Marcy Kaptur

Ohio voters choose a new secretary of state on Nov. 3, with Republican state Treasurer Robert Sprague, Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo, and Libertarian Tom Pruss on the ballot. The race has turned on two election-policy flashpoints: a proposed constitutional amendment (Issue 3) locking in photo ID requirements, which Sprague backs and Russo and Pruss oppose, and absentee ballot drop boxes, which Sprague wants eliminated while Russo and Pruss favor expanding. Sprague, the best-funded candidate, emphasizes election security and points to fraud cases in other states; Russo argues Ohio's drop boxes are already secure and accuses Republicans of suppressing access. A planned debate between Sprague and Russo never materialized.

An Ohio appeals court has ruled that the state's EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion voucher programs, which direct more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to private schools, violate the Ohio Constitution's requirement for a "thorough and efficient" system of common schools. The unanimous three-judge panel found private schools face less oversight, can selectively admit students, and divert funding from public schools, which have limited options in rural areas. The ruling is stayed pending appeal, and outgoing Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says he will take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing the program supports family choice rather than harming public schools.

The decision was welcomed by Policy Matters Ohio, teachers' unions, and a coalition of roughly 300 school districts that sued over the programs, who say lawmakers should return to a bipartisan school funding formula left unfunded for two years. The case now heads to Ohio's Supreme Court, where the outcome could have major political implications given mounting public frustration over vouchers, property taxes, and rising electricity costs ahead of the state's upcoming elections.

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.

U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, the Bowling Green Republican who has represented Ohio's 5th Congressional District since 2007 and chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's energy subcommittee, faces Democrat Brian Shaver and Libertarian Michael Veloff in November. Ohio's 2025 GOP-led redistricting shifted several Republican-leaning counties out of Latta's district and into Marcy Kaptur's, in an effort to unseat Kaptur — a change Shaver and Veloff argue could make Latta more vulnerable, though political forecasters still rate the seat safely Republican.

Latta touts his frequent district travel, legislative record, and work on energy permitting and data center ratepayer protections. Shaver, a civics teacher and local union president, centers his campaign on affordability, accountability, and restoring congressional checks on presidential power, criticizing tariffs and unauthorized military action. Veloff, running on a Libertarian platform mixing small-government and consumer-protection ideas, hopes to draw disaffected Republican voters away from Latta. Campaign finance reports show Latta with a substantial fundraising advantage over both challengers heading into the fall election.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race is shaping up as a pivotal contest over abortion policy, with Democrat Amy Acton, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and independent Don Kissick offering sharply different approaches to reproductive rights, an issue the next governor will have substantial power to shape. Elsewhere in Ohio politics, state Rep. Allison Russo and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague are negotiating terms for a debate after clashing over 2020 election fraud claims, and a new analysis pushes back on claims by Sen. Jon Husted that coal plant closures during Sherrod Brown's tenure drove up electric bills, pointing instead to rising demand from data centers.

In congressional races, Rep. Dave Joyce faces Democrat Maria Jukic in the 14th District, while Rep. Marcy Kaptur has resumed campaigning after a car crash injury, ahead of a rematch with Derek Merrin in a redrawn, more Republican-leaning 9th District. Separately, the Ohio Supreme Court blocked a Wilmington data-center ordinance from the November ballot, and Ashland County Fair officials settled a free-speech lawsuit over ejected anti-Trump vendors.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted work on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Joliet, Illinois, on July 24, pausing construction of a roughly $1.2 billion barrier designed to stop invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The system combines engineered water flow, underwater sound, bubble curtains and electric current to block carp while allowing barge traffic.

Ohio Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Dave Joyce, joined by Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell and Bill Huizenga, sent a letter urging the administration to lift the stop-work order, noting the project is fully funded and reviewed. Urgency grew after Illinois officials found juvenile silver carp in the Illinois River just 80 miles from Lake Michigan in mid-August, the farthest upstream detection in 16 years of monitoring. Experts warn established carp populations could devastate native fish species and the region's fishing economy. Construction began in 2024 with completion projected around 2030, a timeline already delayed by funding pauses.