Snollygoster

All around the country candidates are refusing to participate in the age-old tradition of a live political debate. Most of those refusing to debate or throwing up roadblocks to debates are Republicans.

A surprise ruling by a Hamilton County judge has put Ohio’s six-week abortion ban on hold.

The fall campaign season is usually a time when political parties come together. But this is 2022, and this is Ohio, and 67 days before the election, there is a leadership fight in the Ohio Republican Party.

It’s a tradition in party politics that goes back generations—candidates forsake the extreme elements of their parties and distance themselves from popularity-challenged party members. On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss why candidates "race to the middle" in general elections.

Newly-released text messages show that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted worked diligently behind the scenes to pass HB6, the nuclear power plant bailout law. We discuss what this new information means in the ongoing saga of the $60 million bribery scandal that led to multiple arrests and indictments.

After a period of silence, U.S. Senate candidate and author J.D. Vance is back with new campaign ads. One ad featuring his wife, Usha Vance, tells his life story, which seems odd for a candidate who rose to fame for writing a best-selling memoir.

While Ohio voters largely stayed home on Tuesday, a vote on abortion rights brought an impressive amount of Kansas voters to the polls.

Activists on both sides of the abortion issue this week swarmed the Indiana Statehouse to rail against or cheer on a bill that would ban most abortions in our neighbor to the west. The debate provides a preview of what’s to come when Ohio lawmakers take up the issue.

Democrat Tim Ryan has maintained a high-profile presence in Ohio's U.S. Senate race since the May primary, while the Republican nominee J.D. Vance has been laying low.

After the Indianapolis Star reported on a 10-year-old Ohio rape survivor who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion, politicians didn't waste time politicizing the story. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about how many Republicans were quick to call the story "fake news."

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade and allowed states to regulate abortion once again, just like they could back in 1973. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss what this means for a state whose leaders strongly oppose abortion rights. Jo Ingles, a reporter for the Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News...

President Biden is asking Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months and proposing that states do the same. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss why Ohio is likely not going to join the effort.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan is working to erase Republicans’ built-in advantage in this state. New ads claim his opponent J.D. Vance is anti-police and touts his support of President Trump's trade policy.

In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, host Mike Thompson talks with a panel of reporters and pundits about guns and redistricting quandaries.

After a mass shooting, gun control advocates want to ban assault-style weapons and install background checks. Gun rights advocates argue the solution is more "good guys with guns." In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the bill that would make arming state teachers with less training possible.

A vast majority of Americans support new laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, but Republican lawmakers seem set on eliminating regulations. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss Ohio's track record on gun legislation.

The biggest political story of the spring is abortion. That's thanks to the leaked majority opinion that indicates a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is ready to overturn Roe vs Wade. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk to Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, about his efforts.

A group of Democratic women in the Ohio Legislature wants to change the Ohio Constitution to protect abortion rights and all methods of contraception. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk with State Senator Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) about the effort.

JD Vance may have been rising in the polls before election day, but it was former President Trump’s endorsement and one big super PAC contribution that put him over the top. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the race for Ohio's open Senate seat and the other primary results.

In the days before the primary, Republican U.S. Senate candidates and their affiliated Super PAC’s are scorching the earth with television ads attacking each other. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about how an endorsement from the biggest name in Republican politics might impact the race.

In their gubernatorial campaigns, former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley and former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley have been cordial, but that's changing. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about how the democratic primary is heating up as election day approaches.

Are the middle class paying their fair share of income tax in this country? In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss a soundbite from Senate candidate Mike Gibbons that might not play well with some voters.

Ohio lawmakers will consider a bill modeled after a Florida law that limits what can be taught on LGBTQ issues in schools. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about how the bill might fare in the Buckeye state. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow joins the show.

After days of work creating new maps with out-of-state experts, Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted to approve a tweaked version of the previous unconstitutional district map. In this week's episode of Snollygoster, host Steve Brown talks with Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler about the latest in the legislative map saga.

Can the Ohio Redistricting Commission—with some outside help—finally come up with a state district map that the Ohio Supreme Court will approve? In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Steve Brown and Ann Fisher discuss the odds.