primary for Congress, Leneghan nearly defeated Troy Balderson.
For getting every member of the Ohio Supreme Court to agree on a controversial political issue, Melanie Leneghan receives the Snollygoster of the Week award.