Ohio’s 10th District House Race: Who Will Win?

Ohio Republican legislative leaders, backed by gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, are proposing a 90-day suspension of the state's 38.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax to ease pump prices ahead of the November election. The plan, which would need lawmakers to return early to pass, is estimated to cost around $640 million in revenue over the suspension period, with proposals to cover the gap using ODOT cash reserves, the state's general fund, or the rainy day fund.

Critics note the notion echoes a similar idea previously floated by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, and argue the savings — roughly a few dollars a week for typical drivers — would do little to offset broader cost-of-living pressures from tariffs and other factors. The gas tax funds road and infrastructure maintenance, raising concerns about long-term funding gaps if reserves are tapped. The proposal comes amid a competitive governor's race and heightened scrutiny of political messaging in Ohio as both parties look to define affordability as a top campaign issue heading into the fall election.

Ohio's governor race intensified this week as Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and Democratic rival Amy Acton both proposed suspending the state's gas tax amid a spike in fuel prices, with statewide averages topping $4.52 a gallon and diesel hitting a record $6.77. Ramaswamy, joined by GOP legislative leaders Rob McColley and Matt Huffman, unveiled a plan for a 90-day tax suspension that lawmakers could act on before Election Day, funded initially through ODOT reserves and the state's rainy-day fund. Acton called for an "emergency gas tax holiday" but offered fewer details on duration or funding. It remains unclear whether the GOP-controlled legislature will reconvene early or whether Gov. Mike DeWine, who has raised the gas tax before, would sign such a measure.

Separately, prediction markets continue to show Acton leading Ramaswamy by a wider margin than public polling suggests. Ohio lawmakers are also pursuing a bid to bring the U.S. Space Academy to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with a decision due to NASA by October 26 and final approval resting with President Trump.

A coalition of Ohio officials and business leaders is pushing to locate the newly ordered United States Space Academy at a site linking Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University in Dayton. Sen. Bernie Moreno says he has met with President Trump twice in the Oval Office to pitch the site, which would include a $300 million "multiplanetary hall," a monument-lined "drive of heroes," and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, with an eventual budget Moreno estimates at $1 billion. Gov. Mike DeWine, Sen. Jon Husted, Reps. Mike Turner and Jim Jordan, and Ohio's legislative leaders have joined the "statewide effort," citing Wright-Patterson's astronaut training facilities and roughly 700 Space Force personnel stationed there.

Trump signed an executive order in late August directing creation of the academy, envisioned as a NASA-led civilian institution blending technical education with leadership training, overseen by a presidential commission chaired by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. A federal request for information published Sept. 10 calls for groundbreaking in 2027, initial instruction for about 300 students by 2028, and permanent facilities for 1,200 undergraduates by 2031 on at least 300 acres; responses are due Oct. 26. Ohio faces competition from Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Nevada, having previously lost bids for U.S. Space Command Headquarters and a retired space shuttle.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race has surfaced starkly different positions on gun policy among the three candidates. Democratic nominee Amy Acton says she would pursue expanded background checks and a "red-flag" law allowing authorities to seize firearms from people deemed dangerous, echoing a scaled-back version of outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine's "Strong Ohio" plan proposed after the 2019 Dayton mass shooting. Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to be the most pro-gun-rights governor in state history and has explicitly ruled out a red-flag law, though he has offered few other specifics and did not respond to questions on the matter. Libertarian candidate Don Kissick opposes new restrictions but, through running mate James Mills, supports reintroducing firearm-safety education in schools along with expanded mental-health services.

The debate comes as Ohio's GOP-controlled legislature has loosened gun laws in recent years, including eliminating concealed-carry permit requirements, while gun homicides statewide rose 37% between 2014 and 2024, though below a 2021 pandemic-era peak.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race could shape how the state's voter-approved reproductive-rights amendment is implemented, since the governor appoints health officials, directs funding, and decides how vigorously to defend abortion restrictions in court. Democrat Amy Acton supports abortion rights and pledges to protect the 2023 amendment while expanding access to contraception and IVF, though she has offered few policy specifics. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not respond to questions, has previously called himself "unapologetically pro-life" and backed six-week abortion bans during his 2024 presidential run, but has not detailed an Ohio agenda. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes both abortion bans and government efforts to expand abortion access, arguing government should stay out of the issue entirely.

A federal appeals court ruled Friday against prediction-market operator Kalshi in its legal fight with Ohio over state regulation of its sports-related contracts. Kalshi had argued its offerings should be treated as federally regulated financial "swaps," exempting them from state gambling laws and taxes; the appeals court rejected that argument, allowing Ohio to continue enforcing its gambling regulations against the company. Gov. Mike DeWine, discussing the ruling with reporters, dismissed Kalshi's framing of its products, saying "if it's a pig, it's a pig... these guys are pigs."

The same appeals court also issued a related ruling Friday on intoxicating hemp products, finding Ohio can require sellers to obtain licenses from state marijuana regulators, though restrictions based on business location likely violate the Constitution's dormant commerce clause. The Kalshi decision adds to a broader national pattern of states pushing back against prediction markets' sports-related contracts, testing the boundary between federally regulated derivatives and state-regulated gambling.

President Trump is set to hold a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Oct. 3, the same day a funeral will be held about 25 miles away in Springfield for Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian Wright State University student whose death has become a flashpoint in the debate over immigration enforcement.

Bel was killed Aug. 31 after being struck by a semitrailer on Interstate 70; his family says he took his own life, citing shame after being made to wear an ICE-mandated ankle monitor following a July 29 check-in. His death has galvanized Springfield's large Haitian community, with friends and advocates calling on authorities to ease immigration enforcement. ICE has maintained that immigrants without legal status, including Haitians who lost temporary protected status in July, should self-deport. The funeral, expected to draw up to 1,000 attendees, comes as Trump campaigns for Ohio Republicans in Senate and gubernatorial races, underscoring the political tension surrounding immigration policy in the state.

The NCAA has sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the Southern District of Ohio, challenging Executive Order 2026-04D, which let Ohio colleges grant a fifth season of eligibility to athletes from the high school class of 2022 despite the NCAA's age-based rule. The 39-page federal complaint asks a judge to declare the order unconstitutional and unenforceable, arguing it gives Ohio schools an unfair competitive advantage and undermines uniform eligibility standards nationwide. NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, warned that allowing states or courts to unilaterally rewrite eligibility rules would make fair competition impossible.

The order, issued in response to lawsuits from Ohio athletes excluded from a fifth year under the NCAA's five-years-to-play-five model, has already influenced related litigation: the Ohio Supreme Court asked for briefing on how it affects Borovicanin v. NCAA, the lead case on the issue. The NCAA also used the dispute to push Congress toward passing the Protect College Sports Act, which would codify its eligibility policy and shield it from antitrust challenges.

The Dayton Branch of the NAACP is asking Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to grant executive clemency to China Arnold, 46, who is serving life without parole for the 2005 microwave death of her 28-day-old daughter, Paris Talley. Arnold was convicted in her third trial in 2011 after a mistrial and an overturned conviction; she has maintained her innocence throughout. NAACP President Derrick Foward called her a model inmate and noted her three surviving children have grown up without her. The group is urging DeWine to act before he leaves office in January, framing the case as a test of clemency and sentencing proportionality in Ohio's justice system.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has asked President Trump to issue a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration covering 23 Ohio counties, including Butler, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene and Preble in the greater Dayton area, following severe thunderstorms that struck from Aug. 10 through Aug. 23. The storms brought flash flooding and 17 confirmed tornadoes, killing two people, injuring at least four, and prompting about 59 water rescues.

Preliminary damage assessments from FEMA and the Small Business Administration found at least 50 homes and businesses destroyed, 806 with major damage, and 475 with minor damage. DeWine requested activation of FEMA's Individual Assistance Grant program to help with temporary housing, home repairs, rental assistance and other needs, along with SBA low-interest loans for uninsured losses and FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. DeWine said the damage exceeds the state's capacity to respond alone, and federal aid would be critical to recovery efforts.